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Original poster

To think you don’t get out of paying the bill because you don’t drink?

458 replies

ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 19:58

I’m sure this has been done many times before by people in similar scenarios.

I went out for a bit of lunch with two friend’s and one of them brought another friend along that I’ve never met but was nice enough.

However, when it came to the bill, she said ‘’Can we please calculate it all with the alcohol you’ve had separately paid for? Because I only had classical cokes’’

So, we did as she asked. Added up everything but removed the drinks. So 3 of us paid for our drinks in a split, and then did another split for the rest with her and her food and classical colas.

The annoying bit is, she had 3 of them. And they weren’t really much different in price to most of our alcohol.

We all had the same roast and mango cheesecake.

I wouldn’t mind but she kept insisting we all had a dessert so she didn’t feel alone in having one. We’re adults after all but it is a bit annoying

Separate thread to come to see if I would be U to tell my friend not to bring her along again

She also didn’t tip.

OP posts:
Coali · 09/04/2025 20:09

Well next time just everyone pay for what they’ve had? It was silly of you to split her drinks and to have a dessert if you didn’t want one. Is it really worth all this fuss over a few quid?

Balloonhearts · 09/04/2025 20:08

NC28 · 09/04/2025 20:06

Back in the days when alcohol was notably more expensive than soft drinks, I’d have thought she was fair enough.

But full fat Coke is subject to the sugar tax and usually the prices between that and an alcoholic drink are negligible.

I think it’s a bit cringeworthy to have someone working everyone’s individual cost, then you have the hassle of Joan only having a £20 note and needing £3.45 change, whereas Margaret wants to put her’s on her card. Just a big carry on.

There is no fat in coke. Its full sugar.

Eldermilleniallyogii · 09/04/2025 20:08

You don't need to keep calling it a classical coke OP

rookiemere · 09/04/2025 20:08

I would have grabbed the bill at that point “Ok lets split out drinks , Margo your 3 cokes are £10.50 and everyone else your share of the wine is £12.50, food is X each.” It would be different if she had just one soft drink or you had been on the cocktails, but yes often if you share a bottle of wine it’s about the same as 2-3 soft drinks.

MolkosTeenageAngst · 09/04/2025 20:08

You should have taken all drinks off the split bill and only split the food and then all paid for your own drinks separately, you’re right that her drinks shouldn’t have been included in the split bill of your drinks were taken off.

Original poster
ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:07

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 09/04/2025 20:05

Well you split the bill wrong, didn't you?

If she didn't want to pay for the alcohol - which is reasonable - then you split the food 3 ways, the cokes are all hers to pay for and the alcohol is split 2 ways.

You don't split the alcohol 2 ways and the coke 3 ways!

Show quote history

No, as per her suggestion and the others agreeing so I did too (although didn’t realise the cheek of it until afterwards), everything was split equally minus the alcohol, which was split between 3 of us who had it

But in doing so we paid for her classical cokes despite them being almost the same cost as our alcohol that she didn’t want to split for

OP posts:
NC28 · 09/04/2025 20:06

Back in the days when alcohol was notably more expensive than soft drinks, I’d have thought she was fair enough.

But full fat Coke is subject to the sugar tax and usually the prices between that and an alcoholic drink are negligible.

I think it’s a bit cringeworthy to have someone working everyone’s individual cost, then you have the hassle of Joan only having a £20 note and needing £3.45 change, whereas Margaret wants to put her’s on her card. Just a big carry on.

mindutopia · 09/04/2025 20:06

I don’t drink and I wouldn’t pay for someone else’s alcohol, but I would just pay for what I ordered. A coke is like £3-4 and a glass of wine is probably £6-8, it’s not hard to work out how to pay £6 less. You can always say no to the pudding.

Basketslipper · 09/04/2025 20:06

ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:04

But it’s okay for us to pay for her drinks when it was about £2 difference in total?

Show quote history

OK, if that's what happened, whoever calculated the bill got it wrong. Unless it was her, she's still not wrong to ask not to pay for your drinks.

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 09/04/2025 20:06

taxguru · 09/04/2025 20:05

How did you pay for her drinks?

Show quote history

Because she asked them to remove just the alcohol from the bill and split it three ways and split the rest (including her soft drinks) four ways. Even though her soft drinks cost almost the same as their alcohol.

Eldermilleniallyogii · 09/04/2025 20:06

So did she pay for her own cokes or not?

If she didn't want to pay for your drinks she should have just paid for what she had (food and drinks) and then you could have split it

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · 09/04/2025 20:05

ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:03

Our alcohol total was £12.50 and her cokes all came to £10.12

So it’s okay for us to sub her drinks just because they’re non alcohol?

Well you split the bill wrong, didn't you?

If she didn't want to pay for the alcohol - which is reasonable - then you split the food 3 ways, the cokes are all hers to pay for and the alcohol is split 2 ways.

You don't split the alcohol 2 ways and the coke 3 ways!

taxguru · 09/04/2025 20:05

ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:04

But it’s okay for us to pay for her drinks when it was about £2 difference in total?

Show quote history

How did you pay for her drinks?

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 09/04/2025 20:05

So many people with poor reading comprehension on this thread.

SatsumaCat · 09/04/2025 20:05

Sounds like whoever split the bill didn't do it right. It should be based on what everyone's actually had, if not splitting equally. If she was the one calculating it she's a CF. If it was one of the rest of you, I'd say you were a numpty.

Original poster
ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:04

Hoydenish · 09/04/2025 20:04

Yeah you wanted to stiff her for your booze. Good on her for saying nope.

If you didn't want a pudding don't have one, she didn't tie your arms up and stuff a parfait in your chops.

But it’s okay for us to pay for her drinks when it was about £2 difference in total?

OP posts:
Basketslipper · 09/04/2025 20:04

She has paid her share of food, plus her drinks, so what bill has she "got out of".

In our group, someone would have said "Sally wasn't drinking, we'll cover the alcohol" so she wouldn't have had to ask.

Hoydenish · 09/04/2025 20:04

Yeah you wanted to stiff her for your booze. Good on her for saying nope.

If you didn't want a pudding don't have one, she didn't tie your arms up and stuff a parfait in your chops.

Comedycook · 09/04/2025 20:04

ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:03

Our alcohol total was £12.50 and her cokes all came to £10.12

So it’s okay for us to sub her drinks just because they’re non alcohol?

In this case, it's not worth the headache of differentiating between who had what then.

ReplacementBusService · 09/04/2025 20:04

But why did you all pay for her cokes? You just didn't split the bill correctly!

Comedycook · 09/04/2025 20:03

As a non drinker, I think yabu.

I don't mind splitting evenly if others have had something like one single glass of wine and I've had soft drinks. But if other people are ordering bottle after bottle of wine, I really don't think it's fair that I should subsidize that

Original poster
ThatHardyWaspAgain · 09/04/2025 20:03

Our alcohol total was £12.50 and her cokes all came to £10.12

So it’s okay for us to sub her drinks just because they’re non alcohol?

OP posts:
CottageGoblin · 09/04/2025 20:03

Well, it was on the news recently that non drinkers ie those that drink coke or soft drinks are paying almost as much as those that are drinking alcohol now. theres not much in it at least

so they’re being a cf

MissScarletInTheBallroom · 09/04/2025 20:02

YANBU.

Either you split the bill equally or everyone pays for what they had.

You don't say, "You can pay for your own drinks and also pay for most of mine."

OldCottageGreenhouse · 09/04/2025 20:02

So you wanted her to pay towards your alcohol?

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