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Forget dine-and-dash, a beauty clinic in London has been the alleged victim of a filler-and-flee.
Infinity Aesthetics Ilford claim a woman came in for £400 worth of lip filler and anti-wrinkle treatment but left without paying.
The client allegedly dashed after promising her payment would arrive within two hours, then ignored calls and messages chasing the money.
Owner Ambreen Shehzadi, 40, says she was contacted by a woman named Maureen on Sunday needing urgent mother’s day aesthetic care.
After an hour-and-a-half session of lip and anti-wrinkle fillings came the crucial moment of payment for the £400 procedure.
Ambreen claims Maureen wanted to do a bank transfer and showed the clinician her phone, which apparently showed the money had been sent.
However when Ambreen checked her account nothing had come through, but her customer allegedly said it would take two hours and not to worry.
Speaking to Metro, Ambreen alleged: ‘She left, then three hours went by, four hours went by. I tried to call her, message her, no reply at all.
‘She cancelled my call. I felt really upset. I could not believe it. I felt so silly for trusting her.
‘I lost quite a bit of money. I feel extremely angry by it. I spent an hour and a half treating her.’
Ambreen, who has run Infinity Aesthetics Ilford for three years, reported the incident to the Met Police and claims no payment has come through after three days.
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Metro has seen texts which appear to show the clinic owner organising the fillers on Sunday and then following up repeatedly for payment, with no reply.
Ambreen said: ‘I was really stressed and I don’t work on Sundays, I made time for her. This is not right.
‘I am quite trusting it has never happened to me before. My clients always pay.’
The aesthetician, who does not use Facebook, asked her friend to put out an warning detailing what happened.
She added: ‘I’m sharing this to warn others—whether you’re a business owner or service provider—to be cautious.
‘If someone insists on paying later or via transfer, always wait until the funds are confirmed in your account before proceeding with the service.
‘If anyone else has encountered this person or a similar situation, please reach out. Let’s support each other and prevent this from happening again.’
Police said they were investigating.
The rise of ‘dine and dash’
One in 20 people have walked out of a restaurant without paying for their meal, and a spate of recent incidents has drawn attention to this trend.
One couple racked up bills of £1,000 across five restaurants before using their children to walk out without paying between August 2023 and April last year.
Bernard McDonagh, 41, and his wife Ann, from Sandfields, Port Talbot, were jailed for eight and 12 months respectively for their stunts.
A restaurant in Wales said last November they were targeted by dine and dashers on their opening night.
The Welsh House, in Carmarthen, Wales, was celebrating its launch on October 25 when two men ate steaks and seafood before running off and leaving their £155 bill unpaid, the owners said.
A 2018 survey found that one in 20 people have left a restaurant without paying for a meal.
Kate Nicholls, the CEO of the trade body UKHospitality, told The Guardian while these incidents remain small in number, they are a ”serious matter for the businesses affected’.
She added: ‘This is theft and fraud and it should be prosecuted as such. It’s not a victimless crime.
‘It is money that is being taken from a business for goods and services consumed – it’s exactly the same as shoplifting.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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