Scam of the week

If you book a table and fail to show you’re breaching a contract and a restaurant could claim compo if it suffers a loss. It’s unlikely to take you to court but if you paid a deposit or left your credit card details – now fairly common – you may lose the deposit or a payment is taken from your card. If the restaurant cancels your confirmed booking you would be entitled to be reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses incurred, if any, in finding an alternative restaurant. FOOD AND DRINK QUALITY It must be of satisfactory quality and as described on the menu. Failure to deliver this will mean restaurant is in breach of contract and you can ask for it to be changed or refuse to pay for that particular part of the meal. BAD SERVICE At a restaurant you pay for the food, ambience and service. If the service is bad you can claim a reduction in the bill. I HEARD about fake rubbish collections last year and this week new reports of this have been rolling in. Fraudsters prey on streets where the local council has moved to fortnightly household bin collections and offer a service whereby they collect on the weeks that the council do not. They typically ask for advance payment of four to six weeks of fees. Unsurprisingly you never hear from them again. If someone knocks on your door trying to sell something I advise you to say no. If someone tries to sell you a service and asks for payment in advance say no unless you know them or it’s a recognisable brand and you are sure it’s genuine.