Friend should pay me back?

[sneezethemoment]

There was a discounted spa deal for two people and so I paid and friend said she’d pay me back.

Then she got asked to go on holiday and said she couldn’t make it anymore, but she’d still pay and I should take someone else. I asked a different friend, we went, had a nice time.

Original friend came back from holiday and said she’s not paying me back and should get the money off the person who went.

Take it in the chin and OF can go foxtrot Oscar as they’re flakey and unreliable. Got a better offer, so cancelled.

Neither would I. I would rather absorb the cost myself than ask the person who went. The original friend really dropped OP in it. I wouldn't be rushing to arrange anything with her again.

Or maybe I would if she was doing the booking and then I would tell her to deduct the money she promised from my share

I think YABU to expect your friend to pay when you found someone else to go with you.

Think you should just cut your losses tbh. The friend should of paid you when you paid for it, when she decided she wasn’t coming she shouldn’t of said she would pay for it if she wasn’t going to, she should of asked if have you got a friend to sell it to. Then when you invited the new friend you should have told her the plan and the cost. You can’t now be expected or expect to go to the friend who went after the event has passed asking for payment when they were presumably told it’s a freebie. Did the friend not offer to cover the cost, I know I would have in that situation.

if she didn't mean to actually offer to pay for someone else then why on earth did she....actually offer to pay for someone else?
If you say something you need to follow through, that's social interaction 101.

isn't she your friend?
not a very good one, apparently.

In your bizarro world who should pay if OP hadn't found a second person to take the space, out of interest?

If I were friend one, I would have paid. It's what I agreed to, and the very least I could do given that I canceled at the last minute.

If I were friend two I would also have offered to pay because I was the one who was using the spot.

The original friend should have paid, regardless if she ended up going or not. The spa day was purchased on the understanding she would pay the OP her half. Once she realised she couldn't go, she told the OP she could take someone else and still said she'd pay. You can't now ask the second friend to pay, after the event, when she was never expecting to pay! The original friend is never going to pay the money, that's fact. Take a deep breath and chalk this one up to experience. Don't ever purchase anything for this original friend again, without having the money in advance.

The second person only went as it was offered for free at the suggestion of the first friend. Didn't you read that part???

Would you have had the option to cancel after she found out she couldn't go?

Friend one should pay.

I imagine since friend one said she would pay all along, it was maybe described to friend 2 as a free trip due to someone not being able to go, and friend 2 only going as it was free and not to waste the ticket.

If friend one didn't want to pay after realising she couldn't go, she should have sold the ticket, or asked op to try and sell the ticket.

The friend who went maybe only went because it was free. Perhaps they couldn’t afford it, or they just went to keep op company but it wasn’t really their thing. If op hadn’t got that friend to go she would have had to go alone or miss out entirely. Would the friend who let her down have reimbursed then?
Your friend let you down. Told you to get someone else and she would still pay. You got someone in that circumstance. The original friend should pay.

You mean ex friend surely? Friend 1 should have paid. If I was friend 2 I'd happily pay so that you weren't out of pocket but friend 1 sounds awful

So many obtuse people on this thread. The first friend should of course honour the commitment she gave to you - i.e. that she would pay. The second friend came along purely because she understood that the first friend was honouring the previous financial commitment and the event would be covered. Your first friend lied to you, she agreed to do something and then recinded on it. She is not a friend and of course she should pay.

But she might not have found someone if they had to pay. It’s generally easier to find someone when it’s free

Some of these responses are ridiculous! You can't offer someone a free spa day and then ask for payment AFTER the event! Who knows what friend 2's finances are like? I've certainly been in situations in life where I couldn't have afforded an unexpected expense like that - if offered for free I would have been incredibly grateful but realistically could not have spent money I didn't have on a luxury like a spa day. And ffs even if I could it's a shitty thing to do to move the goalposts like that!

Friend 1 has obviously either overspent on holiday or been moaning about it to whoever she went with and they've agreed it's unfair. Either way she's a crappy friend. Sorry though OP, I don't know what you can do other than absorb the cost if friend 1 doesn't come to her senses - otherwise I'm afraid you may lose friend 2 as well 😕

Then she got asked to go on holiday and said she couldn’t make it anymore, but she’d still pay and I should take someone else

What if friend 2 couldn't normally have afforded something like this though? Totally unfair to ask her IMO.

I read the post! Thanks!
My comment still stands!

Verbal contract. Do you have a text?

She didnt go.

YOU should of told her,
Ofcourse i dont expect you to pay as you arent coming, i will get someone else to come and they can pay’

But you didnt.
You said ‘yes, you can pay and i will take someone else for free’

What the actual hell !