A five-year-old boy has been billed for failing to attend a friend's birthday party

[Miscbrah]

*Came into thread expecting American link.*

 

*Left saddened.*

[truebluesteve]

I wonder, if by agreeing to take his child to the party, that a contract had been entered into?

 

It would have been better if he had told her that little Johnny wouldn't be going to the party but sending him an invoice - really?!

[eyetea]

OMG... I've been Chillfactore snowboarding and there have been TINY kids zooming down the main slope... ski's and snowboards (the child who was snowboarding had a board the size of a skateboard... that's how small he was) you'd be surprised!

I went over to Italy to try out skiing... me struggling down the nursery slope, meanwhile kids that didn't even come up to my knees are zipping down at a million miles an hour

[eyetea]

Can't do that, unfortunately. AFAIK, legally speaking, if you owe a debt of greater than £10, the debtor is able to reasonably refuse certain methods of repayment. You'd drop all those pennies through her door and then A) have to go and collect them again, or B) be £16 down and still 'indebted' to her...

 

Could you pay it in instalments.. pay of £6.01 by normal means... then the second instalments in pennies?

[AMLinington]

As the host of the party I, too, would be pretty peeved if 10 children replied in the affirmative, I paid £150 or whatever it was for the cost of the 10 children, then one didn't turn up. However issuing an invoice is the sort of thing you see in those 'Overheard in Waitrose' posts: "Jemima didn't turn up to little Tarquin's party on Saturday, I've invoiced her parents for the cost of the caviar and lobster tail I wasted."

 

I think @truebluesteve hits the nail on the head.

 

Before going to court, though, the plaintive will need to complete pre-action protocols - they can't just summon someone to court.

 

I really think this is going to backfire on her badly and by reflection, her son - who will no longer be invited or included for fear of her litigious nature - heaven forbid little Tarquin should fall over and skin his knee whilst at another childs birthday party. Will she require proof of liability insurance? Will she sue for negligence? Not worth the hassle IMO.

 

If the party was a 'pay on arrival' then in most cases the venue would only require a deposit, not full payment, surely?

 

Either way I hope the judge tears her a new one for being so spiteful and petty.

[Garacesh]

Could you pay it in instalments.. pay of £6.01 by normal means... then the second instalments in pennies?

Doubtful. I think instalments still count as part of the bigger whole, so probably not. Obligatory IANAL and all.

[mthomas08]

Kept my mouth shut over this whole thing, what's interesting is the fact that people are calling outrage and kicking a huge fuss. I don't know what reaction is worse sending an invoice or everyones reaction.

 

This is why most people ask for money first for those who are "attending", from the Mother's point of view she is having to fork out for a child that didn't attend. Again this is why most people say pay up front or at least a deposit. After-all if you decide not to go to a cinema even though you have booked your ticket you still have to pay. I do find it strange that so many people are calling for this poor mother's blood.

 

On the other side for the father to find an invoice, if you are going to make an effort for an invoice surely make the effort to cover your own back and pay upfront?

 

Another one of those - Share me on Facebook to cause an outrage and it hits the news......

 

People are being murdered but let's concentrate on an invoice for £16..

 

Sorry

[rickjames]

Yeah, this is ridiculous but a slight part of me is OK with the mother doing this? What if it's the case that the kids parent isn't very approachable and might wind up kicking off/up a fuss if they asked them over the phone/face to face? Again it's petty to do it via invoice, but what do we know eh?

[plexer]

Yes when you organise a party it's a pain when people who say they will come don't and even worse if they don't even contact you but at the end of the day it was the parents of the birthday child who decided to arrange this at a venue that cost them money like this so to try and charge the parents for non attendance is daft.

 

The venue has announced that this was nothing to do to with them even though the parent put their address on the invoice and they've said this is fraudulent, lol

 

The venue also said they would have offered bar credit or additional rides to the parent so they wouldn't have really lost out.

 

Ben

[woodham]

This is not meant as a dig but I don't know of anyone who would ask for the parents of a child invited to a party to pay to attend the party do people really do this ? if I throw a party for my daughters its my choice as to what they do (ok so it there's really but there only 3 so its a choice of one or two things) I fully expect to pay for it all and not pass on the costs to the parents of the children we have invited, I do agree that he could/should have got in touch to let her know that they couldn't attend after accepting the invite

 

I do feel for both the kids involved nether of which are going to get party invites again for fear of reprisel

 

Kept my mouth shut over this whole thing, what's interesting is the fact that people are calling outrage and kicking a huge fuss. I don't know what reaction is worse sending an invoice or everyones reaction.

 

This is why most people ask for money first for those who are "attending", from the Mother's point of view she is having to fork out for a child that didn't attend. Again this is why most people say pay up front or at least a deposit. After-all if you decide not to go to a cinema even though you have booked your ticket you still have to pay. I do find it strange that so many people are calling for this poor mother's blood.

 

 

Sorry

[mthomas08]

This is not meant as a dig

 

Don't worry, I don't take it as one - you have been far more polite than what I usually get

 

You are right, I have never seen an invoice for something like this. I always question things though especially when people claim they had no contact details which the Parent had said "was on the letter". Have heard that excuse a lot over the years when I have caught others out to simply not reading it properly. It's why companies force people to sign things on legal binding documents.

 

Spot on though, if you throw a party you usually expect to cover the costs unless asking for money before hand. Which is what most people tend to do.

 

I get the feeling that both Parents are purposely being awkward over this entire thing, considering half of the argument occurred over Facebook (which again says it all). Having a mother who would be the one who got the invoice, she would react exactly how this all happened - resorting to facebook to argue. She would also be the one who would send the "bill" not an invoice