“Hang on… What’s This Extra Charge?” The Restaurant Bill Rule Many People in Lanzarote Don’t Know About
You sit down, order your meal, check the menu, enjoy your dinner… and then the bill arrives.
And suddenly, the price you thought you were paying isn’t quite the price you’re being asked to pay.
Perhaps there’s an unexpected charge added to the bill. Or, in some cases, the price on the menu suddenly has IGIC added on top.
But is that actually allowed?
The short answer is: not necessarily — and when it comes to IGIC in the Canary Islands, the rules are particularly clear.
IGIC shouldn’t be a surprise at the end
Restaurants and other establishments serving food in the Canary Islands have specific rules governing how prices must be displayed.
Under the Canary Islands’ regulations governing restaurant establishments, the prices displayed on menus and price lists must include IGIC.
The regulations also state that the words “IGIC incluido” must be clearly and visibly displayed on menus and price lists, unless the particular service is exempt.
In other words, if you see a dish advertised on a menu for €15, you should not discover at the end of the meal that the restaurant intends to add IGIC to make the actual price higher.
The price advertised to you is supposed to reflect the amount you will actually pay.
And this isn’t simply a piece of consumer advice. The Canary Islands regulations specifically state that establishments cannot charge prices higher than those appearing on their price lists.
But what about a “service charge”?
This is where things get interesting.
There is a difference between a legitimate charge that has been clearly disclosed and priced in advance, and simply adding an unexpected amount to the bill.
Spanish consumer authorities have stated that charging separately for a general “service” or “cubierto” isn’t permitted where it is simply part of the normal restaurant service.
Other items can potentially be charged separately — for example, bread or similar extras — but the customer must have been informed beforehand and the charge must appear in the establishment’s advertised price information.
The basic principle is pretty simple:
You shouldn’t be finding out what something costs after you’ve already consumed it.
So what should you do if IGIC has been added unexpectedly?
If you receive a bill where IGIC has been added on top of the menu price and this wasn’t clearly explained beforehand, don’t be afraid to question it.
Politely point out that the price displayed on the menu should include IGIC and ask the restaurant to correct the bill.
It’s a good idea to take a photograph of the menu showing the advertised price, as well as keeping a copy or photograph of the bill.
If the restaurant refuses to resolve the issue, you can ask for a hoja de reclamaciones — the official complaints form.
You can then submit the complaint to the relevant consumer authority in the Canary Islands, along with your evidence.
The fact that you’ve already eaten the food doesn’t mean you simply have to accept an unexpected charge. The important question is whether you were properly informed of the total price before you ordered.
“If they add IGIC, I won’t tip” — but who actually loses out?
There’s another part of this debate that’s worth considering.
Some people say that if a restaurant adds IGIC to their bill, they simply won’t leave a tip.
But IGIC and tipping are two completely different things.
IGIC is a consumption tax. It isn’t a charge imposed by the waiter or waitress, and it isn’t a substitute for a tip. Where IGIC is correctly charged, the money is collected by the business and accounted for to the tax authorities.
A tip, on the other hand, is something voluntarily given by the customer to recognise the service provided by the people who looked after them.
So if a restaurant has incorrectly displayed its prices and then adds IGIC to the bill, that’s an issue between the customer, the business and potentially the consumer authorities.
Taking the tip away doesn’t necessarily punish the person responsible for the pricing policy — it potentially punishes the waiter, waitress, kitchen staff or other employees who provided the service.
Of course, nobody is obliged to tip, and everyone can decide what they want to leave.
But it’s worth separating the two issues.
If you disagree with the way a restaurant has handled its pricing, challenge the restaurant about the pricing — don’t automatically make the person serving your table pay the price for the owner’s decision.
And it’s not just an island rule
Spanish consumer law reinforces the same basic principle.
Consumers have the right to know the complete final price before entering into a transaction, including applicable taxes and additional charges.
The Canary Islands’ own consumer legislation similarly requires prices to be clear and transparent and include the final amount payable, including applicable taxes and surcharges. Businesses cannot simply demand a higher price than the one advertised.
The golden rule for diners
Before ordering, the price on the menu should tell you what you’re actually going to pay.
Taxes shouldn’t suddenly appear as a surprise. Charges shouldn’t be invented at the end. And “service” isn’t a magic word that allows a restaurant to add whatever it likes to your bill.
So the next time you’re sitting in a restaurant in Lanzarote and your bill arrives with a mysterious extra charge, it might be worth asking:
“Excuse me… where was that charge shown on the menu?”
Because when it comes to restaurant pricing, what you see before you order matters.
And perhaps the bigger question is this:
Have you ever been presented with a restaurant bill in Lanzarote that was higher than the price you thought you were agreeing to pay?
