'Awful. Wouldn't go there': Restaurants attacked by 'dine and dash' woman in new twist
The woman accused of "dining and dashing" at Perth restaurants has reportedly threatened a string of restaurants who have exposed her, making abusive phone calls and leaving bogus negative reviews on social media.
A number of venues have since come forward to claim the woman and a male accomplice allegedly tricked staff into walking away with a free meal.
Elmar’s in the Valley, in Henley Brook, shared the couple's image on Facebook, claiming the couple left without paying for a three-course meal last Saturday.
Since then, other Perth venues have spoken out about the couple allegedly targeting their businesses, including Terrazza in Applecross, the Floreat Hotel, Bistro Bellavista in East Perth and Daddy Long Legs in East Victoria Park.
Toby Evans, owner of 3Sheets restaurant at Hillarys, claims the couple struck twice last year, both times leaving without paying for $250 worth of food and drinks, The West Australian reports.
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“When we got done I made it my mission to get them caught, so as soon as I saw Elmar’s had got done I got in touch with them and said it was the same MO,” Mr Evans said.
The woman believed to be one half of the dine-and-dash couple, has allegedly since threatened establishments that have shown her picture or publicly reported being scammed, including Elmar's.
“They’ve been ringing up, leaving abusive messages at Elmar’s in the Valley, abusive messages on the answer machine which the police have got, I know that for a fact,” Mr Evans told The West Australian.
It’s believed the woman goes by a handful of aliases, including Lois Loder, Lois Lang, Lois Lynn and Hope Lang.
A woman identifying herself as Lois Lynn sent a Facebook message to one restaurant owner who wished to remain anonymous, threatening to post negative online reviews unless the restaurant removed posts about the dine-and-dash incidents.
The Royal on the Waterfront also came forward reporting abusive phone calls soon after media reports revealing the restaurant had also been a victim of the scam.
A police spokeswoman confirmed they were aware of the incidents and they were investigating, however no charges have been laid yet.
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Mr Evans said media exposure about the dine-and-dash scammers was positive for the industry, making other restaurant owners aware of the tactics scammers used, while also making potential thieves aware their actions would be caught on CCTV.
“All the restaurants are part of the same sort of Facebook groups, they put a picture on that and it goes to all the venues like wildfire,” he said.
“What has happened now is the biggest deterrent to anybody because would you want to do a dine and dash after this?”
