To ask for them to pay their half?

[MissChristmastRee]

We had arranged a dinner with another couple this coming Saturday and I had bought and paid for a Groupon deal to cover a lovely 3-course Christmas meal in a fancy restaurant.

The couple have since split up due to possible cheating by one of them.

We've tried to find people to take their place at the meal but being so close to Christmas, everyone else already has plans, unsurprisingly.

Would I be unreasonable to ask for one of/them to reimburse me their half of the meal as I have already paid for it??? I can't get a refund on their half or the whole voucher

If none of you go, the restaurant will (presumably) be missing out on the money you would have spent on drinks and extras, that must be a big part of the money these places hope to make by participating in Groupon deals. So you might have some bargaining power. Maybe phone them and say there's some kind of unexpected emergency, and ask if you can rebook for another day.

The thing is, I suspect if they at the moment have had to pay deposits on new places, split their bills into two househoulds plus perhaps have the expense of setting up a new car or insurance, etc, etc, etc they may well not have the money to give you.

Bridget they both still live live with parents, no children, each have own car etc. they had only been together for just over a year.

I wouldn't ask. Not unless you are absolutely on the breadline.

When does the voucher actually expire??

Is it Saturday?

If I really needed the money back I would ask the cheating person of the couple.

I'd probably go on my own though and eat twice as much food

This is the problem with the pay in advance deals though isn't it - you never know what the future will bring, and yet you are tied in as you have pre-paid.

Yes they should pay for their half if they knew you were paying in advance for the meal as part of a deal - presumably they were going to pay half anyway (ie this wasn't a treat from you)? But it would be insensitive to raise it - can you now wait a while and see how things go?

However if you aren't going anyway, then perhaps you shouldn't ask them to contribute - you are bailing out too!

Although I've never seen a groupon voucher that requires payment upfront. I know they are heavily discounted, but even so.

All vouchers require payment upfront otherwise you don't get the voucher

Phone the restaurant and see what they say. They want you to go and spend more money with them, so they might be happy to rebook you for Jan, even though the voucher may have expired, and then you can find someone else to go with you. I do sympathise but can't see that asking for the money is going to go well.

I'd try first to move the restaurant booking. Then I'd ask them. It's £50, not a fiver and tbh if you agree to do something, you agree to take on the cost whether you go or not. I have paid for things I haven't been able to attend before now (concert tickets at £50 for example). I think they should have offered to pay without making you ask as well.

Was it a treat off you and your OH to take the couple out for a meal, or were they going to pay their half back to you on the night? £50.00 is a lot of money and I'd feel really guilty having a friend pay for a meal that expensive for me.

Not really sure what you should do really as everyone is in a lose lose situation at the moment.

Yes, try ringing the restaurant, they may be prepared to change the booking.

If not, I'd let it go. Unless it actually means you won't be eating this Christmas, put it down as a decent thing to do for (presumably) good friends during a horrible time. When the dust settles a bit they'll probably realise and offer anyway. I certainly couldn't ask now, but maybe in a few weeks time you could say, you know I never did find anyone to take your place for that meal as a reminder

Who was babysitting? If family, take them and your DC - at this time of year children are supposed to have the occasional late night.

If they'd only been together a short while, you must be closer to one party than the other. Ask them to come along with a friend.

If you do lose out financially, then that's the downside of bagging a great deal by paying up front.

I'd ask them for the money. At first I thought it was a divorce with children invoved, but it's a short term relationship where they didn't live together.

Do they know about the groupon deal or how it works with having to prepay?

Your Op doesn't make it clear.

I'd probably get a refund off groupon.

Voucher expires at the beginning of January as it is a specific Christmas meal type thing. Will try ringing the restaurant again and see if they have any cancellations towards the end of the expiry - last time I tried, they were fully booked.

They knew about the upfront cost I had paid out and had said that they would give us the cash on the night.

As if I didn't feel bad enough about the situation - it was me who match made them! I think I will just leave it if I can't move the booking - it won't mean us not eating at Christmas but will mean January will be a bit leaner!

Why don't you go on your local nethuns board and see if you can sell it on. Someone might really like that?

Contact Groupon - you may be able to cancel the voucher since you haven't used it. Worth asking...

Call Groupon - In my experience they are good at refunding.

See if you can use it for a nice lunch with the DC's in between Christmas and the New Year? If you're going to a panto or anything like that it might be a good way to make a day of it?

Ok, I would send an email to the restaurant or groupon and ask if there is anything they can do and cc in the couple. It will put the responsibility onto them without being too direct as you are effectively trying to find a solution.