GETAWAY PLOT
Shock moment gang of ‘dine and dash’ pensioners distract staff and ‘skip £100 bill’ after ordering most expensive items
The owner believes the walk-ins used a tactic to distract the server
THIS is the shocking moment a gang of “dine and dash” pensioners appeared to distract staff to allegedly skip out on a £100 bill.
CCTV shows the party-of-four as they leave the Med-Mex Restaurant and Bar in Hornsea, East Yorkshire, on Saturday November 11.
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The bill has now been covered over the phone after a member of the group called the restaurant.
Restaurant owner Racha Eid believes the group “planned this all along” by opting to sit in the seat nearest the door and indulging in some of the “most expensive” items on the menu including the beef stroganoff and “mile high tortilla pie”.
When the waitress went back to check if the group were happy with their meal, this is when Racha claims one of the customers said the beef was undercooked.
To compensate for this, staff offered the customer a free drink, but were shocked to find the diner still finished their meal.
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After eating, Racha said the group sat and enjoyed the live band for around an hour before ordering another round of drinks and this is when they fled the premises.
The owner of the Mexican-Italian restaurant now believes the walk-ins ordered the beverages to distract the server so they could dine and dash.
CCTV footage shows the diners get up from the table and put on their coats as the waitress is at the bar making their drinks order.
All four diners are then seen to check the till area behind them for staff members before swiftly exiting the restaurant without paying for their food.
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Racha, who owns the venue with her husband Claude, 47, said she was left "very upset" by the incident.
The mum-of-two said she posted the CCTV on Facebook shortly after the incident in the hopes that the group would return and pay-up but said no one has come forward.
Racha, from Hornsea in East Yorkshire, said: "It's been over 24 hours since it happened now and I don't think they will come back and pay.
"They were not local customers and were just walk-ins and I had never seen them before.
"The people [the party-of-four] came across as really posh and they were quite old. They seemed to be around 65 or 70."
"It has left me very upset because one of the customers had also complained about our meat.
"We have won an award for selling the best steak in Hornsea.
"Secondly, we are really nice people and everyone is struggling at the moment with all the prices going up. It really isn't fair.
"This has only ever happened once before and the lady came in the next day and apologise and paid up.
"This group could have easily messaged to say they had forgotten to pay but they haven't done so."
Racha had left the restaurant at 7pm that evening so was informed about the incident by a member of staff.
After watching the CCTV footage, the 37-year-old believes the diners had pre-planned the stunt.
Racha said: "They came into the restaurant around 6:30pm and sat at table one which is closest to the door.
"They sat in the restaurant part of the building and because we had a party going on in the bar area, we were absolutely rammed.
"If you look at the CCTV footage before they leave, you can see them all looking at the till to see if any staff are there.
"One of the guys in particular could be seen to keep looking back at the till to check if anyone was around.
"They were planning this all along."
Racha said since sharing the CCTV footage on social media and after reports appeared in the media, one of the diners has called the restaurant and paid the bill in full over the phone.
She said the customer spoke to her husband Claude today [TUES] at around 11:30am and was very upset and blamed the other couple for the incident as she believed they had paid for the bill on Saturday evening.
Racha said: "The woman called up the restaurant about 10 minutes ago [11:30am today] and spoke to my husband Claude.
"On the call she just blamed the other couple [she was dining with] and said that she thought they paid.
"She transferred the money and paid on the phone.
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"I think they saw the video everywhere and realised they had made a mistake."
The Sun has contacted Humberside police for comment.
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