walkout-and-dispute-log

---
name: walkout-and-dispute-log
description: Turns a walkout or a disputed charge into a written record built against the actual offence it may be, "making off without payment" under the Theft Act 1978, with the facts the police would ask for recorded immediately rather than reconstructed from memory a week later, and a clear line between logging the incident and deciding whether to call the police at all. Use the moment a table leaves without paying or a guest disputes a charge after the fact.
---

# A walkout, logged as the record it might need to become

Does not decide whether to call the police, and does not chase the guest. Writes down what happened, when, in the words the offence actually uses, so a later report is already built.

## What it does

1. **Names the offence before writing anything down.** Section 3(1) of the Theft Act 1978: a person "who, knowing that payment on the spot for any goods supplied or service done is required or expected from him, dishonestly makes off without having paid as required or expected and with intent to avoid payment of the amount due shall be guilty of an offence." Three elements: knowledge, dishonesty, intent.
2. **Records knowledge of the expectation to pay.** What was ordered, whether prices were visible, whether a tab was opened. Section 3(2) extends "payment on the spot" to "payment at the time of collecting goods on which work has been done," covering a takeaway as much as a dine-in walkout.
3. **Records dishonesty and intent as observed facts, not a conclusion.** Did the party leave through an exit away from the till, while staff were occupied, without saying anything, after being asked to settle.
4. **Records the one statutory exception.** Section 3(3): the offence "shall not apply where the supply of the goods or the doing of the service is contrary to law, or where the service done is such that payment is not legally enforceable."
5. **Keeps the amount, the evidence, and the decision to report separate.** The amount, any CCTV or till reference, and witnesses are facts. Whether to call the police is a business decision this skill does not make.

## Then it checks

1. All three elements are recorded separately, not merged into one description.
2. The amount, time, and any evidence reference are recorded, never estimated.
3. Any case where the service might not be legally chargeable is flagged, not logged as an ordinary walkout.
4. No entry states a conclusion that an offence was committed.
5. No entry has been altered; a correction is a new line.

Any check fails: name it, redo that step once. Failed twice: say what is wrong and stop.

## Rules
- Public information only. Never invent a fact, a number or a quote. Anything sent in someone's name says whose name it is.
- Never decide, or recommend, whether to call the police.
- Never describe a disputed charge as theft in the log itself; record only what was observed.
- Never contact or threaten the named guest; this is an internal record, not a collection tool.
- A working incident record for the owner to decide what to do with, and for police or a solicitor to review; not a finding that any offence occurred.

## Built from
- Theft Act 1978, section 3, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1978/31/section/3, read 4 Nov 2026: the offence, its elements, its extension, and its exception, behind every step.

# walkout-and-dispute-log

## You are given
An incident report in the owner or manager's own words: what was ordered, what was observed, when, and by whom. Till or booking system records of the order and the amount. Any CCTV or card-reader reference numbers. A witness list, where available. Any previous walkout-and-dispute log for this venue.

## Produce
Write into a `./walkout-and-dispute-log-output/` folder:

1. `incidents.csv` with columns: `incident_id`, `date`, `time`, `amount_unpaid`, `order_summary`, `payment_expectation_evidence`, `dishonesty_facts_observed`, `intent_facts_observed`, `legally_enforceable_flag`, `evidence_references`, `witnesses`, `staff_reporting`. `incident_id` is W0001 upward. `payment_expectation_evidence` records what showed payment was known to be required (a priced menu, a confirmed order, a running tab). `dishonesty_facts_observed` and `intent_facts_observed` are each a plain description of what was seen or heard, never a legal conclusion. `legally_enforceable_flag` is `yes` if there is any reason the service itself might not have been legally chargeable, `no` otherwise, with the reason recorded in `gaps.md` if `yes`.
2. `elements-check.csv` with columns: `incident_id`, `payment_expectation_recorded`, `dishonesty_facts_recorded`, `intent_facts_recorded`, `verdict`. Each of the three "recorded" columns is `yes` or `no`. `verdict` is `complete record` or `incomplete: missing [element]`, naming whichever of the three is missing.
3. `evidence-index.csv` with columns: `incident_id`, `evidence_type`, `reference_or_location`, `retained_until`. `evidence_type` is exactly one of `cctv`, `till_record`, `card_reader_log`, `witness_statement`, `written_note`. `retained_until` is left blank for the owner to set, never guessed.
4. `gaps.md` - a numbered list of: any incident with an `incomplete` verdict in `elements-check.csv`; any incident with `legally_enforceable_flag` as `yes`; any incident missing an amount; any incident with no evidence reference at all; and any log entry that appears to have been edited rather than added as a new line (flag any out-of-sequence `incident_id` or altered prior row).

## Rules
- Codex records, cross-checks the three elements, and indexes evidence. It never concludes an offence occurred, never recommends calling police, never contacts the named guest, and never estimates an amount not shown in a record.
- The "facts observed" fields are always observations, never conclusions ("they stole from us" becomes a request for the observed facts instead).
- Entries are appended, never edited or deleted; a correction is a new, timestamped line referencing the original `incident_id`.
- Never record a legal conclusion anywhere. `verdict` describes completeness, not guilt.
- British English, GBP, DD Month YYYY dates. No em dashes.
- Every file ends: this is a working incident record for the owner to decide what to do with, and for police or a solicitor to review if a report is made; not a finding that any offence occurred.

## Return
The absolute path and row count of each file. The number of incidents and total amount unpaid. The number `complete` versus `incomplete`, naming the missing element. The number flagged `legally_enforceable_flag` `yes`. Incidents with no evidence reference. The `gaps.md` item count.