Slandering a tycoon's family for "eating and running away", the restaurant regretted it too late.

The incident occurred in July 2024, when Mr. Peter McGirr, Mrs. Ann McGirr and their two children, Peter Jr. and Carol, were dining at The Horse & Jockey Inn restaurant, located in the Peak District, Central England.

There, they ordered dishes such as roast beef and smoked pork shoulder, accompanied by some alcoholic drinks. After finishing their meal, the family left the restaurant to return home to Omagh, Northern Ireland.

Not long after, the restaurant's official fanpage suddenly posted a video clip from a security camera, with the content accusing this group of diners of "eating and leaving without paying" a bill of 150 pounds (5.2 million VND).

Image of a group of guests dining at the restaurant recorded by a security camera (Photo: Odd).

The video quickly attracted attention with a series of interactions and shares. The McGirr family immediately became the center of the media with accusations of "not paying the money", causing serious damage to the reputation that had been built for a long time.

As one of Omagh’s most prominent and wealthy families, Mr McGirr said he was outraged by the restaurant’s hasty and unverified actions. His family subsequently filed a lawsuit to clear up the truth and restore their reputation.

The investigation revealed that the McGirr family had paid the bill by card. However, the restaurant staff had forgotten to record the transaction in the cash register, leading to a serious misunderstanding.

Slandering a tycoon's family for "cheating" 5.2 million VND, the restaurant was too late to apologize (Video source: Daily Mail).

After discovering the mistake, the restaurant quickly apologized and offered to reconcile.

The restaurant owner even flew to Ireland to apologize in person, offering the family a free meal and a stay at a motel, but Mr McGirr was determined to pursue the case to the end.

"If they were ordinary diners, they might have overlooked it. But for Mr. McGirr's family, who own a large fortune and a reputation built over many years, this slander is unacceptable.

Their reputation was so severely damaged that they had no choice but to resort to legal action to restore their names," the family's spokesperson said.

In fact, in Ireland, the McGirr family is the most famous and wealthy family in Omagh. Initially, when the restaurant's accusations appeared in the media, many people in the area were shocked because they knew that this family had no shortage of money and had no reason to act like that.

According to local media, Mr. McGirr is a millionaire who owns McGirr Engineering, an engineering company specializing in manufacturing construction equipment. The company is estimated to be worth around £2 million (nearly 70 billion VND).

The court ruling in May found that the British restaurant had to formally apologise for the damage it had caused to Mr McGirr’s family. In addition, the restaurant had to pay £75,000 in compensation and cover all legal costs.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/vu-khong-nha-dai-gia-an-quyt-nha-hang-hoi-loi-khong-kip-20250518233548923.htm