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!

Friend B is paying 200 here though

In my circles, A would suck up the loss of money as the ticket was non refundable. They would be glad that Bs partner got to go so the money wasn't completely wasted. B would only pay the change fee.

Pretty grabby of A to expect payment from B for a ticket they couldn't use or get a refund on. Wouldn't go down well at all in my friendship group.

Friend b should pay for name change and offer some money for the ticket as a good will gesture

@commonsense61 I think in that case friend A will have paid £200 for the ticket, and £60 for the name change. So £260. Then received £140 from friend B. So is out £120 in total.

@commonsense61 oh I've reread and you've said friend b pays for the name change. So £200 spent in total, and friend A gets £140. I agree with this and think this would be the fairest option too.

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

This is what I would do.

Others have already posted this, but it really does bear repeating: agree who is going to pay for what upfront.

My own rule is that if there is no other discussion, only join in if i am prepared to pay full whack. Others seem to think it works the other way, that if no one else mentions anything anythign about oney, there will be nothing to pay.

This!

I think the person who attended should pay for the ticket and person A should pay the name change fee.

BUT I do agree that it's awkward that it wasn't discussed beforehand, as B's partner may not have attended had they known it would cost them the full amount. A bit cheeky of them to assume a complete freebie though.

B should pay something. If B hadnt agreed to take the tickets then A could have made more effort to sell them on but would probably only have got reduced price for them so agree half would be a suitable compromise

I think A should try asking their employer to reimburse them for the cost of the ticket, first of all.

If that's a no goer, A and B should split the cost of the ticket plus the change fee.

Split the difference. 130 quid.

This. So it's as if B has bought the ticket

I think this too!

It seems to me that B only took the ticket as it was going to waste so someone may as well have used it. To turn around and say actually that will be 200 pounds please is really cheeky.

Thanks everyone - really helpful to see what the general consensus is. Fully agree with everyone saying it should've been agreed in advance, I'm kicking myself that we didn't.

Just to clarify a few things from the comments: Friend A and B/B's partner have never met, and I was in charge of 'organising' us for the event, hence why I'm involved. I haven't deliberately put myself in the middle, I just feel a bit of responsibility now.

The event was sold out, and Friend A would've struggled to sell her ticket separately - you had to register a name change with the organisers and then the new ticket holder had to enter the event with the 'principal' ticket buyer (me). So it would've had to be someone we already knew, and various factors mean that would've been unlikely. I also agree with everyone who has said £60 for the name change is ridiculous!!

When I told B that A couldn't come, he quite quickly said that his partner would be keen to take her place, so I don't think it was a case of just going for the sake of it.

I think most people seem to think either splitting the entire cost, or B's partner paying cost price for ticket and A covering the name change seems fairest. I'm planning on sending a simple message to B along those lines and then hoping that'll be that! It's become quite unnecessarily complicated, so definitely a case of lesson learned.

Thanks very much for the thoughts!

See if A's employer will cough up though! A shouldn't be out of pocket because of a work trip.

Haven't read the full thread but is it Ed Sheeran?? :-)

Yes, good point @babyjellyfish I hadn't considered that!! Definitely worth a shot.

It wasn't Ed Sheeran @smittenkittennn or my nieces would've been snapping my arm off for the other ticket! It was a black tie thing

I think the fact that friend A would have struggled to sell the ticket separately means they should just accept they have lost out on the money.

Friend B should pay £60 for the name change if they haven’t already, friend Bs partner may not of gone if they thought they were paying any more than this.

I think friend A should accept they have lost the money.

In my circles, A would suck up the loss of money as the ticket was non refundable. They would be glad that Bs partner got to go so the money wasn't completely wasted. B would only pay the change fee.

@SophieStew Agreed - but everyone involved would have “done the dance” to get there.

B: I must pay for the ticket, A.
A: No, no. You’ve paid for the name change and I’ve lost the money anyway. Hope Mr/Mrs B has a great night.
B accepts graciously and buys A a bottle of nice wine as a thank you and everyone is fine about it.

Obviously nothing has been mentioned here and there are differing expectations, which is awkward.