Woman slapped with £50,000 bill after making dozy mistake in restaurant

A woman who shared a picture of her food on social media was left red-faced when she was given a whopping bill at a restaurant in China - and blamed it on 'malicious' QR code users

For many foodies, snapping a quick pic of their meal and sharing it online is all part of the dining experience.

However, for one woman in China, this seemingly innocent act turned into an expensive blunder. The woman, known only by her surname Wang, shared a photo of her meal on WeChat, not realising that the restaurant's QR code was visible in the image.

Chaos ensued when she received her bill from the hotpot restaurant in Kunming, southwest China, which shockingly totalled £50,000 (447,785.97 Chinese Yuan), according to the South Morning China Post. It appears that mischievous followers on her social media channel had scanned the QR code from her post and started ordering food to her table.

The pranksters ordered an astonishing 1,850 portions of fresh duck blood, 2,580 portions of squid, and 9,990 portions of shrimp paste, as shown in a screenshot of the bill. When the restaurant staff saw the absurd quantity of food being ordered, they checked with Ms Wang to confirm if she really wanted that much. That's when she realised her mistake and quickly deleted the post.

Luckily, the restaurant didn't force her to foot the hefty bill and swiftly moved her to another table, disregarding any new orders from that particular QR code. The staff attempted to trace the pranksters who had ordered the massive quantity of food, but their efforts were in vain.

Ms Wang revealed that the incident was a learning experience for her and has since advocated for greater awareness about the potential misuse of QR codes. The eatery has also revised its QR code usage policy, now only allowing orders from within a certain proximity of the premises.

Lin Xiaoming, a legal expert from Sichuan Yishang Law Firm, clarified to Chinese media outlet Fengmian News that the orders placed using Ms Wang's QR code were not her original intention, thus rendering them invalid.