{"id":809,"date":"2025-07-25T13:56:36","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T13:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/?p=809"},"modified":"2025-07-30T15:39:25","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T15:39:25","slug":"londoners-outraged-over-stupid-new-charge-being-added-to-restaurant-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/25\/londoners-outraged-over-stupid-new-charge-being-added-to-restaurant-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Londoners outraged over \u2018stupid\u2019 new charge being added to restaurant bills"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Man\t<\/div>
As part of the scheme, customers can donate \u00a31.23 towards planting a tree (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you’re the type of person who seethes when a service charge<\/a> is automatically slapped onto your restaurant bill<\/a>, you probably won’t like this.<\/p>\n

On Reddit’s London<\/a> thread, tauhou_ posted a picture of their receipt from The Pig and Butcher in Islington, highlighting a discretionary ‘Carbon Free’ fee that had been added to their total meal price.<\/p>\n

Commenters didn’t hold back on sharing their thoughts, describing the charge<\/a> as ‘stupid and sneaky,’ ‘a load of b******s,’ and a ‘total scam’.<\/p>\n

‘More rinsing of customers with climate change<\/a> as the excuse,’ wrote Both-Ad-7037, while Fritti_T added: ‘Yet another way to nickel and dime us.’<\/p>\n

According to Noble Inns, The Pig and Butcher’s parent company, all tables (regardless of guest numbers or total spend) are asked to give a flat \u00a31.23 to either of the two corporate social responsibility projects it supports; GiftTrees and Street Smart.<\/p>\n

A representative for the firm told Metro<\/strong>: ‘This is optional and we explain this to customers. They can just ask to remove it<\/a>. So far this calendar year our customers have donated \u00a331,000 to GiftTrees and \u00a39,211.75 to Street Smart.’ <\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Waitress\t<\/div>
Discretionary charges are a controversial topic (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Street Smart supports homeless charities, meaning the charge tauhou_ spotted on their check likely refers to GiftTrees’s Carbon Friendly Dining (CFD) Initiative, created alongside payment system provider Lightspeed. <\/p>\n

This allows diners to ‘offset the environmental impact of their meal’ by putting money towards trees being planted in the developing world, with a GiftTrees spokesperson telling Metro<\/strong> that more than 12 million diners from hundreds of restaurants have ‘happily contributed’ to the planting of over 4.5 million trees.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tHear from someone in favour of the charge \t\t\t<\/h2>\n
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Adam Miller is one customer that’s not upset by the charges. He explains: <\/p>\n

‘I\u2019ve eaten in The Pig and Butcher and I think this kind of initiative is not only reasonable \u2014 it\u2019s inspired.<\/p>\n

‘I\u2019m a sucker for a restaurant with good ethos and if anything I’d like to see more follow suit. I try to be environmentally conscious in most areas of life, but I hadn\u2019t really considered the carbon impact of eating out.<\/p>\n

‘I understand that people want to enjoy a meal without feeling preached to, but a light nudge toward greater consciousness can go a long way.<\/p>\n

‘If you can afford dinner at The Pig and Butcher where the standard price for a main is \u00a330, odds are you can afford \u00a31.23 \u2014 and if you can\u2019t or don\u2019t want to pay it, you don\u2019t have to. <\/p>\n

‘I appreciate eating out is already expensive but indulgence usually has consequences and those consequences need to be paid for.’<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

However, there’s more to it than just saving the planet. Although signing up comes at no cost to companies, the scheme’s website lists perks ranging from free marketing and enhanced sustainability to ‘more, happier customers, better online reviews and happier staff.’<\/p>\n

Additionally, CFD and Lightpseed partners receive one ‘sustainable credit’ for every five trees planted by their diners’ contributions, which they can put towards Lightspeed products.<\/p>\n

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Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">Do you think adding a ‘Carbon Free’ fee to bills is fair or sneaky?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>This seemed to be the crux of some Redditors’ criticism, but others were angriest at the fact they’d have to opt out of the payment.<\/p>\n<p>‘It\u2019s ridiculous that some restaurants are now charging diners for carbon offsetting schemes,’ consumer champion and customer service consultant Jane Hawkes (<a href=\"http:\/\/ladyjaney.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">also known as Lady Janey<\/a>) tells <strong>Metro<\/strong>. <\/p>\n<p>‘These kinds of extra charges are becoming increasingly common and can be incredibly confusing for customers. Whether it\u2019s a \u2018carbon free\u2019 dining fee, an automatic service charge or a sustainability levy, the result is the same; the final bill is higher than expected.’ <\/p>\n<p>When a fee is discretionary, a customer is ‘under no obligation to pay it’. But Jane advises restaurants to focus on ‘clarity and choice’, and avoid quietly tacking extra costs on at the end of a meal.<\/p>\n<p>She adds: ‘If a business wants to operate more sustainably, that\u2019s a decision they should build into their pricing, not pass the cost directly to unsuspecting customers. During ongoing turbulent times for the hospitality industry, establishments that prioritise transparency, honesty, and trust are far more likely to retain customer loyalty.’<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\" data-ico=\"factbox_article\" data-track-module=\"factbox_article\">\n<h2 class=\"factbox-title\">\n\t\t\t\tThe rules around discretionary charges\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p>Jane explains: ‘Any additional charge must be clearly communicated, verbally or in writing, before you place your order. <\/p>\n<p>‘Even if a service charge is described as mandatory, you have the right to request removal if the service was poor or the charge wasn\u2019t made clear in advance. <\/p>\n<p>‘Equally if you were unaware of a “carbon free” dining fee, you can request for it to be removed from your bill.’ <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom-start\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom centered\"><\/section>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom-end\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom centered\"><a class=\"comment-now metro-button metro-comments-cta\" data-vars-position=\"bottom_cta_question\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"comment-now__label\">Do you think adding a ‘Carbon Free’ fee to bills is fair or sneaky?<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As part of the scheme, customers can donate \u00a31.23 towards planting a tree (Picture: Getty Images) If you’re the type of person who seethes when a service charge is automatically slapped onto your restaurant bill, you probably won’t like this. On Reddit’s London thread, tauhou_ posted a picture of their receipt from The Pig and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":811,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":814,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809\/revisions\/814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.answerla.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}