Tea table fee, service fee, tableware fee, bottle opening fee and so on all belong to the invisible consumption of restaurants.

On June 2nd, the reporter of Modern Express found a pot of osmanthus tea and a pack of paper towels on each dining table in a Huaiyang restaurant in Laomendong, Nanjing. Without informing the diners, as long as they eat in restaurants, they must pay 2.8 yuan's tea fee for these two services.

Many diners said that tea fees are very common in Cantonese restaurants, some are charged according to the number of people, and some are charged according to private rooms. Compared with the corkage fee, the tea fee is not much, mostly below 5 yuan, so few diners will argue with the merchants.

Compared with the tea fee, the bottle opening fee of many merchants in Nanjing is much more expensive. The reporter found that the restaurant changed from an old villa in Nanjing made it clear to consumers that if they brought their own drinks, they would have to pay a corkage fee from 211 yuan. A western restaurant in Qinhuai District adopts a set meal system, and the price of 468 yuan per person is not low.

But in this western restaurant, 81 yuan's corkage fee is also charged for bringing your own drinks. It is worth noting that most of the shops that charge the corkage fee are western food bars, and most of them are small-sized business owners. Most of them will clearly inform the corkage fee when ordering food. However, in large chain restaurants, this situation is rare.

The charging of tea fees in restaurants violates consumers' independent choice and fair trade rights:

Lawyer Wang Jiayuan introduced that Article 9 of the Law on the Protection of Consumers' Rights and Interests clearly stipulates that consumers have the right to choose the operators who provide goods or services, choose the types of goods or services, and decide whether to buy or not to buy any kind of goods or accept or not to accept any kind of services. Consumers have the right to compare, identify and select when they choose their own goods or services.

each restaurant has different ways to charge the tea table fee. Some restaurants clearly charge the relevant fee price on the menu, while others are not. Consumers only know that they will charge the relevant fee when they check out.

In this regard, Wang Jiayuan reminded that if the restaurant does not know clearly the matters such as the tea fee and the price before the consumer checks out, it is an infringement of the consumer's right to know and the right to choose independently; If not informed in advance, consumers can safeguard their legitimate rights and interests according to relevant laws and regulations.