To lie about DD's age to get her in free?

[Kasterborous]

I'm prepared to be told I was being unreasonable. We took DD who turned three 24 days ago to our local Wildlife park today. Under three they get in free, over three it's £10.00 which seems a lot so we said she was two. I know it was dishonest and next time we will pay for her.

And then people would get huffy and say "we're only going to a zoo ffs, not applying for uni. Why should I have to take Id for my kids everywhere we go just to have a day out?"

Zoos mostly just trust people are going to be honest. Shocker. - trusted to do the right thing. Nope, definitely people should be treated with suspicion and not trusted - that's the only way forward.

And just to further make the point, one place I worked out cut costs by cutting staff. People got made redundant. That real enough? Still a victimless bit of fun with no harm done?

The thing is, I've noticed when chatting to friends, that if they fiddle the entrance fee, they're more likely to spend more in the attraction.

I've done it a few times when we went places over Easter and it fell a couple of weeks after DDs birthday. If I paid full whack of £10+ for her, I was less inclined to pay for extras inside, or spend much in the store.

However, places like the Donkey Sanctuary in Exeter, which is free entry, or Attingham Park here in the midlands which is only £5, we'd spend a lot on food, toys, books, donation boxes...etc.

Sometimes charging exorbitant entrance fees is false economy. More should do like west mids safari park and offer a free entry return within 6 months.

Lots of museums do that as well Sorcerer you pay a set amount and you can return as many times as you like within a year. A great idea I think.

A lot of attractions offer online discounts. Are all you supposedly honest folk saying that for example you book to go tomorrow and your dc had turned 3 this Thursday gone that you would pay for them?

One thing I do quite regularly is buy Tesco Clubcard vouchers online to use them for the 4x rewards. They usually sell for up to 1.5 the face value on EBay.

A recent example - Oakwood park in Pembrokeshire. Entry is about £25pp, or £7.50 of converted clubcard vouchers. So I bought £30 of clubcard vouchers online for £40. The seller converted them into 4 tickets for me, and posted me the tickets. So I paid £40 instead of £100 for entry for all of us.

Now there's something to really get your knickers in a twist about. For anyone as morally bankrupt as me and looking for a bargain, seriously look at buying cc vouchers.

Are all you supposedly honest folk saying that for example you book to go tomorrow and your dc had turned 3 this Thursday gone that you would pay for them?

Yes

I would look for discount tickets on line, but - yes - ultimately if my child was of an age they had to pay - EVEN BY ONE DAY - I would pay for them.

And I do feel personally insulted every single time people question my integrity - "supposedly honest"???

This thread has made for very interesting reading. I'm a rule follower at heart but must admit I'd probably not think much of fibbing about my child's age for an expensive attraction. My parents did it on occasion. However, it's been particularly interesting to read babybythesea's posts... Has given me food for thought.

I do find the "scammers", "thieves" vs "sanctimonious" and "holier than thou" labels a little black and white though and slightly amusing

"Supposedly honest" got me a bit too. Being honest isn't a character flaw, or an unachievable ambition.

The business has 2 choices...charge less and more people come (and, has has been pointed out, spend more inside); they also have a better time possibly as not so cheesed off at being ripped off. Smaller profit per ticket but greater profit overall = more chance of meeting fixed costs.

Or charge more, only the wealthy can afford to go, place is empty, those who can afford it love it because its empty and no queues etc. More profit per ticket but possibly smaller profit overall.

The feeling I am getting here is that those of us who say children are younger then they are feel ripped off. This country is divided enough (largest gap between rich and poor for quite some time...I'm talking years); and now we are told 'just don't go'. Er...ok. Or that actually we can afford it just don't want to ...er ok again.

Or that we are scammers....

As a PP said...we haven't responded because there is no point.

Storm in a teacup this though. FWIW, we'll be going to the museums this Easter...they are free.

the people with not much cash to flash are moral enough to know right from wrong

What a load of bollocks. So poor people are moral and upstanding and those that are well off are the scammers?

The types of things that we're talking about here are not solely done by those within one income bracket. My clubcard example for instance...I started buying vouchers a few years back when we were scraping for every last penny. It meant that we were able to go on some days out that we would never have otherwise afforded.

