Now if you’ve ever been to Greece, and indeed there are quite a few countries where this can happen, you will often be accosted by restauranteurs anxious to attract you into their establishments.
Well it pays to be careful as a couple of American tourists found two their cost.
Mrs Moulton stated that an employee of the restaurant jumped in front of us and started saying persistently: ‘Sit here! Sit here!’”
Brenda Moulton and her 19-year old daughter, Kaylea, claim they were ‘lured’ into the DK Oyster bar in Platis Gialos beach, where they each enjoyed a mojito, along with some crab legs.
After finishing their drinks Mrs Moulton asked for the bill and was directed to a man sitting at a table who presented her with the bill totalling over €520 plus a demand for an €80 mandatory tip. Initially it did not list what they had ordered but when she told him that there must be some mistake and that the bill could not be theirs, and that there was no way she would be paying such an exorbitant sum, he responded by telling her that he would call the police – “and you will not return to your homeland. We can easily find where you live’.”
Faced with on going threats, Mrs Moulton reluctantly settled the bill but is now suing the restaurant for unfair and threatening behaviour.
And now a number of reviews on Trip Advisor have since surfaced to reveal that others have suffered similar experiences.
One review states,”You are lured in with happy waiters welcoming you in and sit you down with no menus but when you do see a menu there’s no prices listed. We ordered one cocktail apiece and 12 oysters and it was over £400. This place is a scam and needs to be investigated.”
And another said, “Big scam! They lure you in then charge some ridiculous amount for a simple appetiser and they are extremely rude! Stay away!!”
Earlier this year it was reported that another US tourist, Cheryl Lamphere had been charged $1,640 (£1,300) for two main dishes, a salad and some bread.
“When we challenged the bill every man in the restaurant got up and surrounded us, there were at least five of them, almost blocking us in. It was a very, very scary situation because we were six women being surrounded by five men,” she said.
Back in the safety of the UK, Margaret Mills took us on a trip to Dunmow to learn just what the Dunmow Flitch consists of.
It is in fact a side of bacon which is awarded to couples who can prove that over the course of a year and a day, have never had a row.
The custom dates back to the 12th century and the award is made every leap year.
Listen here to what Margaret told me on this subject: –
See you again next week,
Scott
