Illegal not to serve water?

Mikah75

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went to a chinese restaurant yesterday, £10 all you can eat was amazing BUT.... being a cheap student as i am, went to the bar to get a drink and asked for a pint of tap water with ice and he said "sorry we dont sell tap water" i replied laughing "i wasn't intending to pay for it" and he said "we dont have tap water" me laughing in his face again replied "i'm pretty certain it's illegal not to serve free tap water in bars/clubs and resturants" and he grunted at me and walked off!

what a load of bullshit, i should shop that chinese bastards restaurant. i had to pay £1.60 for a fucking bottle of water
 

tris-

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if they sell booze i think they also have to supply free tap water. on a side note its also illegal for him not to have a clean source of water for his employees. they must have free access to as much clean tap water as they want :p
 

Jeremiah

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Its just their way of making sure no one drinks for free. And since they pay their water bills, I guess they are free to do with it what they like. I might be wrong of course, but I would imagine the law is on their side - unless there is a law about providing free water in an eating establishment =)
 

Thadius

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The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 states that "Tap water fit for drinking must be provided free of charge on request."

As regards England and Wales the BBC Consumer FAQs include this:

While a restaurant can't force you to buy bottled mineral water, it can legitimately charge you for providing tap water, as mean as it might sound. The provision of any water includes an element of service, such as pouring the water into a jug and/or glass and cleaning the jug and/or glass.

Found this out too

Pubs and Inns are obliged to provide free tap water. Restaurants are not. Soda water used to be provided free and still is in some pubs, however this is not obligatory and landlords may charge for it if they so wish.
 

Jeremiah

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The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 states that "Tap water fit for drinking must be provided free of charge on request."

Excellent! Theres a Chinese buffet in Edinburgh I'll be trying this out in :clap:
 

Thadius

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Excellent! Theres a Chinese buffet in Edinburgh I'll be trying this out in :clap:

That is how the buffets make the money, they charge silly prices for drinks. Not to mention the 10% service charge.
 

Overdriven

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That is how the buffets make the money, they charge silly prices for drinks. Not to mention the 10% service charge.

Much like how Pizza Hut add on tax/service charge and expect a tip XD (Odd story)
 

Dreamor

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The only thing I would say about paying for water is, in some places I would pay for bottles water as the local water gives me a bad throat (Midlands mostly)

£1.60 - thats cheap! :D
 

Sharma

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Much like how Pizza Hut add on tax/service charge and expect a tip XD (Odd story)

I'm a tight git, I don't tip.

In the US it's justified yes, but in the UK they can bloody fuck right off as I KNOW they're paid half decent amounts.

Oh and when they actually put "Reccomended tip" on my bill, I make it a point not to pay it.

I loathe restaurants demanding more money off you when it's pricey as it is!
 

old.Tohtori

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Tipping in pizza hut is almost like tipping the f*cking teen behind the counter at Maccy Ds' :eek6:
 

Thadius

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Tipping in pizza hut is almost like tipping the f*cking teen behind the counter at Maccy Ds' :eek6:

Wouldnt surprise me if I saw two teens fucking behind the counter, they do a shit job at making burgers so they must be doing something else
 

Mikah75

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I'm a tight git, I don't tip.

In the US it's justified yes, but in the UK they can bloody fuck right off as I KNOW they're paid half decent amounts.

Oh and when they actually put "Reccomended tip" on my bill, I make it a point not to pay it.

I loathe restaurants demanding more money off you when it's pricey as it is!

me too! i never fucking tip i pay enough for my food, and that service charge i always protest and all the staff scowl but i dont give a fuck, im not paying a tip. when i went to another chinese buffet thing they whacked a £30 service charge on without even asking, everyone was prepared to tip (except me) but the fact they try and knock it off as an included charge everyone refused
 

tris-

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you dont have to pay any charges that arnt made clear before you start eating.

but if there is a sign there beforehand saying you pay so much, then you have to pay :p
 

Thadius

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you dont have to pay any charges that arnt made clear before you start eating.

but if there is a sign there beforehand saying you pay so much, then you have to pay :p

Ill keep that in mind.

Is it part of a law or something?
 

Overdriven

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I'm a tight git, I don't tip.

In the US it's justified yes, but in the UK they can bloody fuck right off as I KNOW they're paid half decent amounts.

Oh and when they actually put "Reccomended tip" on my bill, I make it a point not to pay it.

I loathe restaurants demanding more money off you when it's pricey as it is!

Oh, I don't tip in certain palces tbh. Unless they deserve it. (If you want my opinion, watch the start of Reservoir Dogs) - I mean, 7-8 of us went there and the food came up to like £65 or something, then there was service tax AND VAT on it, so it came up to near enough £80 - Fuck that. Hense why I never go there :) Rip off, can go to a proper italian place near it, get a bigger pizza and beer for less than £10

Tipping in pizza hut is almost like tipping the f*cking teen behind the counter at Maccy Ds' :eek6:

Yeah, that's the point. It's stupid... I'd cry in laughter if I saw anyone tip at McD though.
 

Mojo

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If it was me I would have told the waiter to stick his bottled water up his arse and walked.
 

Ezteq

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i generally ask for soda water tbh then they cant get funny with me because its right there infront of them lol. when i was i amsterdam i almost fell off my chair at the one and only place that gave me tap water when i asked for water "just a glass of water pease>.." get brought $$ bottled water :( anyhoo this argentinian steak house (YUM!) didnt even blink he just brught me a tap water didnt even try to sell me a bottle was bloody best stak i ever had too.

chinese all you can eat places will hammer you on drinks because your getting a whopping meal for like £13- they hate me because i dont drink lol
 

Mikah75

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everywhere else i always get a jug of tap water and ice:p then stuff my face with 5 overflowing plates full until im content, stuffing the vegetable spring rolls in and shovelling in the chicken chow mein, omg i wanna go back
 

DocWolfe

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When I worked in MacDonalds we weren't allowed to serve tap water
 

Ezteq

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i just had a chinese twas grand! b2's gone ut for a works meal at a chinese place so i thought id get me a takeaway...spend all day tomorrow exercizzling it off though lol
 

Lamp

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It depends where the Chinese restaurant was. If it was inside the Chinese Embassy in London, then technically its on Chinese soil, and UK legislation doesn't apply.

Foreign diplomats can't be arrested or prosecuted for any offence under UK law. If, say, you're a Venezuelan diplomatic staff member, you can sit in the middle of a restaurant snorting cocaine, killing other patrons while taking a dump in the middle of the table singing Who Ate All the Pies in the style of Adolf Hitler.
 

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