UK Pub Pays Family ₹85 Lakh Over False Claim Of Unpaid Bill, Exposing Them With CCTV Visuals

A reputed family from County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, received £75,000 (approx. ₹85 lakh) after a UK pub wrongly accused them of leaving without paying their bill and publicly shamed them using CCTV footage.

The incident took place at The Horse and Jockey pub in Tideswell, UK, where the McGirr family — owners of McGirr Engineering, a multimillion-pound enterprise — dined and paid for their meal. However, due to a staff error, the payment was not recorded in the system. According to reports, an employee had collected the bill amount but failed to enter it in their system. The result? It reflected that the family exited without clearing their payment.

CCTV visuals posted on Facebook

Unaware of the internal glitch, the pub assumed the bill remained unpaid and proceeded to post CCTV images of the family on Facebook, accusing them of walking out without paying for the dinner. The post labelled them as “dine-and-dashers,” leading to embarrassment for the respected individuals.

The allegations came as a shock to many who knew the McGirrs — an affluent family with business assets reportedly worth over £2 million and cash reserves of £1.3 million. “Everybody was very surprised by the accusations — they are not short of a pound,” a source told international media.

Legal action

The McGirrs took legal action against the pub for accusing them falsely.

Court documents later confirmed, “The allegations were entirely false. The plaintiffs had not engaged in any such conduct, and the statements made by the defendants had no factual basis.”

Following the legal proceedings, the pub admitted the mistake and agreed to compensate. They paid ₹85 lakh to the family, which also covered the McGirrs’ legal expenses.

It remains unclear whether any action was taken against the staff member who failed to record the payment in the system.

news