Shocking deceit: Woman caught putting own hair in food to get a refund

The Observatory pub's, located in Blackburn, England, 32-year-old owner, Tom Croft, said that the situation was both unprecedented and shocking for him.

The woman ordered a dish priced at slightly above 13 pounds (about 17 dollars). After eating most of her meal, she went to the bar and demanded a refund, claiming to have found a hair in her food.

Becoming argumentative; the customer forced the staff to refund her money to avoid further conflict.

Once the woman left, Tom Croft decided to examine the whole incident by reviewing the surveillance footage, in an effort to ensure all staff members had their hair tied back and prevent similar situations in the future.

This review revealed that the entire situation was a hoax, and the woman was scheming to have her meal for free.

The surveillance footage showed the woman whispering something to her male companion before deliberately pulling out a long, dark hair from her own head and planting it on her plate.

I was disgusted and angry. There are people who are ready to tarnish a company's reputation and risk employees' jobs for a 17-dollar meal. The kitchen staff might have thought it was their fault, even though they did nothing wrong, lamented the pub's co-owner.

Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. If I hadn't found the footage, our establishment's reputation would have been severely jeopardized. People don't want to dine in places where hair can potentially land on their plates, he added.

He decided to release the footage in hopes of warning other restaurant owners about the potential deceitful practices of some customers.