‘Shocked’ McDonald’s customer quoted £645 for broken tooth blames ‘foreign object’ inside burger
William Johnson, who claims he lost a tooth biting into a McDonald's burger - Credit: Archant
A man claims he lost a tooth after biting into a McDonald's burger, only to find a 'foreign object' was wedged between the two buns.
William Johnson stopped for a quick meal after a business trip in at the Gillingham branch of McDonald's on Norwich Road on October 11.
But he claims his burger resulted in searing pain after finding the unknown object in his Swiss Stack meal, with a tooth shattering and leaving more than a third missing.
He said: 'The pain was unbelievable and weird. I spat the food out on the plate because it was shock and took the tray back and they threw everything away.
'It was painful when it happened, I was shocked.'
In extreme agony, the Colchester man visited his dentist only to be met with a £645 quote to re-build the broken tooth.
Now the 56-year-old has hailed the fast-food giant as 'cheap' and questioned their customer service after they sent through three £5 meal vouchers.
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In a letter from the company, McDonald's revealed they would not launch an investigation into the incident or offer compensation for the broken tooth because the item had been thrown away, with Mr Johnson claiming a member of staff threw away the burger.
An excerpt of the letter read: 'I am sorry to say that we would need the foreign object found in your Swiss Stack to complete a full investigation. Without it we haven't been able to establish what it was or how it made it in your meal.'
Nearly a month after the incident, the pain of the missing tooth has now subsided but Mr Johnson is still missing his tooth.
Mr Johnson said: 'I am absolutely horrified by the cheap response from a company that is worth billions of dollars.
'I have spent money there for the last 30 years.'
A McDonald's spokesperson denied anything unexpected was found in the burger.
They said: 'We are disappointed to hear this customer's experience was not a positive one.
'Food safety is of the utmost importance to us and we place great emphasis on quality control and follow rigorous standards to avoid any imperfections.
'Nothing was found in the returned burger that should not have been present, and the customer was immediately given a refund. Our customer services team have since been in dialogue with the customer.'
