Mum books out restaurant for daughter's 5th birthday – then flees without paying £6k bill

Mum books out restaurant for daughter's 5th birthday – then flees without paying £6k bill The mum sparked outrage over her 'dine and dash' attempt, which left the owner of the barbecue restaurant £6,000 out of pocket – and now police are investigating The owners of a barbecue restaurant Culleredo, northwestern Spain, have been left fuming after the organisers of a no expense spared birthday party disappeared – leaving a £6,000 bill. Carol Sao Luis explains that she received the initial booking in early August. "A woman called us wanting to organise a birthday party for her daughter. She told us it was important to have a big celebration because a family member had recently passed away, and the child was very sad. “She intended to invite a lot of people and wanted it all, so she booked every extra service we offered.” The customer was determined to spare no expense, Carol recalled: "It was 'yes' to everything, and she wanted more of everything: seafood, meat, cakes, appetisers, and an open bar. Admittedly, something about the booking seemed strange, but since I asked for a deposit [of €500] and she paid it, I decided not to overthink it." The day of the event arrived, and some 80 guests arrived, determined to enjoy their day: "In addition to all the food, there were inflatables for the kids, personalised bottles, and non-stop alcohol service for nearly three hours," Carol says. But as the evening wore on, Carol was becoming increasingly concerned. "It was getting late, and I wanted to go home, so I told the woman we needed to settle the bill. “We went to another area, and that’s when she told me she’d had an argument with her partner, who handled the finances, and couldn't pay me because she didn't have the money on her at the moment, though she promised to pay by the early hours of the morning at the latest." Some of the group had left this point, and while Carol and her husband were discussing what to do next, the remaining 40 or so guests also disappeared. Realising that the party host was among them, Carol decided to gather some evidence: "I managed to snap a photo of the car's license plate because I knew I might need it if I wanted to file a police report, which is exactly what ended up happening." Carol tried to contact the party host via WhatsApp, to follow up on the promised payment, only to be told that the money wasn’t coming: “She simply replied that we hadn't provided the agreed-upon services,” Carol said. She added: ”The police have already located the person involved, and they told me it likely constitutes fraud. Now we’ll see what happens, because €7,000 is a huge amount of money for a business like ours, and things like this can't be overlooked." She concludes: "Despite everything, I’d like my case to raise awareness, because 'dine-and-dash' incidents are all too common, though I hope no one else ever has to go through an ordeal as terrible as mine." Dine and dash crimes appear to be on the increase, and the owners of restaurants not just in Spain, but around the world are in danger of losing their livelihoods thanks to incidents of this kind. In the UK, Trade body UKHospitality reports that roughly one-third of its member venues have experienced a walkout. Of those affected, nearly 30% say the frequency of these events is increasing. The cost of living crisis is not only increasing prices, but leading to fewer staff being on duty in restaurants to keep an eye on potential “runners”. Many restaurants are now considering pre-payment schemes to reduce the risk of being left out of pocket.