When you think of chips the first thing drawn to your mind is hardly drawn to expense. In fact they are so renown for their inexpense that David Dickinson - one of those bizarre tangerine men that you only find on daytime TV - was able to build a brand around their cheapness.
"Cheap as chips," he bleats time and again as your nan watches on from the comfort of her armchair. But it turns out chips aren't always that cheap. In fact sometimes they're a bona fide rip-off, as Leanne Williams found out when she was dining out in St Helens.
In a scathing online review, she went in on The Clock Face Pub and Restaurant, in Merseyside, for its meagre servings, claiming that she was made to pay £2.50 ($3.30) for a portion of just seven chips.
Credit: Mercury Press
She later received a reply from the restaurant's boss, Jamie Fildes, sarcastically thanking her for the 'glowing review'. He added: "I count eight chips, I think someone's had a sneaky one too, that makes nine."
He also said he was ' surprised she had room' for the chips after having steak and ale pie and roast potatoes.
But Leanne has now hit back, saying: "It was like something out of Fawlty Towers, I couldn't believe it.
"We'd gone out for a nice family meal to celebrate my girlfriend's grandma's birthday. We pre-booked and my partner's aunt had ordered the burger and chips.
"The meal was served on a small side plate with seven or eight chips on it - it looked like a doll-sized portion of food.
Credit: Mercury
"It was £5.50 ($7.25) for the burger and £2.50 for seven chips, I couldn't believe it.
"Her aunt had just had a stroke and is still struggling to speak. She didn't feel confident speaking about so I waited until we finished our meal to write the review.
"When I saw the reply I just thought , 'what a cheek'. I was a bit shocked by it and I thought it was disgusting."
However the manager Jamie wasn't having any it. He said that when the party pre-ordered their food they had requested a kid's meal of burger and chips - which is why the portion was the size it was.
He also opted for the 'Richard Keys defence', claiming the Facebook comments were just 'banter'.
The restaurant boss, 31, said: "It was a daft, flippant comment which was satirical and meant to be banter and wasn't meant to cause any offence.
"I hold my hands up, I should have been a bit more clued-up, but I've learned a valuable lesson."
Featured Image Credit: MercuryTopics: Chips, UK News, Interesting