Petition · Department for Business and Trade
Ban default service charges and pre-set digital tip screens in hospitality
Open for signatures
7,963 signatures
What the petition asks
Prohibit hospitality businesses from automatically adding "discretionary" service charges to bills, and ban digital card readers from prompting customers with pre-set tip percentages before payment. We believe all tipping must be 100% voluntary and initiated by the customer.
In our view, the current tipping culture has become coercive and stressful as some restaurants routinely use "drip pricing," adding a 12.5% charge at the end of a meal, forcing customers to awkwardly ask to remove it. We think digital payment screens with pre-set tipping suggestions use psychological pressure to guilt people into tipping for basic counter service. We think this creates a hostile environment and anxiety for consumers.
Timeline
| 22 Apr 2026 | Petition opened for signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
7,963
Status
Open for signatures
Department
Department for Business and Trade
Opened
22 Apr 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.