Fed up with eatery fee
Source: Xinhua |
March 16, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S restaurant diners are entitled to refuse to pay charges for disinfected eating utensils, a lawyer with China Consumers' Association said yesterday, the World Consumer Rights Day.
The statement followed an open letter that denounced the practice of charging for sterilized dishes as groundless and a violation of consumers' rights. The letter was jointly released on Sunday by consumers' associations of 22 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
An Niannian, the lawyer, said the statement in the letter was justified.
Providing sterilized utensils was a fundamental obligation of restaurants and the cost should not be borne by consumers, An said.
"It's tacitly included in the dining service contract when the order is given," An said. "They are not entitled to charge, no matter whether they notify customers or not."
Sets of sterilized dishes normally cost 1 to 2 yuan (15 to 29 US cents) at small and medium-sized restaurants in China. The sets containing plates, bowls, cups and glasses, usually come wrapped in plastic film.
The charge was rarely seen before 2007 when food safety authorities in Beijing encouraged restaurants to sterilize dishes.
After that, some restaurants started charging and the practice spread across the country.
"Is it implied that we should carry our own dinnerware when dining," said an Internet post by "Hairy Bear."
The statement followed an open letter that denounced the practice of charging for sterilized dishes as groundless and a violation of consumers' rights. The letter was jointly released on Sunday by consumers' associations of 22 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
An Niannian, the lawyer, said the statement in the letter was justified.
Providing sterilized utensils was a fundamental obligation of restaurants and the cost should not be borne by consumers, An said.
"It's tacitly included in the dining service contract when the order is given," An said. "They are not entitled to charge, no matter whether they notify customers or not."
Sets of sterilized dishes normally cost 1 to 2 yuan (15 to 29 US cents) at small and medium-sized restaurants in China. The sets containing plates, bowls, cups and glasses, usually come wrapped in plastic film.
The charge was rarely seen before 2007 when food safety authorities in Beijing encouraged restaurants to sterilize dishes.
After that, some restaurants started charging and the practice spread across the country.
"Is it implied that we should carry our own dinnerware when dining," said an Internet post by "Hairy Bear."
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