A mum is "livid" with her "cheeky" parents-in-law after a minor family disagreement led to them leaving her with an unexpected £750 holiday bill.
The mum-of-two, who usually gets along well with her parents-in-law, had arranged to go on holiday to Majorca with them, taking her husband and their children, as well as her own father, along for the getaway. In the planning process, the mum booked a four bedroom apartment on behalf of the group for £2,400, which they all agreed to split.
The mum and her husband would pay 40% while 60% of the bill would be split equally between the parents-in-law and the mum's dad. Things turned sour though after a recent disagreement between her husband and his parents, which has led the mother-in-law to book her own separate accommodation so she has "somewhere to go should things kick off whilst we are on holiday”.
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After booking her own place to stay, she's now refusing to cough up for the apartment her daughter-in-law booked on her say so, leaving the mum with an additional "£750-ish" to fork out for the accommodation. The mum sought advice on Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread, with a post titled, "Parents in law and holiday bill - please tell me who is in the wrong!"
After detailing the situation and explaining how well they usually get on, she said: "Over Easter we went down to Cornwall for a week and whilst there DH [dear husband] had a disagreement with his stepdad. Nothing to do with holiday whatsoever but ended in very heated discussion and MIL [mother-in-law] getting upset. (Neither were right or wrong just different opinions and they should have just agreed to disagree). Without consulting us MIL booked separate accommodation for July, saying she needs “somewhere to go should things kick off whilst we are on holiday”. She also decided without discussion that what we had booked is not big enough.
"When asked, she stated they would not pay their share of the one I'd already booked. This leaves us with £750-ish added to our holiday bill without any consultation. I am livid. Neither of them seem to think this is bad since we are "getting use of an extra bedroom". I don't need an extra bedroom - our kids are 5 and 2 and will share.
"AIBU to think you can't just decide not to partake in an agreed holiday without paying your share? If I had already got their share, she would not have booked a new place! What do I do now?"
Fellow Mumsnet users were quick to share their thoughts in the comments section. One said: "That is very cheeky and petulant, are you able to change?"
Another said: "I'd be cancelling as you wouldn't be able to pay that extra cost." A third wrote: "B****y hell, that's awful of her."
And another commented: "If it really is just an 'agree to disagree' situation then they are in the wrong here. Are they usually so dramatic over a minor disagreement, or are you downplaying it? It seems like a pretty extreme reaction. I think I would try and cancel the accommodation if possible and get somewhere cheaper, and not go on holiday with them again. If you do I would get the money upfront before booking anything."
A fifth said: "That's terrible behaviour! How could she do that to her son! It's not like it's £50, where does she think you're going to find £750 from?! I'd be telling her to book her new holiday in another country!"
Another Mumsnet user added: "I'd be furious and in fact not want to go with them in view of her very childish behaviour. I'd try to cancel and rebook in another venue, possibly selling the accommodation on."
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