[News] Boy, 5, given £15.95 invoice for missing friend's birthday party

[Paris]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...voice-for-missing-friends-birthday-party.html

What is the world coming to? We are all DOOOOOOMED!

 

[Bozza]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...voice-for-missing-friends-birthday-party.html

What is the world coming to? We are all DOOOOOOMED!

They should pay the £15.95 but INSIST they are provided with the party bag that would have been given to all attendees, complete with small plastic tat, sweets and a slice of birthday cake.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Well going to the national press is definitely going to solve it.

 

[Brian Fantana]

It just makes the mother who sent the invoice look like a right ****. If you're that bothered about being out of pocket for the child not turning up, why not have a polite word with the other parent and explain the situation?

 

[Hillian1]

Bang their heads together.

Her for being a dick, him for going to the press.

 

[Buzzer]

My youngest was about 7 when he went to a friend's party and was given a party bag full of Man Utd branded stuff. Ruler, pencil, rubber...that sort of stuff. Completely of his own volition, he took everything with Man Utd out the bag and handed it back to the mother of the party boy. "I don't want these thankyou. I support Brighton".

I was a proud dad that day.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Should teach the idiot mother of the birthday boy a lesson - invoicing indeed !!! In my day a birthday tea with some party games was perfectly adequate as a birthday treat. Now you have Muesli Hill hipster parents trying to out do each other with their kids parties with ever more expensive and 'look at how cool we are' activities. *rant over*

 

[Yoda]

Can see the small claims court throwing it out as there wouldn't have been a signed agreement stipulating the cost would be charged for non shows.

 

[Badger]

Can see the small claims court throwing it out as there wouldn't have been a signed agreement stipulating the cost would be charged for non shows.

We can only hope she does go down that route and has to pay court costs.

 

[Chicken Run]

Should teach the idiot mother of the birthday boy a lesson - invoicing indeed !!! In my day a birthday tea with some party games was perfectly adequate as a birthday treat. Now you have Muesli Hill hipster parents trying to out do each other with their kids parties with ever more expensive and 'look at how cool we are' activities. *rant over*

Agreed, when mine were that age I was 22-25 and didn't have a pot to piss inn, this new breed of parents seem to be a lot older and a lot more precious.

 

[Bold Seagull]

My youngest was about 7 when he went to a friend's party and was given a party bag full of Man Utd branded stuff. Ruler, pencil, rubber...that sort of stuff. Completely of his own volition, he took everything with Man Utd out the bag and handed it back to the mother of the party boy. "I don't want these thankyou. I support Brighton".

I was a proud dad that day.

That is amazing at that age! You should be rightly proud.

I think at say 4 to 6, kids will support whoever they're told, they've got no real context for that opinion.

7 - 11, very difficult period for a child fan. I think this is the time many will start talking about '2nd teams' or 'I support Brighton, but my Premiership team is….'. Sounds like your lad has his allegiance and priorities spot on. Thankfully, my 10 and 8 year olds haven't yet proclaimed they have a second team, but my 8 year old son would have taken the ManUtd Party Bag and tried to swap it for something at school!

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Just like betting, if you can't afford to host the party and risk people not turning up, then do something cheaper.

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

Great parenting. The children suffer because of the parents being dicks. The mother hosting party shouldn't be having a kids party if she can not afford it.

 

[drew]

To be fair to the mother who organised the party, she is well out of pocket. The invoice is number 1432 so that is a lot of no shows!! Having said that, my daughter doesn't even know that many people, let alone have a party where they are all invited!!!

Either their kid is very unpopular or maybe they should scale it down a bit.

 

[Algernon]

The invoice is number 1432 so that is a lot of no shows!!

Let's assume that the party had the capacity to entertain 1500. (She wasn't expecting a sell out even though the facilities at her party were second to none.)
15 invited guests actually turned up and the Small Claims Court decision means that all of the 1432 non-attendees end up having to pay.
Can she then announce proudly, chest puffed out and with a straight face, the attendance figure as 1447?

 

[Buzzer]

Purely on a technical point, how can the mother be out of pocket? Presumably, it was paid for in advance based on a predicted number of children. The alternative, that it was POTD, would not have left her forking out for the child. So the payment was a sunk cost and therefore the mother is no better or worse off if any of the children subsequently showed up.

 

[30209]

Agree with all of the above. Absolutely outrageous. Just because they've said they'll go shouldn't mean they have to. Accepting an invite clearly still gives you the option to back out and do something else if a better offer comes along or you just don't feel like it.

 

[Pavilionaire]

For revenge purposes the invoiced boy's parents should have sold their story to The Sun for £15.95 on the proviso that they present the payment to the party parents via one of those massive "charity-style" cheques.

I've got to say, the Telegraph have also missed out on great headline potential:

"PISTE OFF PARENTS INVOICED FOR PARTY NO SNOW NO SHOW"

 

[Gazwag]

I don't quite get it

You arrange a party for 10 children
You agree the party cost of £15.95 per child = 159.50
One child does not turn up cost of party is still 159.50 it isn't 175.45 so how is the mother out of pocket

IF it was agreed that each child pay £15.95 for the activities at the party and one child, who had agreed to go, then didn't turn up then yes mummy would be £15.95 out of pocket and I would say reasonable (if not notice given) to ask for a contribution from the missing child's family

 

[Biscuit]

Sadly it's both children who will suffer in this situation.

He should let her take him to SC court - it'd be great to see her have to pay the court fee's at the end of it!