dine and dash
{{Short description|Form of theft by fraud}}
{{About||the casual strategy game|Diner Dash|the song by The Chats|High Risk Behaviour}}
{{Globalize|date=April 2010}}
"Dine and dash" is a phrase used to describe a person who has not paid for their meal at a restaurant. It involves placing an order, consuming it and then leaving, without paying, before or after being presented with the bill. It is often considered a form of theft or fraud.
Legal aspects
In the United Kingdom dine and dashes are prosecuted as making off without payment.{{cite web |last1=Nsubuga |first1=Jimmy |title=Police hunt 'notorious dine-and-dash couple who constantly flee restaurants without paying' |url=https://sg.news.yahoo.com/police-hunt-dine-and-dash-couple-southend-essex-131717086.html |website=Yahoo News! |date=24 February 2024 |access-date=25 May 2024}}
In the United States legal implications vary by US state. When the customer intended in advance to leave their bill unpaid and therefore obtained the valuable services under false pretenses, failing to pay the bill is considered theft and is a form of criminal fraud. The diner's intent differentiates the civil case of failing to pay a bill from the criminal act of defrauding an innkeeper.{{Cite web |last=Harness |first=Jill |date=2019-11-19 |title=It's Not Only Illegal to Dine and Dash, It Could Even be a Felony |url=https://vistacriminallaw.com/is-it-illegal-to-dine-and-dash/ |access-date=2023-04-06 |website=Vista DUI Lawyer and Criminal Attorney Peter M. Liss |language=en-US}} In Michigan, defrauding an innkeeper is a specialized statutory misdemeanor offense, with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a fine of up to US$500 and possible probation for up to 2 years. It can be charged either under state law or local ordinance. The gravamen of this offense involves failure to pay an incurred bill at a bar, cafe, hotel, motel or restaurant with intent to defraud the business establishment.{{cite web |title=MCL 750.292 |url=http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(cwwksxmpers05yora5ye5p1h))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectName=mcl-750-292 |publisher=Michigan legislature |access-date=March 19, 2020}} In one case, a man was arrested and charged with 10 felonies after 13 women who dated him footed the bill after he fled.{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-edition-1.4803065/dine-and-dasher-s-date-shocked-when-she-s-left-with-250-bill-1.4804781 |title=Dine-and-dasher's date 'shocked' when she's left with $250 bill |publisher=CBC Radio |date=August 30, 2018 |access-date=March 19, 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46297540 |title=Los Angeles 'dine-and-dash' dater sentenced |work=BBC News |access-date=2019-05-07}}
Sometimes, employers may make their employees recoup the cost of customer theft. They may do so explicitly by deducting unpaid meals from wages or tips, or implicitly through an end-of-shift reconciliation system whereby the server is expected to provide enough cash and credit card receipts to cover the cost of their customers' meals, and keep any surplus as tips. Many jurisdictions consider this to be wage theft, with the employer being liable for paying back the server's stolen wages.{{cite news|title=The costs of getting stiffed shouldn't be the server's to pay|first=Connie|last=Schultz|date=December 15, 2009|url=http://www.cleveland.com/schultz/index.ssf/2009/12/the_costs_of_getting_stiffed_s.html|publisher=Cleveland Live}}{{cite web|publisher=Ministry of Labour (Ontario)|title=Payment of Wages|url=http://www.labour.gov.on.ca/english/es/pubs/guide/paywage.php|date=November 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.labour.gov.bc.ca/esb/igm/esa-part-3/igm-esa-s-21.htm|author=British Columbia Ministry of Labour and Citizens' Services|year=2005|title=Interpretation Guidelines Manual: British Columbia Employment Standards Act and Regulations}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs16.pdf|author=U.S. Department of Labor|author-link=U.S. Department of Labor|year=2009|title=Fact Sheet #16: Deductions From Wages for Uniforms and Other Facilities Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)}}
{{cite web|publisher=Government of Alberta|title=Deductions that are not allowed |url=http://employment.alberta.ca/documents/Deductions-from-Earnings.pdf|date=September 2011}}{{cite news|work=USA Today|title=Ask HR: Are servers liable for 'dine and dash' customers?|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/careers/2018/05/29/ask-hr-servers-liable-dine-and-dash-customers/646014002/}}
See also
{{wikt}}
- Democracy Manifest video – A video formerly identified as depicting a dine-and-dasher in Australia being arrested, which has become an Internet meme
- Edward Dando – A 19th-century criminal notorious for refusing to pay after eating exorbitant amounts of oysters in London
- List of restaurant terminology
- Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner