By JEANNE FLEMING AND LEONARD SCHWARZ

DEAR JEANNE AND LEONARD: A restaurant claims I owe more than $400 for a meal I had there two years ago. According to the letter, the credit-card system wasn’t working that night, so they took my card number but failed to charge the card. They enclosed a copy of my driver’s license, a copy of my now-expired MasterCard and a very faint copy of a charge slip for $400 with an illegible signature. Am I obligated to pay this bill? It has been years, I don’t remember this happening, and even if I did eat there, how do I know I didn’t pay the bill in cash at the time? — A.S. DEAR A.S.: Why would you have let the restaurant make a copy of your driver’s license and credit card if you were paying with cash?