If a party of 6 came to eat at my restaurant and 2 people left without paying, am I allowed to charge their cards?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
If a party of 6 came to eat at my restaurant and 2 people left without paying, am I allowed to charge their cards?
The other 4 paid but from the way they responded it seems liked they’ve repeated this process before. We called the cops but he wasn’t able to do anything about it. He only asked for the description of what they looked like and left. Is there anything that we can do?
Asked on July 27, 2015 under Business Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
No, you may not simply charge their cards without their agreement to pay, such as is typically indicated when they sign the invoice/bill/receipt. Without such consent, charging their cards could be considered theft.
Your recourse is to sue them, such as in small claims court, for the money they owe you--only if a court rules you are entitled to the money can you get it from them if they will not pay voluntarily.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.