A MOFFAT landlady was forced to call the police after a group of men refused to pay their £300 bill.
Black Bull Inn owner Janie Seaton has told of her “unpleasant” ordeal whilst working at the “extremely busy” premises earlier this month.
It was the first Saturday night since the pub and eatery re-opened and she had accepted a booking for a table of seven.
But after several rounds of drinks and food, six of the men told Janie they would not be forking out for it.
This led to Janie phoning the police and eventually the six dine and dashers paid up.
Recalling the events, Janie said: “We had a booking come through for seven people for the beer garden but it was freezing cold and told them we had a table inside for them.
“They were already a bit snippy and were being difficult. At one point I walked past them and one of them said that the tables were wonky and to re-fill his wine because he spilled it.
“It was a big booking so I sucked it up and decided to just give him an extra wine.
“They settled a wee bit and we had a bit of banter, but I did get the impression they were a bit misogynistic.”
Janie found out the group were from down south and were staying at a nearby hotel.
After they had their main courses, the men complained that the meals were “awful” and weren’t going to pay for them.
Janie accepted that two were valid complaints and she knocked £100 off the food bill.
She added: “They were ganging up on my manager. Something in me didn’t want to argue. It had been an exhausting day and we were still going to receive £300.
“They accepted that and thanked us for that.”
But when the group were leaving, Janie caught wind that they wouldn’t be stumping up the cash for the drinks and the rest of their food because they “didn’t have a good experience”.
Janie added: “I said they owed me £300 and we got into a stand off.
“Six of the seven refused to pay, the other one paid up and walked away, I think he was embarrassed by it.
“They were ganging up on us but I told them I was phoning the police.
“They thought I was bluffing but I dialled 999 right in front of them. They thought I was faking it so I handed the phone to one of them and his face was a picture.
“He tried to argue with the police that I was ripping him off! You couldn’t make it up.
“After that he handed me the phone back and I kept talking to them.”
At that point, the men quickly exited the pub and Janie quickly thought on her feet.
She added: “We knew they would be heading to The Coachman Bar next before it was the only other place open at that time.
“We quickly phoned them about what had happened. They were brilliant.
“They refused the men drink, told them to get out and that they wouldn’t be able to get a drink in Moffat ever again.
“The men then came back and tapped at our window. It was intimidating and we just ignored them. Locked the doors. We didn’t know what they were like. It was quite sinister.”
Once police arrived at the scene, they hauled the group one-by-one to pay the bill.
Janie added: “They spoke with the six and explained the legal situation and told me they were now going to pay.
“They brought them in one by one with a police officer flanking either side of them.
“The police stood by until they made the payment and to ensure there was no further bother.”
But the saga didn’t stop there as Janie claims the men have been leaving fake negative online reviews about the pub.
However, she has thanked people for their support during a testing time.
She said: “We’ve had overwhelming and fantastic support. It has blown me away how kind the general public have been.
“We’ve had so many private messages saying well done for sticking for the hospitality sector.”
