W
Wanker
Guest
No, not a joke. Would you have done it and why?.
The birthday boy’s mother has threatened to take Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh to small claims court.
It just might pay to know the rules of etiquette pertaining to children's birthday parties. The parents of a 5-year-old in England have been billed the equivalent of nearly $29 after he failed to show up for a friend's birthday party.
A British court may soon take on the monumental task of deciding whether it’s OK to charge a 5-year-old a no-show fee for missing a birthday party.
Alex Nash of Torpoint in southwest England was set to attend the party at a dry ski slope just before Christmas, but backed out when his parents remembered that he was supposed to spend the day with his grandparents.
Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh claim they had no contact information at the time to let Julie Lawrence, the mother of the birthday boy, know.
Then last week, the couple discovered a brown envelope in their son’s school bag. Inside was an invoice from Lawrence for 15.95 British pounds, the equivalent of nearly $29. Derek Nash told various media outlets that Lawrence claimed Alex’s failure to attend the party left her out of pocket, and that she would take the parents to small claims court for refusing to pay.
Nash said Alex’s school confirmed that one of the teachers put the envelope in his bag, and apologized for their involvement. He then confronted the mother directly at home.
Nash and Walsh did not return the Star’s requests for comment.
Lawrence has said almost nothing publicly about the affair. In a short statement to several outlets, she said: “All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me.”
“I told her I would not be paying her the money. I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son’s school bag,” . “I would have sympathized with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can’t believe the way she has gone around it.”
The story has gone viral, with the BBC feeling it necessary to inform people of the rules of children’s birthday party etiquette, and getting its legal correspondent to comment on the case.
Clive Coleman said it is “all but impossible” for Lawrence to recoup the costs in court, writing that “a child’s party invitation would not create legal relations with either the child ‘guest’ or its parents.”
The invoice also led to a row in the great virtual schoolyard of social media, with Lawrence and Walsh facing off against each other on Facebook. The conversation was — undoubtedly gleefully — quoted in full by British media.
Walsh: “If I had known that I would have to pay if Alex did not go, then I would have paid you the money, no problem. I do not like fighting with people, and would prefer to settle this amicably.”
Lawrence: “I don’t like fighting with people either, and was not best impressed when Derek turned up on my doorstep, and said you won’t get any money out of me, rather rudely. I do admit it rattled me.”
Perhaps what is even more depressing than adults going at it over such a small amount of money is that, according to British media, Lawrence’s son is no longer allowed to play with Alex at school.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...d-to-show-up-at-a-friends-birthday-party.html
The birthday boy’s mother has threatened to take Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh to small claims court.
It just might pay to know the rules of etiquette pertaining to children's birthday parties. The parents of a 5-year-old in England have been billed the equivalent of nearly $29 after he failed to show up for a friend's birthday party.
A British court may soon take on the monumental task of deciding whether it’s OK to charge a 5-year-old a no-show fee for missing a birthday party.
Alex Nash of Torpoint in southwest England was set to attend the party at a dry ski slope just before Christmas, but backed out when his parents remembered that he was supposed to spend the day with his grandparents.
Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh claim they had no contact information at the time to let Julie Lawrence, the mother of the birthday boy, know.
Then last week, the couple discovered a brown envelope in their son’s school bag. Inside was an invoice from Lawrence for 15.95 British pounds, the equivalent of nearly $29. Derek Nash told various media outlets that Lawrence claimed Alex’s failure to attend the party left her out of pocket, and that she would take the parents to small claims court for refusing to pay.
Nash said Alex’s school confirmed that one of the teachers put the envelope in his bag, and apologized for their involvement. He then confronted the mother directly at home.
Nash and Walsh did not return the Star’s requests for comment.
Lawrence has said almost nothing publicly about the affair. In a short statement to several outlets, she said: “All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me.”
“I told her I would not be paying her the money. I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son’s school bag,” . “I would have sympathized with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can’t believe the way she has gone around it.”
The story has gone viral, with the BBC feeling it necessary to inform people of the rules of children’s birthday party etiquette, and getting its legal correspondent to comment on the case.
Clive Coleman said it is “all but impossible” for Lawrence to recoup the costs in court, writing that “a child’s party invitation would not create legal relations with either the child ‘guest’ or its parents.”
The invoice also led to a row in the great virtual schoolyard of social media, with Lawrence and Walsh facing off against each other on Facebook. The conversation was — undoubtedly gleefully — quoted in full by British media.
Walsh: “If I had known that I would have to pay if Alex did not go, then I would have paid you the money, no problem. I do not like fighting with people, and would prefer to settle this amicably.”
Lawrence: “I don’t like fighting with people either, and was not best impressed when Derek turned up on my doorstep, and said you won’t get any money out of me, rather rudely. I do admit it rattled me.”
Perhaps what is even more depressing than adults going at it over such a small amount of money is that, according to British media, Lawrence’s son is no longer allowed to play with Alex at school.
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...d-to-show-up-at-a-friends-birthday-party.html
