Restaurants can't force you to pay service charge: Dept of Consumer Affairs

Eateries must inform customers that the charge will be waived if they aren't happy with the service

It is a practice restaurants use to extract the tip from you after you're through with the dining. Many have been known to add a 'service charge' in the range of 5-20 per cent, over and above the price of the meal and taxes.

However, there has a surge of complaints from consumers that they are being forced to pay this component, irrespective of the quality of service provided.

The Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has now addressed this grievance with a clarification issued on Monday, which states that service charge is a voluntary payment that a patron