Do I need to pay if you accidentally break dishes in a cafe?

How to understand if you need to pay

If the glass breaks by accident

According to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the owner is responsible for accidental damage to property, unless otherwise provided by law or contract.

Olga Shirokova Leading Lawyer, European Legal Service

The client is not obliged to pay for broken dishes. Most catering establishments initially include the potential cost of buying new plates and glasses in the cost of the meal.

However, here it is important to pay attention to the tail "unless otherwise provided by law or contract." The administration can establish responsibility for the breakage of dishes and indicate its value in the price list. But this condition must be communicated to the client and agreed with him in writing. It is not enough to simply indicate the rates somewhere.

But even if you have been notified of the responsibility for breaking dishes according to all the rules, for a start it is worth determining whether you are to blame for the glass breaking. He could fall due to the fact that the waiter touched you or the table turned out to be unstable and staggered from every movement. Then you have the right not to compensate for the damage.

If you broke the glass on purpose

In this case, the damage will have to be compensated. It is better not to pump the rights especially. In combination with the battle of dishes, aggressive behavior can be regarded as petty hooliganism.

How to make amends

If you admit your guilt and are willing to pay money, the situation can be resolved on the spot.

The main thing is that all actions are supported by documents. For example, you can draw up a bilateral act that the parties have agreed on the amount of damage and do not have any claims against each other.

Olga Shirokova Leading Lawyer, European Legal Service

If you do not admit your guilt and refuse to pay, you cannot be held in the institution by force. In this case, you should call the police. Inform them about the illegal actions of the cafe employees.

Take pictures of the broken dishes, shoot a video, take contacts from witnesses of the incident in case the representatives of the institution go to court.