Service charges in restaurants are a scam.

This petition is NOT about tipping.  It is about service charges which go directly to the restaurant. The frequent confusion between the two is part of the problem. The solution?  Get rid of service charges! 

You cannot imagine going into your supermarket, or a barber, or your local garage and receiving a bill with 12.5% added for service!  If you do not want that to begin, then sign the petition now to stop the scam in its tracks.  

Tips are always welcome by staff, but that is very different to a service charge, which is just a shady way to disguise extra profit. 

Legally, you must pay the charge if you are told about it in advance.  But what does that actually mean?  It can be something as trivial as the small print on the back of a menu, or a notice behind the bar - something you are likely to miss.  

Technically, you don't have to pay a 'voluntary' service charge.  However, we all understand they are not really voluntary.  In most cases, they are added and listed on the bill as a done deal.  There is clear pressure to pay.  Very few people are stubborn enough to refuse.  In fact, staff can be hostile or even threatening if you try (as I know from a restaurant here in Greenwich).  Besides, if you are on a night out, who wants to be scanning small print and arguing with waiters (and all your friends and family) and looking mean?  Nearly everyone just pays to avoid the embarrassment.  This is intimidation.  It probably falls short of the English laws on blackmail or extortion, but it is without doubt unethical.  It needs to stop.

The bottom line is, restaurants (especially in London) have found a way to bounce their customers into paying extra.  A lot extra.  The more unfamiliar you are with this scam (because you are a tourist, or irregular restaurant-user, or have bad eyesight!) then the more likely you are to be scammed.  This is no way to run a business.  Every menu should list items at the actual price you will pay. 

Of course, there is nothing to stop you tipping your waiter (or nurse, or decorator, or pharmacist...) as generously as you wish. From 2024, the law will even help to stop your tip from being stolen by management.  That is different from a service charge.  I have seen bills with service charge, then tips, then VAT.  That is madness. People have told me about a 25% service charge added to their bill.  That is a blatant scam. 

Sign the petition.  Stop the scam.  Don't let restaurant service charges  leave a bad taste in your mouth!