A young Aussie who paid a $500 booking fee at a popular Sydney restaurant claimed she was ‘scammed’ after she and her friends turned up on the day to find the venue closed.
PR worker Lucy Finter, 27, attracted more than 260,000 views after she detailed the frustrating saga on her TikTok account.
The Aussie expat now living in London recalled how she booked a ‘bottomless brunch’ for herself and a dozen friends at a ‘very reputable’ restaurant in Bondi for December 29 and paid a $500 deposit.
Ms Finter claimed she even received an email on the day before confirming the booking.
‘I show up on the day to this venue, to the place completely shut, the fans are going, the tables and chairs all packed up,’ she explained.
‘I just thought something had gone really wrong or something happened to the owner and they’d get back to me.’
Ms Finter declined to name the restaurant because she said she wasn’t ‘that dumb’ and they ‘weren’t f***ing replying to her anyway’.
Lucy Finter claimed a ‘very reputable’ Sydney restaurant ‘scammed’ her out of $500 deposit by being shut on the day it was meant to host her and a dozen friends
Ms Finter says she was embarrassed by the incident, despite the group managing to find another venue nearby.
She claimed her $500 deposit is yet to be refunded, despite repeatedly calling and direct messaging the restaurant.
‘I reported them to the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) and left a nasty a** review,’ Ms Finter said.
However, she said the restaurant had replied on Instagram saying it wasn’t their normal way of communicating.
‘Communicate me my $500,’ Ms Finter said.
After her TikTok went viral, Ms Finter claimed she was contacted by the restaurant owner and was told they were ‘looking into it.’
Despite being promised an immediate refund, there has been no further contact, she claimed.
‘I was at home visiting family from living abroad, so I definitely missed that $500. I am also thankful I hadn’t asked all my friends to transfer me when I paid the deposit because then they would have been tied up in the mess too,’ she told news.com.au

The Aussie expat and her friends managed to find another venue in Bondi to have brunch (stock image of Sydneysiders dining in Bondi)
Ms Finter has since got her money back by filing a dispute with the bank.
She described the ordeal as ‘stressful’.
‘I have never had a business accept a booking, ask for a deposit, completely shut then go radio silent,’ she said.
‘I think if they hadn’t taken my money, it would have been a different story, but to take $500 and then not respond to me for two weeks is incredibly unprofessional and unfair.’
TikTok viewers were equally outraged with many offering advice on how Ms Finter should handle the saga.
‘Go down there. Walk in and in your very best Karen voice, demand to see the manager!’ one commented.
‘Take them to the NSW civil and administrative tribunal,’ another suggested.
‘I would bet the second they get notified of the application your money will be refunded.’
Ms Finter was contacted for further comment.
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