Beware of the “dinner swindlers.”
One self-appointed “credit card friend” — the person who foots the bill in advance with the expectation that participants will pay them back — was recently faced with her biggest fear: a dine-and-dashing friend.
Bria Jones, a TikTok influencer and recovering “credit card friend,” is no longer putting her card down after one dinner date refused to pay her back for a $240 meal.
In the one-minute clip with over 2.7 million views, Jones explained how she was “scammed” by a friend of a friend who hasn’t paid her back after they had dinner six weeks ago.
“You don’t go to dinner, rack up $240 on your bill and just not pay someone back for it,” Jones declares in the video. “Are you stupid, or are you dumb?”
Jones admitted in her message that she likes using her credit card to gain points and usually doesn’t encounter any issues regarding payment from friends.
“My friends pay me back. We do the Venmo thing,” she confessed.
Jones later tried to contact the mooch several times on Instagram and received no response.
“I could tell she had seen it because it literally tells you [on Instagram] when you read something,” she scoffed.
The down-and-out diner finally reached the woman she’s dubbed the “Dinner Swindler” via text message who then confirmed she would give Jones the money — but it’s been three weeks and she has yet to receive any payment.
“[If] you don’t have the money for something… don’t rack up the bill,” Jones said. “It’s the principal. I don’t even know you like that.”
Viewers of Jones’ cautionary tale have since shared their own viral takes on the so-called #creditcardsaga.
A TikToker named Isabella disagrees with Jones’s demands to ask the friend to pay her back after covering the tab.
“What do you expect her to do? Give you the money the next day like she just has it all?” Isabella continued. “No, you have to wait and if you can’t wait, you have to suck it up and take the gesture.”
“You offered it. Nobody put a gun to your head,” she concluded.
And Isabella isn’t the only person who thinks this way. Jones posted a stitched video with a man who suggested that her broke friend “became her credit” when Jones decided to incur the added debt.
He continued to say “I would never pay you back” — also considering Jones allegedly took away the woman’s chance to gain credit card points, defer the payment or pay in a way she was able to.
“The credit card saga continues, but like, am I missing something bc why are y’all yelling at me like I agreed to be a credit card to this girl,” Jones clapped back.
Meanwhile, other people have encouraged Jones to ask the friend who invited the swindler to pay her tab.
“If I found out my friend owed my other friend money I would be MORTIFIED,” one wrote.
Now it would seem that TikTokers are using this unfortunate scenario to test their friendships, by asking them their perspective on #creditcardsaga.
“Girl you have cleared so many girls outta my friend group and I love it,” declared one adherent to the method.
“This will be my litmus test for new friends,” claimed another.
Respectually, Jones has yet to name and shame the person who won’t pay her back, no matter how much followers plead.
“Just drop the @ at this point pleaseeeee,” one begged.
“Is there an update? Is the one who invited her paging u back? Has she seen the video?? I NEED TO KNOW,” demanded another.
