Diner calls out Melbourne restaurant for not including GST on menu items
Angry Reddit users are at it again, this time taking aim at a Melbourne restaurant that has failed to put GST costs on its menu.
The disgruntled diner was left to work out the full cost of his meal, with each item on the receipt showing the same price as the menu, with GST added to the subtotal.
"If you thought weekend surcharges were bad..." the Reddit user posted on Saturday. The user posted a picture of the restaurant menu with the caption "prices exclude GST".
The Reddit pile on then started with one user saying, "That's illegal in Australia," while others noted this as a common practice in other countries.
Yahoo News contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for comment.
A spokesperson for the organisation said, "businesses must display a total price of a product or service as a single figure. This price must be the minimum total cost — the lowest amount a customer could pay, including any taxes, duties and unavoidable or pre-selected extra fees."
The ACCC states that businesses must not display wrong or misleading prices.
Penalties do apply if businesses breach the law.
"If a business breaks the rules about displaying prices, we can investigate," the ACCC spokesperson said.
"Your first step is to contact the business to explain the problem."
Both the diner and Yahoo reached out to the business, but so far, no response has been received.
Jonathan Jackson, 20th September 2023
