Who should pay what in this situation?

[payingdilemma]

NCd for this just in case!

I had tickets for an event recently with two friends, A and B. They were expensive, about £200 each for an event we'd been looking forward to. Friend A unfortunately had an unavoidable work trip come up last minute and couldn't attend the event. The tickets were non-refundable but for a fee (about £60) you could transfer them into someone else's name and they could use the ticket.

Friend B then said his partner could come along - stupidly we didn't discuss in advance who would pay for what and we're now in a bit of a limbo situation where friend B and partner have paid the name change fee, but Friend A has still paid for the ticket.

Because I am the link and point of contact between these friends, they're now asking me what should be done but I'm not entirely sure what to suggest, other than asking them to work it out themselves.

On the one hand, I feel like Friend A wouldn't have got a refund anyway, so someone may as well have made use of the ticket. But equally, Friend B and partner have used and enjoyed it so should pay (perhaps taking off the cost of the name change they had to pay).

Just wanted to canvass some opinions on what is fair!

Oops, I didn't mean to enable voting, apologies!

Friend B should pay. I would;if I went and used a ticket pay it and be done.

I'm not sure what the issue is. Friend B pays for the ticket and the name change? What's the issue between A and B?

B pays for the ticket

So friend B pays £260 quid for a ticket that would otherwise be wasted? Why?
I’d suggest friend B pays the name change fee and A just has to suck up the loss. Unless they were explicit about wanting full payment as they’d have lost this money due to their unavailability regardless

Depends if there were still tickets available for the event on twickets or whatever. I wouldn't want to pay face value + change fee to do someone a favour if I could get the ticket for half that elsewhere. If I were them I would agree to give the original person 100 so A gets half the cost back and the partner of B gets a slight bargain.

View total cost as 260. Divide in half.
B pays A £70 towards ticket, both have spent £130.

B might not have chosen to go at £200, A would have lost all money.

Friend A should pay for name change as they're the one who can't go. Friend B works pay face value of ticket because the used it (well their partner should pay)

I think friend B needs to pay for name change and perhaps half the ticket price. Friend A then gets a bit back and friend B's partner gets 20% off, even with paying the name change.

Yes this is what I think too

Agree with @Fizzgigg as Friend A could have sold the ticket on and got their money back, minus the name change.

B's partner should only pay the name change fee. They shouldn't pay the whole amount as they weren't planning on going anyway and it's last minute.

Agree with @Fizzgigg - A pays for name change and B pays face value of ticket

I see the problem. The ticket cost £200.

Friend A is currently -£200 and didn't have the pleasure of the event
Friend B currently -£60 and had all the pleasure of the event.

I would say that Friend B owes Friend A £140 at least. If I was B and and the event have been amazing and I'd really appreciated being able to share it with my wife I would probably split the cost of the name change with Friend A and add and extra £30 to the £140. So that would make £170 for Friend A and a total cost to me of £230 — because it was worth it and because I valued my friendship.

The person who used the ticket should be paying £140. However that wasn't agreed in advance, so can't be demanded. If A would have sold the ticket on via an online site/FB then they should have spoken up. Everyone else should keep out of it. Most of the people in my friendship group would agree to split it, so person B pays £70.

A pays £60 name change and B pays face value of ticket

This is what I would suggest.

They should have discussed it beforehand though. Partner may have wanted to go if it cost him £60, but maybe not if it was £200!

Why £140/70? The ticket cost £200 and then an extra 60 for name change.

I'd stay out of it as it's between the two of them and they should have it out (ie Friend A should have asked).

Could Friend A have sold the ticket? If so, roughly what for? That's what she should have discussed with Friend B rather than making an assumption.

It may well be that Friend B's partner was happy to come for £60 but really wouldn't have wanted to spend anything like £200 and would otherwise have said no.

The "fault" is with A though for not thinking what she wanted and being clearer.

Friend B certainly needs to pay friend A some more money. However, I don’t think friend B should be liable for the full £200 and £60 name change.

Friend B has paid the £60 for the name change - fine. I would probably think some contribution to the ticket cost as well would be fair: £50-£100.

That was really, really dumb not to discuss this beforehand. Was this discussed in person or over social media. If social media what exactly did the messages say? Is there anything saying that one party is offering to pay or give the tickets?

I'd have thought splitting the total cost would be best. So each party pay £130.

Agree with @FurAndFeathers

Thank you, this is helpful. I think the issue is definitely in that it wasn't discussed and agreed upon beforehand. I'm sensing that B is reluctant to pay the full amount but hasn't come out and said it.

It seems like a lot are in favour of halving it, A then gets something back that otherwise would've been lost (selling elsewhere wouldn't have been allowed) and B has enjoyed the event at a discount.

B should pay for change and offer something towards the ticket cost (£50) as A would not have got a refund anyway. Can A claim the money back through work?

It's tricky. If nothing was agreed in advance friend B may have assumed friend A was giving the ticket as a gift and if they knew they had to pay may not have bought it.

Could friend A have sold the ticket?
Has the event happened?

At most I think friend B should give £140 for friend A. Depending on the situation I may have been under the impression A was saying ' I can't use it so you might as well if you pay the name change fee' purely because I probably would have given away my ticket.

Also £60 to change the name on a ticket CFs!