A family who were falsely called out on social media for ‘dining and dashing’ have been awarded £75,000 after the pub admitted its mistake.
Peter and Ann McGirr, along with their children Peter Jr and Carol, visited The Horse and Jockey in the Peak District last year for a family meal.
After enjoying some proper pub grub and pints, they paid up and headed out, only for the pub to post a video of them on Facebook with CCTV footage, alleging that they had left without paying the £150 bill.
Given the rising number of dine and dash cases in the UK, which are no doubt harming local businesses already struggling with the cost of living crisis, it’s easy to see why the pub was upset when they falsely believed the family had done a runner.
Now, they’ve sacked the server (Google/The Horse and Jockey)
Last year even saw one Welsh couple jailed after they racked up a bill of over £1000 in several restaurants, without ever intending to pay the bill.
However, in this particular case, it was the fault of the restaurant, as the ‘inexperienced’ staff member took the card payment but didn’t put it through the till, but the damage was already done.
While the pub landlord Sam Watson issued an apology, sacked the staff member and even reportedly flew out to Ireland to offer them a free meal, they turned him down and instead pursued a lawsuit, using their millions to pay off the legal fees.
The family’s lawyers told the court that these claims had caused significant damage to the family’s reputation, as they are known as one of the richest families in their local area, thanks to the thriving McGirr Engineering business which is said to be worth over £2 million.
They told the court: “These articles contained serious and defamatory accusations that the plaintiffs had engaged in dishonest and criminal conduct by deliberately absconding without settling a bill of approximately £150.
“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.”
The punters were blasted online by the pub (Facebook/The Horse and Jockey)
A family friend of the McGirrs’ added: “They are very well known and respected in the Omagh area and are one of the wealthiest families around here.
“Everybody was very shocked when these allegations were first made because the McGirrs are not short of a pound or two.
“Some people just couldn’t understand why people as rich as them would do something like this and a lot of horrible things were said about them, not just on social media but by some within the community.
“It was a very difficult time for the family because they knew all along that they were innocent.”
Mr Watson was also reportedly set back another £60,000 in legal costs.
