THE owner of the tapas restaurant on Cheap Street has ‘thanked’ the community for their support and messages, as they recover from being victims of a scam that took place on Saturday 13th May.
Frome’s much-loved Spanish tapas restaurant, Lo Rapitenc, became victims of a scam, when the entire restaurant was booked under 40 fake accounts preventing other customers booking a table.
Owner Marc Burnett said, “It seems we were targeted by one individual who had booked the entire restaurant so no-one else could come. I realised that all the numbers and email addresses were fake but one of the numbers wasn’t and that turned out to be the scammer’s number. I don’t know if he did that on purpose but when I rang the number, he answered and sounded as though he was in Ireland. He told me he had scammed us on purpose. When I asked why he had chosen us and a restaurant in Frome he said he had never heard of Frome and didn’t know where that was.
“I told him I felt sorry for him to have to do that to someone. It was so cruel and was really scary because I have never been in that position before. Our chef has worked in kitchens for years and he said that he has never seen anything like this before. We have a Frome hospitality WhatsApp group and when it happened, I sent a message to the other restaurants to alert them and everyone was really surprised.”
When the news of the scam broke, members of the community took to social media to share messages or support, as well as contacting the restaurant directly to share their kindness. Marc said, “People have been so kind and have sent really lovely messages. The support has made us feel very warm and we are extremely grateful for the community.”
Going forwards, Marc is looking into upgrading the booking system to be able to verify those who book a table.
Pictured: Marc with his family outside Lo Rapitenc on Cheap Street.
