Customers have the right not to pay service charges to restaurants if the charges are not clearly spelled out or stated by their owners or proprietors, said Mr Pikanet Tapuang, deputy secretary-general of the Office of Consumers Protection Committee, on Thursday.

He pointed out that the existing Product Prices and Service Charges B.E. 2542 does not specify how much service charges are to be levied but the proprietors of restaurants themselves have to clearly show the rates of service charges.

The law, he said, corroborates with the Consumers Protection Act which guarantees consumers’ right of access to accurate and sufficient information which will help them decide to choose or to buy products at free will.

Any stores which do not clearly show price tags of products re regarded as flouting with the law, said Mr Pikanet, adding that service charges must be clearly stated in Thai with numerical figures in baht currency.

If they are not clearly shown, customers have the right not to pay the charges, he said.

Source: ThaiPBS