BUT now that we're comfortable, I still buy vouchers - because I'd much rather spend £40 on entrance than £100, nothing more.

Personally insulted??

I could feel the same about being referred to as a scammer or a thief but I don't. I can't bring myself to care.

I expect most of us have done this. BUT, once your children are old enough to realise you're lying it is a terrible example to set which will backfire later. So if you're going to do this when they're young, by the same logic you're going to be happy at your teenagers pretending they're old enough to get into 15/18 films, getting served in pubs, having sex.

The other risk you run is the child yelling that she's three really - then you're really embarrassed. Seems to me it's worth a tenner or whatever to prevent that.

*What do you tell your children to say if they're asked how old they are? Age is a big deal for most kids. Do you tell them to lie if asked?

Anyone?*

For all those gobbling off about how 'right' they are to lie to save a few quid, still hardly anyone who's replied to this point.

Funny that.

Gobbing not gobbling

Perhaps people feel that they've been bullied off the thread by moral absolutists calling them theives and scammers? Perhaps they feel they don't have to answer to you? Could be either I suppose.

Random I'm no moral absolutist. I have called nobody a thief or a scammer. I actually said I didn't give a toss what others choose to do. But don't let that derail your point of view on anyone who disagrees with you.

The posters happy to lie to save the money have studiously ignored the question posted above quite a few times now. Most are happy to rant about their right to lie and the idiocy of being honest.

I'm chucking it out there again *What do you tell your children to say if they're asked how old they are? Age is a big deal for most kids. Do you tell them to lie if asked?

Anyone?*

It must be the second choice then: they don't feel that they need to answer to you.

Yeah Random. That'll be it. I'm sure we'll all draw our own conclusions from the general unwillingness to answer that particular point.

I certainly didn't feel the need to answer but as you seem to want someone too, I will.

Yes I HAVE told them to lie about their age if asked. There are you happy now?

Would I do again? Possibly not. I don't know, the situation would have to come up.

Awaits flaming

MrsIt'sNow, at least you answered, and you've been honest about how you do it. I have indeed pressed the point, mostly because the silence over what the kids are expected to do in these situations was getting a bit loud to me.

I don't do flaming for this sort of thing, but I'm not adverse to asking a few questions.

Yep, I have asked them to as well. I lie about my age all the time, so does dh, and my mom when we've gone places that discount for over 50s or pensioners.

I guess no one ever lied to buy alcohol, or to get into the cinema to see a 12/15/18 film?

I don't lie about my children's ages.

This is a simple fact. This is not because I'm a sanctimonious, rule following, obeisant sheep. This is not because I like to preach at people who do. This is not because I'm stinking rich and like to sneer at the proles who aren't.

I have infinitely more respect for the people who say 'yes I do it and I don't give a shit'. They're honest in their own way. I don't particularly like the defence that always crops up on here of well I pay shit loads in the gift shop or Tesco get enough of my money, they're all corrupt fuckers, what's the problem with a cheeky little freebie (it's always cheeky). That's ridiculous. Either you are prepared to lie and break the law or you are not. Your actions are your own and not particularly mitigated by the failings of other people.

I do very much like the air of oooh aren't we maverick, laidback, rogues. Look at this lot with their sticks up their arses. God we're cool. You aren't sticking it to da man. You're just not giving your fiver to a zoo. You don't mind being casually dishonest. Some of us do.

No problem first

I don't claim to be cool. I'm far from it

I often think these places would make bigger profits if they lowered their admission fees. Lower prices equal more visitors equal bigger profits. Surely it makes more sense.

I didn't necessarily mean you. I'm talking about these threads in general. The people who don't lie are holier than thou, sanctimonious, rule-following sheep. The people who do are naughty, cheeky, having a thrill etc. The language use is very interesting.

Obviously works the other way round. People who do it are terrible, morally bankrupt thieves and those who don't do it are a better class of folk.

Problem is that there's one fact in all of it. Either you are happy to lie and break the law or you aren't. People just add their own value-laden judgements to that.

I'm happy with my choice. I don't lie or fraud people. This is the right choice for me. It allows me to sleep well at night.

I tried doing this on the weekend i took 5 children to soft play the youngest turned 3 a few days before so i decided to say she was 2. Stupid idea all four of the other piped up straight away with no mummmmm shes three now!