Man shocked after noticing hefty ‘sneaky fees’ on his dinner bill

An Aussie diner has slammed a Sydney restaurant for adding four ‘sneaky’ charges to his dinner bill.

Taking to Reddit, the young man fumed over the extra costs added to his mid-week meal which included a blind $3 fee for each drink – with no explanation.

He said the restaurant staff also added a two per cent card surcharge, a two per cent service fee and a ten per cent ‘system charge’ – adding nearly 15 per cent to the total cost of the meal.

The restaurant couldn’t offer him a paper receipt so he only noticed the extra charges once he got home – and checked the docket they sent to his email.

‘Normally I don’t care if I have a bad experience or if I get hit with smaller, undeclared surcharges but this was just not right,’ the man said.  

‘They’re straight up lying and stealing and…the menu prices were already exorbitant for the quality.’

He claimed the whole experience was awful. 

‘They’re doing this everyday to unsuspecting people and getting away with it,’ he said.

He then questioned whether he should report the business. 

Hundreds of people commented on the man’s post and revealed they have been stung by similar charges.

‘The transparency is the point…we want them to tell us upfront,’ one man said. 

‘As someone with a small business it’s much better to add any extras in to the main price, once you add it as an additional item that’s when the squealing starts,’ another said. 

‘I think the vast majority of people would rather pay $23 on the menu than $20 plus two percent, plus three percent, plus 10 per cent,’ another person agreed.

‘At least you know what you’re paying for when you place the order. At the moment it’s basically mystery pricing,’ a third person said. 

Others suggested surprise charges have become so common diners should ask up front what to expect. 

Some people agreed the angry diner should take his complaint to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

The ACCC forbids businesses from not properly notifying customers of any surcharges they will incur. 

Others didn’t think the man needed to do anything at all to call the restaurant to account.

‘In this climate, they are not long for this world,’ he said. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the restaurant for comment and chosen not to name it.

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