2 weeks ago
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Diners at a Shoreditch restaurant have been left with a bitter aftertaste after seemingly being charged for the 'privilege of paying their bill'.
One customer shared a picture of a digital receipt from their visit to Italian restaurant Gloria on Sunday, March 28, where they were hit with a bizarre extra charge.
Upon receiving their bill, the customer was subject to not only a 13.5% service charge, totalling £26.15, but also a 'Sunday checkout fee' of £2.99.
This brought the total paid for the meal from £193.50 to a whopping £222.64 - leaving the diners reeling after claiming they were forced to use a QR code to pay.
Taking to social media the diner shared an image of their bill and asked users if being charged for paying their bill was standard.
The 'Sunday checkout fee' is a charge added to every bill for using an app called 'Sunday' to pay a restaurant bill.
Unfortunately for diners at Gloria, using the Sunday app to pay a bill is the only option available.
The Italian restaurant located at Great Eastern Street is part of the Big Mamma restaurants group.
The Gloria in Shoreditch (pictured) where one customer was seemingly charged a Sunday checkout fee for paying their bill
The total bill came to a whopping £222.64 with the service charge and checkout fee included
Social media was left outraged by the odd 'checkout fee' and a number of users took it upon themselves to leave one-star reviews of the restaurant in revenge.
On top of the non-optional service fee and the bizarre Sunday 'checkout fee', the restaurant allegedly refused to accept the diners' cards.
The diners claim they were subsequently forced to pay their bill on a website using a QR code and manually typing in their card details.
The hospitality app was launched by the team behind Gloria and was created with the aim of saving people time at the end of their meal.
Christine de Wendel of Zalando and Big Mamma restaurant founders launched the app which allows diners to scan a QR code, split the bill with a friend and tip in 'as little as 10 seconds'.
An image of the bizarre bill was shared to social media by the dissatisfied diner yesterday with the caption: 'Is Gloria in Shoreditch the only restaurant that charges you for the privilege of paying your bill?'
The social media post received over 1,600 likes and more than 440 comments from users who were quick to vent their fury at the cheeky 'checkout fee'.
One user commented: 'It actually borders tacky. Would put it on their Google reviews, they might not be aware that it shows up like that, or that it just ruins the whole experience.
'They might see it and reconsider. People are sick to the back teeth of booking places, bonkers service charges and still expecting tips, and now stupid things like this.
'It's for their own good they know about this!'
Another added: 'This needs stamping out fast before it spreads. I hope the restaurant gets boycotted until they see sense.'
A third wrote: 'I've done my bit and left a one-star review.'
Another commented: 'Sounds like a great reason to remove the service charge.'
Gloria, which is run by Big Mamma group, has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
