Does your restaurant bill include a sneaky "carbon-free fee"?

Do you hate it when sneaky charges for bread, water, or service fees, are added to your restaurant bill?

If so, you might want to avoid eating at establishments in London owned by the Noble Inn group.

Noble Inn gastro pubs add a "discretionary" carbon-free fee to customers' bills. Meaning you have to ask for it to be removed.

London newspaper Metro this weekend posted a story about customers unhappy with the extra charge, reporting the fee was added to the total meal price at The Pig and Whistle in trendy Islington.

Commenters described the charge as ‘stupid and sneaky,’ ‘a load of b******s,’ and a ‘total scam’.

Noble Inns, The Pig and Butcher’s parent company, told Metro that all tables (regardless of guest numbers or total spend) are asked to give a flat £1.23 to either of the two corporate social responsibility projects it supports; GiftTrees and Street Smart.

This allows diners to "offset the environmental impact of their meal" by putting money towards trees being planted in the developing world, or helping the homeless.

Which is all very laudable, but maybe diners should be asked first before being hit by the charge?

"It’s ridiculous that some restaurants are now charging diners for carbon offsetting schemes," customer service consultant Jane Hawkes told Metro.

"These kinds of extra charges are becoming increasingly common and can be incredibly confusing for customers. Whether it’s a ‘carbon free’ dining fee, an automatic service charge or a sustainability levy, the result is the same; the final bill is higher than expected."