Which? Adds to service charge ban call

The Earl of Bradford's campaign to abolish service charges received a boost this week from a survey showing that the majority of customers want to see the practice ended.

In a survey published today by Which? magazine, 85% of 1,200 regular restaurant diners interviewed preferred either to see service included in the price of a meal (52%) or to have no extra service added (33%).

According to Which?, both options would achieve the same result, namely that the price on the menu would translate to the price on the bill.

Lord Bradford's private member's bill, which aims to ban service and cover charges and replace these with all-inclusive pricing, is scheduled for its second reading on 10 January.

Which? editor Helen Parker said: "The message is clear - scrap service charges. It's up to diners to decide whether a tip is justified or not."

The survey discovered that more than half the respondents did not know that in some circumstances they could refuse to pay a service charge added to or included in their bill. Few of those who did know were aware of the circumstances under which refusal to pay was legal.

Similar confusion applies to cover charges, levied for items such as bread. Some 38% did not know what a cover charge was for, while 31% thought it was a tip or a service charge. The survey showed an overwhelming preference - 73% - for scrapping cover charges.