A restaurant released CCTV footage as two families have been accused of “dine and dashing” at the location last week. The Greater Manchester restaurant said the missing £190 payment would have a “huge knock-on effect” on its business, and shared the footage after claiming it “became clear” the customers would not be returning, despite promising to pay up.
Sai Surbhi in Urmston, which has won numerous accolades in the Asian Restaurant Awards, claimed that two families tucked into a selection of curries, sides and children’s meals before allegedly leaving the premises without payment. Owners Raman Kaur and Narinder Singh Athwa said the women and children in the group left the restaurant while two men “tried five different cards and called various people to transfer money”.
They left after saying they had “no way of paying”, but promised to clear their debts the following day, according to the restaurant.
When the money reportedly never came, the restaurant made a public plea to make the customers aware that they still needed to pay.
In a new post on social media, the owners have shared CCTV footage in a bid to “warn other businesses”.
The post claimed: “We have to do it as it’s become clear and obvious they are not paying and this is to warn other businesses in the area and beyond… Here are the CCTV stills of the people responsible for the ‘dine and dash’ of just under £200 last week.
“Also we want to thank everyone for their support, everyone coming in to support us, kind phone calls & messages of local community spirit – Urmston and beyond you are amazing!”
Raman told the Manchester Evening News that the customers had made a booking for two adults and two children 15 minutes before arriving at the restaurant. Eight people arrived, but the restaurant allowed it because it was the start of service.
Talking about the impact of the dine and dash, they said it didn’t feel fair and claimed it was happening more often to many restaurants.
She said: “We have to bear the brunt of it, the more you speak to people, the more they have a similar story.
“The majority of people come in with the intention of having their meal and paying, but it’s not the first time that’s happened to us, we’ve had one recently in Preston too, but you just don’t want the trouble either.”