A mum was left "shocked" when her best friend invited her son on holiday, charged him for his place and then refused to refund him when he couldn’t go.
The anonymous woman explained that her friend of 45 years invited her son to go away with her family as she has a son of her own and they get along well.
But things came to a head when her friend asked her son to pay £270 to cover his place, even though he was going to be sharing a room, reports Liverpool Echo .
The original poster said that she ended up paying her pal the money she asked for so her son could go away with them, on top of the flights, and the spending money.
However, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the dates for the holiday were moved and they were forced to pull out.
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Now, her friend is refusing to refund his money, saying "he chose not to go so he loses the money.
She said she "personally wouldn't" charge a friend's child for their holiday accommodation but would expect them to pay for their own flights and spending money.
"I'm in a situation that involves my best and oldest friend, her family and my son," she explained in a post on Mumsnet .
"The two families are exceptionally close and our friendship spans over 45 years. They first invited my son, then 15, to join them on a family holiday to Spain a few years ago. We paid for his flight and also covered his expenses whilst there which I thought was reasonable.
"I only recently found out that my friend charged him £270 for his stay (sharing a room with their son) which my son paid. He didn't tell me until recently so I was completely unaware. Fast forward to a year ago, my son was again invited to join them on holiday. He bought his own flight and was again charged for his accommodation (sharing a room with their son)."
But the pandemic meant that the holiday was postponed, and the rescheduled dates would have clashed with her son’s final uni exams.
So, the mum and her partner supported his decision to cancel the holiday in favour of sitting the exams and went about trying to get refunds.
She continued: "He has just been given a voucher for the full flight amount but my closest friend is keeping his accommodation money which I think is so morally wrong. The £300 was to cover his stay in the villa whilst he was there (showers, electricity etc) but the poor kid didn't go so he's basically given them almost £300 spending money for absolutely nothing!! It wasn't even as if my son had his own room (on either occasion!!).
"If a family is going on holiday anyway and an extra person doesn't increase the cost of the accommodation - why on earth charge them for it?!!!! When my best friends returned from their holiday we asked if it would be possible if my son could have his money reimbursed and the answer was a straight out and out NO. End of. Their answer was ‘he chose not to go so he loses the money’.
"I am so shocked and hurt by this - a student who had worked hard during the summer to save up for the holiday and they felt they were totally justified in keeping his money. I know that if the shoe was on the other foot there is no way firstly, I'd even consider charging for accommodation but if I did and the child couldn't go there would be no question of me giving the money back. I simply can't get over their decision which I believe shows zero loyalty and is totally morally wrong.
"My best friend and I are no longer talking but hopefully my son and his friend will continue to remain close. 45+ years of friendship down the toilet. To rip off my son once is bad enough but to do it again is unforgivable in my mind."
She asked Mumsnet users for their opinions on whether her friend was in the wrong or whether she was overreacting but the majority of people were on her side.
One person said: "One extra person in a villa makes no difference to the cost, especially as he's sharing a room. That's awful behaviour."
Another wrote: "If it costs more to accommodate the extra person then it’s not unreasonable to ask for the difference but this should be made clear from the start so you can choose to send your child or not."
A third commented: “That's pretty shoddy behaviour especially towards a teenager who obviously doesn't have much money going. I think they know they are in the wrong as they didn't mention to you charging your son for accommodation on the first holiday.
"They would have had to pay for the room regardless of the boys were sharing so it's not acceptable to use your son's money to subsidise their holiday costs. You made the right decision with regards to the friendship.”
But someone else added: "Personally I wouldn't have fallen out with a friend of 45 years over this. Your son isn't a child if he is finishing a degree, he is a 20/21 adult.
"He made the choice to go on holiday with them knowing like last time he had to pay for accommodation. The holiday still went ahead and he couldn't go."
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