Friends asking for their money back

[Nicolasaa9]

Hi, I am not even sure if this is the right place to post this, but I really need to vent.

My two closest friends and I planned to go to an event together. I live in London, one friend is in Hertfordshire and the other lives up north. We agreed to book it in Leeds, get a hotel, and make a proper girls weekend of it, especially as the friend up north is usually the one travelling south.

Both friends have now said they are too unwell to go. They asked me to put their tickets up for resale, which I have done, and have also asked me to pay them back for their share of the hotel even though I am still going.

The hotel is non refundable, and I used around £200 of my own points to book it. There was an extra £60 to pay, which I asked them to split between them at £30 each, which felt fair given the points I used.

They are now asking for that £30 back. I am still going because I have wanted to see this event for ages, but it means driving four hours to something I could have reached in ten minutes on the tube, and spending the weekend alone.

Am I being unreasonable in feeling this is unfair

They’re making excuses and being cheeky about it.

A while ago we planned a major group hike that came about £130/person for accommodation and a couple of us ended up dropping out. We just took the money loss, it’s no one’s fault we flaked (regardless of the reason).

Expedia points and I e asked and it’s not refundable

When is the event?

They sound v tight trying to get the £30 when you were generous enough to use your points to pay the bulk of it.

I'd pay the extra and go refundable in future.

Hope youve made it clear if their tickets dont sell you are not refunding them.

Time to start putting boundaries in place for the future I think.

I would make sure that you mention how disappointed you are and how you’ve gone out of your way to book this concert somewhere convenient for them and how you’ve wasted your hotel points getting a cheaper room FOR YOU ALL. Throw a bit of guilt back at them. And if they say they can’t help being poorly reply that you can’t help it either. These things are booked and paid for. If you can sell their tickets they’ll get the money back for those, but that’s it. It’s not you that has cancelled anything.

Team OP here too.

If I had to canx something, this late notice, I'd feel so guilty about letting you down I'd not mention the £30 at all!

£30? Really? I would ask them for a refund of the money I had lost in points!!

What miserly bastards. Don't refund them.

People can be so awful. I would be so mortified that I’d made you travel miles and cancelled. Not asking for money back!

How are they expecting you to give them the money back?
As you say, you're still going (as you should, don't miss out because of them!) the money's gone into the hotel room. Are they expecting you to pay them out of your own pocket?! Screw that.
Hotel rooms are usually non refundable anyway even if you didn't go.
Don't give them a penny, they're being really unreasonable.

I think they were thinking I wouldn’t go and could get a refund on everything.

This.

I do wonder whether if you're clear that if the hotel was refundable and you were able to sell all three tickets then you'd cancel too, might make them realise their money is gone and might help their "recovery" so they actually decide to go.

I wouldn’t go and I would tell them this, it will remove any of their justification for getting their money back (if they imagine that you still going means you should pay the whole thing). On principle I would just say that because they’ve pulled out, you’re not going either as you were only travelling to make it more convenient for them. That you’ll sell the tickets and if there is any money left over after covering your loss on the hotel, you’ll transfer that.

Unless you were going to see Taylor Swift, I’m sure you can see the band again in London soon?

Do they know what non refundable means?

Points aside, it's simply none refundable. And this 30 quid, I'm sure they can take that hit when they've saved on fuel or train tickets! It's none refundable so they don't get the money back from the hotel, so why should you fund their refund??

“I’m now down by £200 as the points I could have used elsewhere are non refundable.
If we are looking to balance things, I’ll take your 2x30 off my £200. So you owe me £70 each.
to be kind I’ll divide the £200 by 3 so I think that takes what you owe me down to £36.50”

Just tell them you will not go either as doesnt make sense you go alone. You were going there to live this experience with them. Tell them you will cancel the hotel and since you asked and they cannot refund the points ( send this in an email to have a proof) you need to divide equally to be fair. I would never have used points in that trip if I were you anyway. Why to give it free them. Wait for their reply. Dont officially cancel anyway as nothing changes. I am sure at the end they will insist you go and give you the 60 pounds or one of them will be better and join. In any case you can always, not cancel , go and dont tell them you did :) they deserve it

Tell them that the room in non refundable, you are not going to be getting a refund you can share with them unfortunately. If you don't use it you would still not be getting a refund and you would also be out of pocket, more than them as you used your points to get a discounted price which you could have used at another time.

I would only give them any money back, as a goodwill gesture, if you were to find 2 other people to go with you who would be paying the additional.

Cheeky! If you didn't go they wouldn't get the money back as it's non refundable. They are lucky you didn't make them sell their own tickets.

I’ve called the hotel and it is non refundable I’m afraid so we won’t get any money back whether it’s used or not so I can’t refund anything to you because there’s nothing to refund I’m afraid.

If their tickets sell - great, if not it really isn’t your problem.

In effect, they are asking for a refund for a non-refundable room. And they're expecting you to pay for all of you! Don't pay them.

They seem to be mistaking you for an insurance company.

But as others have said, just because you used points doesn't mean it hasn't COST you for the room. Those points were worth money to YOU and you used them as a help to your friends, which was generous of you

I also wonder if you had only been paying for yourself at the outset, would it have cost you less? I'm assuming that you paid for a room big enough for 3 of you to sleep in, rather than individual rooms, given the price you are quoting?

I would tell them that you have tried to get a refund, change etc and you can't get a refund on the cash or the points as it was fully not refundable, that you are still out of pocket as a result even if it is points, which you now can't spend on something else, and you don't owe them anything, given the outcome and in fact, if you were being mean, they actually owe you and that you are not asking them for anything more at all.

I would also point out that if you can't resell the tickets they won't get anything back from you either!!

Even if they are genuinely both too ill to go, (which I doubt), it's their problem, not yours!! That's what holiday Insurance is for (even in this country). Most of us don't take that out if we are attending something in the UK, but it does exist!!

How old are your children?.Are they old enough to enjoy such an event?
As for the points, you earned them. They were not handed to you on a silver platter.