A man and a woman, aged 41 and 34, have been charged in connection with a number of unpaid restaurant bills across Scotland in the last month, worth more than £600
A couple alleged to have left several restaurants without paying, racking up bills of around £600, have been charged by police.
Officers arrested a man, 41, and a woman, 34, after they failed to pay for their meal at an eatery in Arbroath, Angus, on Thursday. The pair were also allegedly responsible for £600 of unpaid bills at restaurants in Perth, Arbroath and Dundee throughout the last month.
They are due to be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. A Police Scotland statement read: “A couple have been arrested and charged in connection with a series of frauds at restaurants across Tayside.
“The 41-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were arrested on Thursday, 25 July, 2024 after failing to pay for their meal at a restaurant in Arbroath.
“The pair are responsible for over £600 worth of unpaid bills at restaurants in Perth, Arbroath and Dundee throughout July. They will both be reported to the Procurator Fiscal,” the Daily Record reported.
Earlier this month a family restaurant claimed to have lost out on more than £1,000 after being repeatedly targeted by callus dine and dashers. La Bella Vista, in St Leonards, East Sussex, had to install more than a dozen CCTV cameras to prevent any more earnings lost because of those who leave without paying. In one incident, a group of three women have been accused of leaving without paying their £300 bill.
Footage shows one of the women returning to take her drink before leaving the restaurant. Aldo Esposito told ITV: “I feel disappointed and frustrated with the situation because we put a lot of love and effort into the business and dealing with situations like this is very disheartening. At the moment, running a business, a family business like this, it’s quite difficult due to the financial situations so when people come here and take advantage, it’s, you know, it’s hard to take.
“I want people to feel comfortable and relax when they come into a restaurant but now we look every single customer and sort of analyse them a little bit, which is not something we want to do.”
Sussex Police Chief Inspector Jay Mendis-Gunaskera said: “We’re really proactive with our business crime teams. We work with local businesses to support our communities and try to bring the offenders of these types of crimes to justice.”
