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"Dine and dash" is a phrase used to describe a person that has not paid for their meal at a restaurant. The act usually involves the client placing an order, consuming it, and then exiting the establishment before or after being presented with the bill and not paying the amount that is owed to the restaurant. The action is often considered to be a form oftheft.
In theUnited Kingdom, dine and dashes are prosecuted asmaking off without payment.[1]
In theUnited States, legal implications vary by state. When the customer intended in advance to leave their bill unpaid and therefore obtained the valuable services under false pretenses, failing to pay the bill is considered theft and is a form of criminal fraud.[2] The diner's intent differentiates the civil case of failing to pay a bill from the criminal act ofdefrauding an innkeeper.[2] In Michigan,defrauding an innkeeper is a specialized statutorymisdemeanor offense, with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and a fine of up to$500 and possibleprobation for up to 2 years. It can be charged either under state law or local ordinance. Thegravamen of this offense involves failure to pay an incurred bill at a bar, cafe, hotel, motel or restaurant with intent todefraud the business establishment.[3] In one case, a man was arrested and charged with 10 felonies after 13 women who dated him footed the bill after he fled.[4][5]
Sometimes, employers may make their employees recoup the cost of customer theft. They may do so explicitly by deducting unpaid meals fromwages ortips, or implicitly through an end-of-shift reconciliation system whereby the server is expected to provide enough cash and credit card receipts to cover the cost of their customers' meals, and keep any surplus as tips. Many jurisdictions consider this to bewage theft, with the employer being liable for paying back the server's stolen wages.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
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