Friend should pay me back?

So many obtuse people on this thread. The first friend should of course honour the commitment she gave to you - i.e. that she would pay. The second friend came along purely because she understood that the first friend was honouring the previous financial commitment and the event would be covered. Your first friend lied to you, she agreed to do something and then recinded on it. She is not a friend and of course she should pay.

You mean ex friend surely? Friend 1 should have paid. If I was friend 2 I'd happily pay so that you weren't out of pocket but friend 1 sounds awful

The friend who went maybe only went because it was free. Perhaps they couldn’t afford it, or they just went to keep op company but it wasn’t really their thing. If op hadn’t got that friend to go she would have had to go alone or miss out entirely. Would the friend who let her down have reimbursed then?
Your friend let you down. Told you to get someone else and she would still pay. You got someone in that circumstance. The original friend should pay.

Friend one should pay.

I imagine since friend one said she would pay all along, it was maybe described to friend 2 as a free trip due to someone not being able to go, and friend 2 only going as it was free and not to waste the ticket.

If friend one didn't want to pay after realising she couldn't go, she should have sold the ticket, or asked op to try and sell the ticket.

Would you have had the option to cancel after she found out she couldn't go?

The second person only went as it was offered for free at the suggestion of the first friend. Didn't you read that part???

The original friend should have paid, regardless if she ended up going or not. The spa day was purchased on the understanding she would pay the OP her half. Once she realised she couldn't go, she told the OP she could take someone else and still said she'd pay. You can't now ask the second friend to pay, after the event, when she was never expecting to pay! The original friend is never going to pay the money, that's fact. Take a deep breath and chalk this one up to experience. Don't ever purchase anything for this original friend again, without having the money in advance.

If I were friend one, I would have paid. It's what I agreed to, and the very least I could do given that I canceled at the last minute.

If I were friend two I would also have offered to pay because I was the one who was using the spot.

if she didn't mean to actually offer to pay for someone else then why on earth did she....actually offer to pay for someone else?
If you say something you need to follow through, that's social interaction 101.

isn't she your friend?
not a very good one, apparently.

In your bizarro world who should pay if OP hadn't found a second person to take the space, out of interest?

Think you should just cut your losses tbh. The friend should of paid you when you paid for it, when she decided she wasn’t coming she shouldn’t of said she would pay for it if she wasn’t going to, she should of asked if have you got a friend to sell it to. Then when you invited the new friend you should have told her the plan and the cost. You can’t now be expected or expect to go to the friend who went after the event has passed asking for payment when they were presumably told it’s a freebie. Did the friend not offer to cover the cost, I know I would have in that situation.

I think YABU to expect your friend to pay when you found someone else to go with you.

Neither would I. I would rather absorb the cost myself than ask the person who went. The original friend really dropped OP in it. I wouldn't be rushing to arrange anything with her again.

Or maybe I would if she was doing the booking and then I would tell her to deduct the money she promised from my share

Take it in the chin and OF can go foxtrot Oscar as they’re flakey and unreliable. Got a better offer, so cancelled.

Some of the posters! Wow, what entitled cheeky fuckers! Of course the friend who made plans to go with you and let you pay and commit to it should pay. If she didn’t want to pay she could have ‘sold her space’ to someone, or lost it and no one use it, but to expect someone who wasn’t planning to go and was offered a free place to go is insane! She clearly planned that from off.

I’d insist she pay as arranged or drop her completely.

Friend 1 should pay as that's what she agreed to. There's no way I'd ask friend 2 to pay

Tell original friend that second friend only came along because they were told it was a free spa because original friend has said to do this. Original friend is not a friend. MNers are so strange with their way of thinking.

you can't do that AFTER the event, ffs.
Fair enough if OP had said BEFORE going 'do you want to pay £x for a spa?'
but you can't offer some a free spa ticket and then after they've attended say 'actually you ow me £50?'
that would make OP even cheekier than her original CF friend!

She should have paid, but once the spa trip time had come around and she still hadn't paid it was clear she was never going to...

Guessing there was no option for a refund?

tbf OP how much weight do you want to give the opinion of someone who thinks 'should of' is correct?

You are of course correct, the original friend was obliged to pay from the moment she agreed it with you, even more so once she specifically said she would pay even if you got someone else to go in her place. Legally she doesn't have a leg to stand on once she's committed to pay in writing.
She's not a friend, and is a knob.

She should pay as that was the deal. I once paid for a holiday I couldn’t go on and the fee to change the name to a new person who went for free. If someone commits on the basis that you are paying half then you can’t lumber them with the hassle of finding a replacement payer if you bail.

Friend 1 should pay as she said she would. It would be difficult to ask Friend 2 to pay when you have offered them a free treat. Never book anything for Friend 1 again without payment in advance.

I let this go however I would not book anything again with her..

Gosh. Glad I'm not friends with some of you lot.

So you think it’s ok to offer someone a free ticket then ask them to pay afterwards? Honestly the people who are saying this are absolutely mad!