Young Boy Was Handed An Invoice For Missing His Friend’s Birthday Party!

If your child was unable to attend a classmate’s birthday party do you think it’s fair to be charged a price for not turning up?

This is exactly what happened to UK five year old Alex Nash when he was a no-show at his friend’s party which was held at the Plymouth’s Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre. Alex’s father Derek, received an invoice asking for $20 which was the cost of his son attending.

Derek RSVP’d to the mother of the birthday boy saying Alex would be in attendance. What he forgot though, was that he had already made plans to visit Alex’s grandparents that day.

The invoice, which was sent home via Alex’s teacher at school, wasn’t taken seriously initially by Derek. He says he refused to pay and even visited the birthday boy’s mother, Julie Lawrence, to tell her he was not happy with the way the matter was being dealt with.

Alex’s mother Tanya, also got involved and tried to find a peaceful solution to the whole mess. “I messaged Julie on Facebook to say sorry and let’s resolve this amicably. And she said: ‘The amicable way I believe is for you to pay me the money. And let that be a lesson learnt’,” Tanya said.

When Tanya refused to pay for something that hadn’t been used, Julie threatened her with a law suit. “The next thing I heard she was taking us to small claims court. My partner went to see her and it ended in an argument. She shouted down the street: ‘Don’t mess with me’.””

Alex’s parents say they never had an issue with the mother before the birthday party and that her behaviour came out of the blue.

“Every time I spoke to her previously she was always very polite,” Tanya added. “All of this is very shocking. Julie could have tried to contact us before issuing the bill. If she had spoken to us we would have considered paying it. I could totally understand her point. It is not about the money for us and we did not mean to let them down. It is the way she has gone about it.”

Angry mother Julie, defended her decision of sending an invoice saying, she should’ve been contacted ahead of time so she could cancel their son’s spot at the party instead of having to pay.

“All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me,” Julie defends.

This the letter sent to Julie from Alex’s mum Tanya Walsh:

Hi Julie. This is Alex’s mum. I was very shocked to see the invoice in Alex’s school bag.

The only reason Alex did not attend the party was because his nan and grandad were going away for Christmas and the only day the kids could go see them was on the same day as the party.

I apologise for not letting you know, but I did not have a phone number or an email for you. 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.

Julie’s response:

Hi Tanya, I confirmed with all parents on the Thursday before the party that they were going as I had to pay that day, and Derek told me Alex was looking forward to it and would see us there, to me that is confirmation.

My phone number was on the invitation that was sent out to Alex.

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.

The amicable way round this I believe would be to pay me the money and let a lesson be learnt. I hope this is agreeable. Julie

Tanya: The only reason Derek was angry was because of the fact that the envelope was put into Alex’s school bag, when it has nothing to do with the school.

Like I said before, no money was mentioned when we spoke, and I feel it would be inappropriate to pay you the money, when I don’t know what it’s actually paying for.

Like I said before I didn’t have your number to let you know. And exactly what lesson would I be learning. I am not a child, so please do not speak to me like I am one.

So, to answer your question, unfortunately no. This is not agreeable.

Julie:  You are paying for 1 x child’s party at the ski slope including snow tubing and tobogganing and lunch.

Tanya: Just so you know, small claims court cost £60 ($75) just to start a claim. Also I’m not paying for something we didn’t use.

Julie: It doesn’t cost that much.

Tanya:  It does. I don’t know why you are out for our blood.

If you had come up to us the first day back and explained about the money, then I could have explained about Alex, then maybe we could have sorted something out. Instead you send an invoice.

There you have it! What do you think of the exchange between the parents? Is it fair to ask for money if a child hasn’t turned up to the party and you’ve already paid for them? Or should you just write it off as another expense for your child’s party? Thoughts?