Eating Out
Last week we went to a restaurant for a Birthday meal and my sister ordered a vegetarian cauliflower and broccoli quiche. To her horror, when she cut into it, she discovered that there was bacon in it . She complained and did not eat it and insisted on a different vegetarian meal. However, when the bill came we saw that we had been charged for both vegetarian meals. We refused to pay for the quiche and the manager threatened to call the police so we paid. Did I have to pay?
Answer to birthday meal question
I went to the local pub for a meal, within a few hours of coming home I was very ill. I have been to my Doctor who suspects food poisoning. I think it was the prawns I ate at the pub. Is there anything I can do?
Answer to food poisoning question
Last night I went into a pub for a quick drink and a packet of crisps. I opened the crisps and ate one and discovered it was soft. I looked at the best before date on the packet and realised that it had expired over two months earlier. When I complained, the lady behind the bar just laughed and replaced them with a different flavour. Is it illegal to sell food after the best before date has expired?
I booked a table at a popular restaurant, for a Christmas meal for myself and my colleagues from the office. Unfortunately, the weather was very poor and several of them, who had to travel a long distance, were not able to make it there because it was not sensible for them to travel. At the end of the meal we were presented with a bill for the number booked originally. We protested but the restaurant insisted that the full bill be paid. Did we have to pay as the restaurant could have used the food the following night and it was not our fault that some of our party could not get there?
Answer to Christmas meal question
My friend and I went out for the day to the countryside and stopped at a little cottage café advertising "Home-made pies and cakes just like your Mother used to make". We decided to order a chicken and mushroom pie and baked potatoes. We were very unhappy when the pie came as it clearly was not home-made and the chicken was that chopped and shaped processed meat. Can cafes describe their food as home-made when it clearly is not?
My brother and I went for a meal in a smart restaurant in town. We were extremely unhappy with the service we received. It took the waiter over 20 minutes to provide us with a menu, another half an hour to take our order and an eternity to serve the meal. We complained to the waiter at the end of the meal but he was not interested and we felt pressured to pay the bill. Can we still get our money back?
Answer to smart restaurant question
I recently went to a restaurant which had been recommended to me. When I sat down, I was horrified to realise that the prices were very expensive. I had not seen any prices as I went in, shouldn't they be clearly displayed?
I went to my local take-away just 5 minutes walk from my home. When I got the food home I found that the meal was cold and what had been described as King Prawns were, in fact, tiny shrimps. I took it back but they refused to replace it or give me a refund. What are my rights?
I went out to lunch and ordered a meal which included some potato salad. I was very unhappy to discover a rubber band amongst the potatoes. When I complained the lady in charge said that she was very sorry but it was not her fault she had only just opened the container and showed me the box with one portion missing. She said as it was not her fault (I feel that this was true) she could not do anything about it. Is this right?
Answer to potato salad question
I went to a local pub with a reputation for being children friendly and was pleased to see advertised 'Buy two adult meals get one children's meal free' My older son and I ordered two adult meals and a children's burger and chips for my younger son. We enjoyed the meal but I was not very happy when I received the bill because I had been charged for the children's meal. When I queried this I was told that this offer only applied to adult meals ordered before 1 p.m. and we had ordered a 1.20pm. After some argument the Manager agreed to deduct the children's meal from the bill but I was not happy with her attitude.
There was no indication of this on the blackboard outside. Is this right?
The Frequently Asked Questions were developed by the Crossing the Boundaries partnership (CtB) of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.