To think this is a little bit mean spirited

[TeaAndABiscuit]

A friend asked me along to a spa day. Her and her husband are very well off (they work hard, don't begrudge them that at all) but have a bit of a reputation for being tight fisted (always last to the bar etc). It was quite expensive but I thought a nice treat. We came to pay and she said she'd cleared it already and I just owed her for mine as she had a voucher for hers. If it had been me I would have said up front I had a voucher and needed someone to go with and I would have shared the voucher. I didn't necessarily expect her to do that but I think she should have said something before booking. I can be over sensitive so I accept this might be the case here but this is a long line of similar situations. Not an earth shattering problem I know!

I, too, am reminded of a previous fred about paying for a meal with a gift certificate.

These are two different situations. The difference is chiefly dishonesty and lack of information.

In the restaurant fred, OP simply had a gift certificate for a restaurant the rest of the party had chosen. She's had no input and her GC was not dependant on anybody else paying anything.

This isn't like that. At all.

tea, if I were you, I'd ensure everybody in your circle knows about this (the menfolk included) and next time BOGOHP and hubby are with you in the pub, are ostentatiously left off the drinks round. And repeat as needed.

It was originally a gift for her and her husband to go for afternoon tea which she didn't want so she converted it to a spa half day which I have no problem with. The problem I have is that she told me this when I went to pay my share and she said it had been cleared and then said she had a voucher which I thought was a bit mean spirited.

Erm, am I missing something?! Why on earth are people calling her a cheeky cow because she's using a gift that she got?!
It's her gift, a present to her. Why should she be expected to either go halves or declare the fact she's got a gift voucher as a present?

Shake, yes, it was buy one get one half price. And the OP's friend covered the half price bit with her voucher...I think. Leaving the OP to pay full price.

Ooh,just seen that bit in the middle, must have missed that! OK, well if she did that then she is a bit of a cheeky moo!

Although I still don't really understand...would a half day voucher cover a half price day?

YANBU. She is mean. Especially if she is aware she has a lot more money than you.

I'm in two minds about this
Maybe her voucher was a birthday present or she had pre paid or wowcher/ group on etc

Why should she pay for you? I outline expect a friend to pay for me.

Wouldn't. Bloody I pad!

Well it was buy one get one half price
But the OP had a voucher for half a day
so not sure if that works.
It's beyond me

catandmouse

"a spa day is no fun on your own"

I think I could handle it

me too. Especially if they forget all the treatment rubbish and let me just read my book in silence.

Spa day aside, why hang out with tightwads? Get rid.

I think she was being tight. This is not news to you.
I doubt she "used" you just to get the deal though. I mean, I see that she benefitted from you paying full price. But she is very likely to have wanted to spend the day with you.
So,more tight(very embarrassing and cringey trait) rather than mean spirited IYSWIM.
I would let it go as just not arrange anything with her again. Certainly not without being super clear about money.
If you raise this with her I think it will likely look petty.

I have spent two days at a hotel and spa all on my own.

It was bloody heaven .

(Plus the England rugby team and Russell Crowe were staying)

I need a spa day.....alone!

Was it a bogof? If so v cheeky! She should have been upfront - I would have shared the voucher so half each....

+1 to Agent

Everlong repeating yourself is just boring now

Everlong.

Its fairly simple, the voucher that the freeloader had was for afternoon tea worth half the cost of the spa treatment thingy so £34 ish.

The spa treatment thingy cost £69 so this means the voucher was worth £34 ish.

In order for the freeloader to obtain the spa treatment for the vouchers worth she was reliant on using a buy one get one half price offer and someone ( in this case the op) also attending.

If the op ( or someone else) had not attended with her she would have used her voucher AND had to pay £34 ish on top of the voucher.

So the ops mere presence saved the freeloader £34.

The op knows the freeloader has form for freeloading and was taken aback when the freeloader covertly paid and then asked the op to settle prompting the op to be suspicious regarding the use of a voucher and wonder if some type of offer was also relevant.

It turned out she was correct.

At no time did the op expect to benefit from the actual voucher but she also did not expect someone who claims to be a friend to benefit from the offer that was available solely due to the ops attendance and she was miffed about the covert nature of the transaction.

Sockreturningpixie bravo! Spot on!

Oh I wasn't being sarcastic I mean well done for summarising a 10 page thread in one post

Well I wasn't that spot on I missed an important word in the very last bit it should have said.

She did not expect someone who claims to be a friend to solely benefit from the offer that was only available because of the op's attendance.