Question: what are the consequences of dine and dash

title: Dine and dash
text: In English law , `` dine and dash '' falls under the crime of making off without payment introduced in 1978 ; the law was later copied in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland . Simply failing to pay a bill when due is generally not a crime in most United States circumstances or jurisdictions . It is a contract debt , and the act is civil rather than criminal in nature . However , there are often laws that apply specifically to restaurants , hotels , and other circumstances , where the presumption is that the customer intended to never pay their bill in advance and therefore obtained the valuable services under false pretenses , a form of criminal fraud . In certain states , dining and dashing is not labelled as a criminal issue . For example , in California , it is considered a petty theft , while in Mississippi , it is a felony offense to refuse to pay a bill over $25.00 . 

Answer: answer: In English law, "dine and dash" falls under the crime of making off without payment, later copied in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.   In The United States, there are often laws that apply specifically to restaurants, hotels, and other circumstances, where the presumption is that the customer intended to never pay their bill in advance and therefore obtained the valuable services under false pretenses, a form of criminal fraud.   In certain states, dining and dashing is not labelled as a criminal issue, for example, in California, it is considered a petty theft, while in Mississippi, it is a felony offense to refuse to pay a bill over $25.00.