Cafes and restaurants adding automatic service charges to bills as customers increasingly go cashless

Customers are being hit with service charges automatically added to their food and drinks bills, as the decline in cash payments means fewer tips for staff.

Cafes, restaurants and food delivery services have all been accused of imposing the extra amount on card-paying patrons.

Some customers have been shocked to find service charges as hefty as 12.5 per attached to their bills, The Telegraph reports.

Hospitality expert Steve Hesketh attributed the trend to the growing use of contactless card payments.

He said: ‘Card machine use has seen a decline in casual tips.

Customers are being hit with service charges automatically added to their food and drinks bills, as the decline in cash payments means fewer tips for staff

Cafes, restaurants and food delivery services have all been accused of imposing the extra amount on card-paying patrons

‘A quick coffee almost doesn’t seem right to charge a service fee on, but certainly hotels are doing this.’

Among cafes, greasy spoon-themed chain The Breakfast Club and coffee bars grind and Lavazza have been known to add service charges to users sitting in with a cup of coffee.

Some independent chains have been accused of including the charge on takeaway drinks.

The Art Cafe in Oxford receive a backlash after adding 53p to a customer’s £3.50 latte. A local student said they felt forced to pay the tip when it appeared on their phone.

In 2020, food delivery service Deliveroo faced a calls for a boycott from customers after it announced plans to add a service charge to orders made using its app.