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Five-Year-Old Gets Invoice For Missing Pal's Birthday Party

9 years ago

For the love of all things merciful, I thought I'd heard it all until I read a piece in the Daily Mail this morning about a five-year-old boy who was invoiced by the parents of a play mate, for failing to turn up to his friend's birthday party.

Now, I know that kids' birthday parties can turn even the calmest and most reasonable of parent into something of a stress-head, and I'm well aware that plenty of parents think it's the height of bad manners not to reply to a child's birthday party invitation, but surely sending an invoice to the no-shows is just a step w-a-y too far?!

The Daily Mail reports:

"A five-year-old boy has been invoiced £15.95 - for missing a friend's birthday party.
The host's mother gave the bill to Alex Nash via a teacher after he visited grandparents instead of showing up at a ski centre in Plymouth, Cornwall.
Alex's dumbstruck parents found it in his school bag - and their refusal to pay could now lead to a hearing at a small claims court."

Apparently the parents sent an RSVP to the invitation before Christmas to say their child would attend the birthday party, but then forgot that they'd already arranged for the child to go on a day trip with his grandparents on that same day.

The parents say they had no choice but to fail to turn up since they claim they didn't have contact details for the party-throwing parents, and they planned to apologise in person after the Christmas holidays. Instead, they opened their child's bag after school one day to find that they had been invoiced for the sum of £15.95 in a 'no-show' fee.

Would you ever go to such lengths to claw back your expenses when people fail to turn up to your child's birthday bash? Or do you agree that this is indeed a touch too far?

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Comments

BigJBrizzle
To me, this is unbelievably petty! Would they have done the same if the child had been ill or even hospitalised? Would they be demanding their money back if their OWN child had been too ill to attend their own party?
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figurehead
I think the title of this article is ambiguous, it was the parents that were invoiced not the child..the child may have been given the invoice to give to the parents...typical Daily Mail crap. And yes, I do think the parents should pay for the non-show. After all it was at a ski resort, not the childs house. Daily Mail sensationalism.
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sally63
Absolutely pathetic. Would he have got invoice if he had been poorly? Were the parents told they would have to pay? With no contact number it would b hard to let them no. I myself would certainly not pay it.
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missymoo1234
it is very frustrating when someone does not turn up to a party your throwing. Many places now make you pay even if someone does not show up....but i dont think i would ever send an invoice! lol oO
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cicobuff
More Daily Mail sensationalism. Wished they would get the header right, the parents, not the child were invoiced. Just so happened the child was given the invoice to pass on to the parents. The parents 'excuse' that they could not contact blah blah blah is not excusable...their was a fee, there were numbers allocated for, the child did not attend...does anyone expect the party organisers parents to take the wrap for that? Why were the parents of the child 'dumbstruck'? Hardly as if it was a party held around the b'day childs house...it was organised and had to be paid for, per head at a ski resort with food etc. They were invoiced the exact amount of £15.95, no more no less than the cost of their childs food and rides etc that had to be paid in full 48 hours before the event by the parents of the b'day child...is it wrong of them to ask for that? Admittedly, it was dumb of them to not just ask the parents for the money verbally, equally dumb to create an invoice that 'appeared' like it was issued from the ski slope itself... It is not a touch too far to ask for payment for missing a paid for event though, the article is badly written, even the photo shows the invoice is addressed to the parents of the child.
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lilacrose
Pathetic and very petty. Small claims court will laugh it out.
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Dee7457
Sorry but you are so wrong sickobuff , the issuer of the invoice shows a pathetic attitude, it was a 5yr olds party , her poor child will be ridiculed for years about his pathetic mother
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