A Chinese takeaway was shocked after discovering they had been duped into accepting nuts and bolts as part of payment for a £50 meal.
The Oriental in Biggar was left £37 short last Monday, February 1, after deceitful customers twice tried to get around paying for their order.
The restaurant moved heaven and earth to send the 12-mile delivery to Abington during peak hours and even arranged a new driver to ensure the food stayed hot.
They realised they had been conned when their driver first returned with just £12.24 for the £49.50 meal.
The furious takeaway owners rang the customers back, who denied even placing an order.
Writing about the deceit, takeaway worker May Tse explained the driver had been unable to count the money at the drop off due to Covid regulations.
She explained: “On the basis of mutual trust and mutual respect in the Biggar community, our driver took their word and drove back to Biggar without counting.
“With so many coins as well, it was important to count the coins in a clean and sanitised setting.
“They filled the bags with 1ps, 2ps, 5ps and screws to weigh down the bags and trick us.
“This shows that they knew how much the order was meant to be and tried everything to deceive us.
“I am truly shocked at the extent of their dishonesty.”
She added that the incident occurred at a time when the takeaway was already struggling.
May said: “We have closed our restaurant section in compliance with the government rules and are only providing takeaway service.
“We are not only working for our livelihood, but also to continue providing our service to our kind and valuable customers.
“During these uncertain times, it has been very difficult to stay open and we are trying our very best.”
However, since sharing the story online May revealed the restaurant had been donated £40 by a kindhearted stranger.
The restaurant posted a snap of the cash on their Facebook page and said: “This is a very heart-warming gesture, and it means an incredible lot to us.
“Your gift is highly appreciated, knowing that there are such kind souls amongst the locals (the majority) really keeps us going.
“The cash will be put towards purchasing PPE equipment, which provides us the ability to continue to serve our community safely.”
Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
