Are We Really Becoming This Type Of Society

[Noe-schitt]

This just beggars belief

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-30876360

[naomi24]

Pathetic. If you invite someone to a party and they accept but don't turn up, you just pay the bill. It makes no difference whether they came or not.

[joggerjayne]

Brilliant and hilarious ... I love it.

But surely the reason for "non attendance" is the most lame excuse ever ...

The boy was "due" to spend time with his grandparents !!!

Would the grandparents really have stopped the boy going to a party and demanded that he kept his appointed time with them? Of course not.

The boy's father is teaching his son that it doesn't matter if you let your friends down.

Well, it does matter. It matters a lot.

Children should learn to be awesome friends, who never, ever let their pals down without a very good reason.

The boy's father is a disgrace.

I'm on the side of the other parents, the ones who sent the invoice. It might teach this rotten father a good lesson.

[-Talbot-]

I have just remembered the time one of my mates never turned up for a Graham Coxon concert and I was stuck with his ticket that I paid for....how long after the event am I allowed to sue?

[Elina]

If the birthday invite contained all the details for rsvp ... then really he should have told them his son wouldn't be able to attend. As far as billing someone for not showing up, there's no way I'd do that even if I were out of pocket. I think both sides have embarrassed themselves, one looks petty & mean & the other has taken his story to the papers so everyone knows ... both have embarrassed themselves & their children.

[joggerjayne]

Look, clearly Mrs Lawrence is not going to win because ...

1. There is no contractual relationship.

2. Neither "consideration" nor "intention to create legal relations" are present.

3. The boy who was invited is a minor, so does not have legal capacity to be bound by the agreement.

4. Mrs Lawrence has not suffered any loss. Presumably she had to pay the fifteen quid, whether the boy turned up or not, so she is not out of pocket.

However, it's an important principle that you don't accept an invite unless you're free and, once you've accepted it, you do not book something else on top of it. Otherwise, you turn into one of these people who will let you down if they get a better offer.

[naomi24]

//….even if I were out of pocket.//

That’s what I meant in my last post. How could you be out of pocket when you’d planned to pay for the absent guest anyway?

I do think they should have told the host they weren't coming though. That's just rude.

[Elina]

Yes true! I suppose she thought someone else could have filled the empty seat.

[joggerjayne]

If I were the type of parent who keeps their child away from a party because he is "due to spend time with his grandparents", the last thing I'd do tell the newspapers!

Unless ...

1. The grandparents have a Contact Order, and it would be a breach of a Court order to let the boy go to a party, or

2. One of the grandparents is at death's door and it might be the last time the boy sees them.

Actually, I'm not any type of parent, so why should I worry.

:0)

[Ellipsis]

You should worry because young Master Nash should one day be paying the taxes that will support you in your dotage ...

[B00]

"That’s what I meant in my last post. How could you be out of pocket when you’d planned to pay for the absent guest anyway?"

Because she could have saved herself the £15.00 if she'd known he wasn't coming and booked his place.

[Old_Geezer]

Surely the hostess merely got *** and took it a little too far in trying to make a point. I find it difficult to believe they'd be foolish enough to actually take it to court. Unsure why it was considered newsworthy though. Must be a slow day, even if it was 'hidden' in one of the minor tabs.

[joggerjayne]

// she could have saved herself the £15.00 if she'd known he wasn't coming and booked his place //

But, for her to have a claim in law, (notwithstanding the aforesaid reasons why she has NO claim) Mrs Lawrence would need to show that ...

She has suffered a loss as a result of what the boy did. In other words ...

The act or omission caused her to be £15 worse off than if the act or omission had not occurred. Thus ...

The boy's failure to show up at the party caused her to be £15 worse off than if he HAD shown up. But ...

If he shows up, it costs her £15. If he doesn't show up, it has still cost her £15.

So, where is her loss?

Mrs Lawrence's loss is purely the pleasure of having the boy at the party - a pleasure that she missed out on.

The fact that her son might have missed his friend is not relevant, because the son did not pay for the party.

[naomi24]

B00, but as I understand it, the invitation was initially accepted, therefore she would have booked and paid for his place anyway.

[mikey4444]

I think its extraordinary that this little boy should have been charged to go to his friends birthday party in the first place, let alone being charged for not attending !

What if the parents of Mrs Lawrence's sons friends couldn't afford to pay £15.95 ?

( sorry...I have just seen that there are 2 threads going on this story )

[Ellipsis]

I don't think he was being charged to go - only (and I would guess originally at least half jokingly) for not going?

The message from the host seems to be "I don't mind paying for your son to come to my son's party. But if you're going to accept the invitation and then not turn up; and are too rude to let me know about it despite knowing well in advance that you wouldn't be coming; denying me the opportunity to invite somebody in your son's place or cancel his place; and disappointing my son that a friend did not come to his party; then I strongly object to your pig-ignorant rudeness and I'm going to let you know about it."

Mr Nash is happy to speak to the school and the BBC but never, it seems, directly to the parent he offended. He is the one most at fault in all of this.

[jno]

I think that sums it up fairly, Ellipsis. I don't imagine Mr Nash will end up paying a brass farthing. But maybe he'll learn some manners, and that would be no bad thing.

[joggerjayne]

The tide is turning.

We are all backing Mrs Lawrence!

Go, girl!

[DaisyNonna]

Pathetic

[joggerjayne]

I'm starting to think we should have a whip round, and pay for Mrs Lawrence to take this inconsiderate man, and his horrid child, to the small claims court for the £15.

Obviously she will lose, but the experience might teach that ghastly family to be more considerate to their friends, and stop treating them like poo.

[BlackadderV]

"It's amusing to imagine what a children's party invitation seeking to create a contract might say: "I, the 'first party', hereinafter referred to as the 'birthday boy', cordially invite you the 'second party', hereinafter referred to as 'my best friend', to the party of 'the first party'."

Like it, reminds me of this: Media URL: https://www.google.co.uk/?gws_rd=ssl#q=marx+brothers+sanity+clause
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