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A Black family in Texas is calling out a Houston-area restaurant after they say they were falsely accused of dining and dashing, despite having already paid their bill and receiving verbal confirmation that the payment went through. The family says that the restaurant allegedly contacted one of them directly and threatened to press charges, leaving them shocked, embarrassed, and demanding for an apology.
Here’s What Happened
According to one family member who shared the story on TikTok, the incident occurred at Harry’s Restaurant in the Montrose area of Houston. The group had gone out to eat together and were informed upfront that the restaurant does not allow split checks. As a result, one cousin agreed to put the entire bill on his card.
The family member explained that the cousin paid using tap-to-pay on the card reader and immediately handed the device back to the waiter. Wanting to be sure everything went smoothly, the cousin asked the waiter to verify that the payment had gone through. The waiter allegedly checked and confirmed that it had.
After that confirmation, the family left the restaurant. Brief CCTV footage from inside the restaurant was also featured in the TikTok post, showing the moment the family says the payment was made.
Hours Later, the Accusation Came
Later that night, while the family was out at a nearby shopping block enjoying themselves, they say they received a call that changed the tone of the entire night. According to another family member, the restaurant contacted the cousin and accused him of never paying the bill, allegedly threatening to press charges for theft.
They also learned that the restaurant may have allegedly shared security footage showing them entering and interacting inside the restaurant to others beyond management. “All of our kids are in the video,” the family member said. “You sending my kids like we some type of criminals is a major problem.”
Family Says Management Refused to Speak With Them
The family says they attempted to resolve the issue calmly, with one of them going to visit the restaurant the following day to speak with management. However, the individual was allegedly told by staff at the front that the manager knew why he was there and would not come out to speak with him.
Based on a screenshot shared in the first video, it appears that a second payment was later made directly to the restaurant. The image shows a family member communicating with an employee, who shared a photo of the receipt along with a specific amount and instructions to send the payment via Venmo.
After everything, the family claims that no apology was offered, no explanation was given, and no effort was made to correct the accusation. The family acknowledged that they could have handled certain aspects differently, including asking for an itemized receipt or requesting to speak to a manager before leaving the restaurant. Still, they insist that none of that justifies being accused of theft after payment had already been confirmed.
“What people see is Black and they think automatically wrong,” a family member said. “Not in this situation. Not us.”
Netizens’ Reactions to the Texas Family’s Story
Reactions have been mostly mixed in the comments. Some people sided with the family, with one questioning how the restaurant was able to contact the cousin directly “if they didn’t have his information” through the payment getting processed.
However, a few netizens were skeptical about their claims. One person bluntly stated, “Story isn’t adding up,” while another pointed out that the cousin reportedly “never saw the payment debit from his account,” which they didn’t think fit into their claims.
Nevertheless, the family still maintains that they were treated like criminals after doing what they say was the right thing. “We deserve an apology,” they wrote in the caption of their TikTok post. “We’re not a family that operates in deception and foolishness.”
