Lauren Crouch whose Tinder date wanted a £3.50 refund is bought a dress by a stranger

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Lauren Crouch, 28, from London, met man off Tinder for quick coffee date
When she declined his offer to go to his for dinner he demanded cash back
She offered charity donation but he sent her bank account details for £3.50

By Caroline Garnar and Phoebe Jackson-edwards For Mailonline

Published: 05:21 EST, 23 November 2015 | Updated: 06:23 EST, 23 November 2015

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A woman who wrote a viral blog about how her date demanded she return the £3.50 he spent on a coffee after she refused to go back to his place said she has had her faith in men restored.

Lauren Crouch, 28, from Islington, London, was approached by a stranger on Twitter who offered to pay £55 for a dress she liked 'on behalf of decent men everywhere'.

The website content manager said she accepted the kind gesture and wore the outfit to an awards ceremony at the weekend. Lauren said she will now do a good deed for a stranger in return.

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Lauren Crouch was approached by a stranger on Twitter who offered to pay £55 for a dress she liked 'on behalf of decent men everywhere' after she blogged about an awful experience with a man who asked her to refund the £3.50 he spent on their date

The mystery man asked to remain anonymous but messaged her with a '100 per cent genuine offer' and only aksed that she wear the dress and 'thoroughly enjoy' her evening at a blogging awards

Earlier this month, Lauren had written on her blog No Bad Dates, Just Good Stories about a Tinder date who asked for the money he spent on to be refunded after it didn't lead to a second date.

However, on Friday she wrote that a mystery man who wanted to remain anonymous offered to buy her a dress she liked from online store Silk Fred for an appearance at the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards.

The man sent her a message about the awful experience she had encountered and wrote: 'I would like to make you an offer on behalf of decent men everywhere - if you like that dress then I'd be happy to buy it for you.

'I don't want anything in return - no money, no meeting requests, no other dodgy asks, no pervy undertones, no expectations and no £3.50 coffees either.

'100 per cent genuine offer, not an attempt to impress or generate interest, just a straightforward offer. And no, I've never done this before either.'

He asked her to wear the dress to the awards and 'thoroughly enjoy it.'

The stranger bought a £55 dress from Silk Fred which Lauren had posted she liked and although she usually wouldn't accept such offers she decided to be less cynical

Lauren posted the story on her blog and said it would 'restore your faith in humanity' and posted pictures of herself on the evening in the black lace dress

In her post, Lauren admitted she found the offer confusing.

She wrote: 'Some people said for me to ignore it, that there was no way any man would just want to do a nice thing for a woman if he had nothing to gain from it, but I refuse to accept that.

Whilst I would never usually accept such a generous gift from someone I don’t know - I even have a problem with men buying me drinks, I figured that I shouldn’t be so cynical so I said yes

'I’d like to think that deep down, we’re all inherently good people, and occasionally some of those good people decide to be t***s (and then go on a date with me).

'Whilst I would never usually accept such a generous gift from someone I don’t know - I even have a problem with men buying me drinks, I figured that I shouldn’t be so cynical, so I said yes, and promised to pay it forward by doing a good deed for a stranger in return.'

She told FEMAIL: 'I was massively overwhelmed and really touched by such a selfless gesture.

'I said to him I'd pay it forward, and do a good deed for a stranger in return.'

She received the £55 dress and wore it to the awards where she was shortlisted for best dating blog but missed out on the award.

Lauren's post about the man she met who took her to Costa then asked for the money back once she turned down his offer of dinner because he didn't like 'wasting' money went viral.

She revealed how when he suggested going for a coffee, he asked to go to Costa instead 'to save them crossing' the road to an independent cafe.

Lauren posted on her dating blog about a man who issued a refund demand for a £3.50 coffee after she told him she didn't feel any chemistry

The Tinder date send Lauren a text after the date asking if she would like to meet up again, but Lauren replies that, while it was lovely to meet him, she wasn't sure they had chemistry. He persists, again asking her to his place and saying 'let's give us a chance'

Lauren politely declines and, again, explains that she wouldn't go to someone's house she barely knows. And this is when things take a turn for the peculiar. He replies: 'Can you pay me pack for your coffee? I don't like wasting money. Prefer to use it on a date with someone else'

'Like seriously? I put on eyeliner for this and now I’m in a Costa b****y Coffee,' she wrote.

After 25 minutes of conversation he suggested they go to his place and he would cook her dinner as he has an Ocado delivery coming.

She declined explaining she wouldn't feel comfortable going to a stranger's house, so he left to catch his delivery service, just 32 minutes after meeting her.

He later sent Lauren a text asking if she would like to meet up again, but Lauren replied that, while it was lovely to meet him, she wasn't sure they had chemistry.

He persisted, again asking her to his place and saying 'let's give us a chance'.

But Lauren politely declined and, again, explained that she wouldn't go to someone's house she barely knows.

And this is when things took a turn for the peculiar.

He replied: 'Can you pay me back for your coffee? I don't like wasting money. Prefer to use it on a date with someone else.'

Lauren points out that it's a shame the man considers a date to be wasted when it doesn't end on his terms, but offers to donate the money to the Royal British Legion - even bumping it up to £5 'to cover his bus journey too'.

But the cheapskate date replied with an abrupt: 'I'd like to decide myself what to do with my money' and proceeds to give Lauren his bank account details for the £3.50 refund

Lauren pointed out that it's a shame the man considered a date to be wasted when it doesn't end on his terms, but offered to donate the money to the Royal British Legion - even bumping it up to £5 'to cover his bus journey too'.

But the cheapskate date replied with an abrupt: 'I'd like to decide myself what to do with my money' and proceeded to give Lauren his bank account details for the £3.50 refund.

She wrote on her blog: 'So my first foray back in to dating and it lasts a total of 32 minutes and ends with the most alarming text message I’ve ever received.

'I don’t come with a money back guarantee,' wrote Lauren, adding that it made her particularly angry because she has no problem paying on dates.

Lauren told Metro.co.uk: ‘It lasted 32 minutes, a date in a Costa Coffee, when I politely rejected his follow up text request for another date I was asked to repay the money for the coffee he bought me! As if!’

She added: ‘I wish it was fake, dating sucks!’

Lauren's experience strikes a very similar tone to one reported in September when a man demanded £4.50 back for a drink he had bought a woman on a first date when she declined his invitation for a second date at his house.