To lie about his age for free admission?

[WaitForCake]

It's DS's 3rd birthday in a couple of weeks. I'm taking him to an attraction.

It's free for under 3s, but adult price at 3 upwards. Money is tight, but after a tough few months between lockdown and his DF moving out after our split, I want to do something nice for him.
As there is no inherent difference in what he'll get from the experience the day before his birthday and on the day of his birthday, WIBU to just buy him a 2 year old ticket?

I can't take him the day earlier due to work (I did consider this already).

YANBU - get the 2 year old ticket
YABU - pay the adult price for him

This thread is amazing, absolutely amazing.

Has anyone questioned why you even had a child if you couldn't afford one yet, or have we still got that one to come

I didn’t read all 20 pages (so arrest me) so I’m not sure but we have an incarcerated infant so anything can happen!

@DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult

This thread is amazing, absolutely amazing.

Has anyone questioned why you even had a child if you couldn't afford one yet, or have we still got that one to come

I’m sure it’s coming. The dubious question of why I’m not with my ex anymore has come up. That’s just the next step, right

In all honesty, you should have planned this Chessington drama before you planned a child, and saved up from being pregnant, like us good parents do, so a lie never taints our childs ears.

Also, why didn't you read the basic business principles section of the bumps to babies book the midwife hands out?

Shocking parenting

This is something I'd have definitely done in normal circumstances, but when outdoor attractions reopened we decided to go to the zoo and I couldn't bring myself to cheat them out of the £9 something child ticket and pretend he was under 2 when they'd barely scraped through lockdown.

@ PablosHoney is that bonkers responses thread still there? Iirc we were both on it.... maybe it needs resurrecting 😂

Tell us which, and how they would lead to a loss.

I couldn’t be bothered and assumed you could figure it out but I’ll bite. Lying on mortgage application- lending money lender wouldn’t have otherwise and forcing them to assume a risk they otherwise wouldn’t have (increased risk of default); lying on cv- the company pays money for someone with the requisite skills and has made a loss as they don’t get what they paid for; inflating the value of goods on insurance claim- obviously the insurance company pays more than they should.

Book the tickets on line so your DC can't blab and have a great time...I wouĺd. Full adult price for a 3 year old is crazy.

@ mynameisntlouise tbh I think the zoo is different. Zoos are about conservation and the visitors are needed to aid that conservation iyswim.

Whereas a theme park is purely there to make money.

But I think that the OP should never have any children again, and OP have you considered sending your child to live with his father if you can’t afford him? .

Ah, so now not buying an adult ticket for a three year old on the day he turns three is equal to lying on a mortgage application?

PMSL

I think it’s pretty clearly fraud BUT it’s interesting some posters don’t consider it dishonest. Ultimately it would be for a jury to decide if something is dishonest or not and if so many people think it isn’t maybe there would be a chance!

I’m hoping that most of these responses are just taking the piss, because surely no-one in the real world actually thinks like this?

@Iamthewombat

You love dodging questions, don’t you? I know what judges and juries are for.

Now now, Wombat, how can you, a mere chartered accountant, understand judges and juries? Attacking people who are cleverer and more knowledgeable than you makes you look silly and bitter.

Ah, so now not buying an adult ticket for a three year old on the day he turns three is equal to lying on a mortgage application?

Obviously not

If it's Legoland, tell them it is his birthday and they will most likely let you count him as 2. That's what they did for us when we took DS there on the day of his 3rd birthday.

This honestly is Mumsnet at its finest - for all the wrong reasons.

OP, why aren't you with your ex anymore?

On a serious note, I hope your child has the best birthday ever.

On a fraudulent note, I am guilty as charged. Back in the day when Pizza Hut used to do all you can eat buffets, me, my sister, my mum and my daughter went, and DD ate more than any of us and virtually demolished the icecream factory singlehandedly. She was almost 14 at the time and only under-12's were half-price. 13's and over were the same price as adults. The waitress didn't even ask her age, she just charged us for 3 adults and one child. Did I correct her mistake? No.

The difference here though is that if you apply for a mortgage/apply for a job etc they usually come with a disclaimer saying that the information you have provided is correct.

I don’t think you have to sign a disclaimer when you buy a ticket for Chessington. in fact there are probably staff who would hear that it’s the three year old’s birthday that very day and might wave the charge anyway...

I’m hoping that most of these responses are just taking the piss, because surely no-one in the real world actually thinks like this?

Many MN posters have no room for grey in their lives apparently

If it's Legoland, tell them it is his birthday and they will most likely let you count him as 2. That's what they did for us when we took DS there on the day of his 3rd birthday.

I did the exact same thing once and got told congratulations, that means adult price though!’. Urgh.

If I was too scared to lie then I would have gone the day before his birthday so I could legitimately say that he was 2.

I wouldn't hesitate to say he was 2. You will still pay for your ticket and presumably stuff like drinks and it's better for the attraction to have parent plus under 3 than no visit from your family at all.

I'd do it op - it's just one day! Not like he's 5 or something.

MN is strange sometimes. Mention that your neighbour is fraudulently claiming benefits and get told to mind your own business, but something like this is apparently theft!

*The difference here though is that if you apply for a mortgage/apply for a job etc they usually come with a disclaimer saying that the information you have provided is correct.

I don’t think you have to sign a disclaimer when you buy a ticket for Chessington.*

It really makes no difference to criminal liability.

I am nevertheless on OP’s side, whilst technically wrong, I don’t think it’s a big deal in the circumstances and I wouldn’t care. Many things are technically illegal! This whole thread is a storm in a teacup IMO

I'm waiting for OP to update us in a few weeks to say that she did lie about her son's age but got caught out on the door because some enraged, superior know-it-alls from mumsnet rang Chessington to warn them to ask for photo ID for every infant whose parent claims they are under three over the next six weeks because a mum is planning on defrauding them and stealing from them, let alone setting her poor boy up to become one of Fagin's finest for putting her son's birthday back a few hours. I'm sure Chessington will have the SWAT teams on standby ready to haul the OP and her ne'r do well son off infront of judge and jury before she can turn the pushchair around, where she will be suitably punished and see the error of her thieving ways. There's hope for her son yet, thanks to the sanctimonious do-gooders on mumsnet.

MN is strange sometimes. Mention that your neighbour is fraudulently claiming benefits and get told to mind your own business, but something like this is apparently theft! there was a thread recently where the OP’s brother was being tried and sentenced for possessing indecent images and the OP wanted to know some details so she could keep her children safe and because it’s her brother so she needed to come to terms with it and she was told it was none of her business.... .

Drum it into him that he's not 3 til the late afternoon / evening- when he gets back home.
It is a ridiculous policy that a 3 year old pays adult price.