It’s always a good idea to check your bill before leaving a restaurant as one Japanese customer learned the hard way at a Vung Tau eatery last month.
The incident which occurred on January 19 at the Hao Long Son Restaurant wherein a Japanese tourist and their Vietnamese friend, Le Thi Hong Thanh, were charged VND22 million, 10 times the actual price.
The restaurant’s owner, Nguyen Nhu Khanh, said that the “mistake” occurred when he charged the customer’s credit card VND22 million instead of VND2.2 million, a claim that would have been more believable had the restaurant not been previously been fined VND12.5 million for ripping off a group of Japanese and Vietnamese tourists back in 2013.
Thanh detected the overcharge on the way back to a hotel. Upon returning to Hao Long Son, they found the restaurant closed and contacted its owner the following morning.
Though Khanh reportedly withdrew the difference from the bank that day, he was not available when the customers returned and only reimbursed the funds a week later.
Authorities, not happy with the owner's actions, slapped a three month suspension on the eatery earlier this week and Khanh has been barred from doing any restaurant business in the city.
Sadly, these situations occur way more frequently than they should and sometimes on a much larger scale.
[Photo via Steve Snodgrass]
