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

So they are quite happy for you to spend time doing all the arranging, spend your points on a hotel, then spend your time to resell the tickets???

And then send THEM £30 each?

They are unbelievable.

What did their last slave die of?!

Are you sleeping in 3 beds and having 3 breakfasts?

as you have the money I wouldn’t even bother explaining as they’ll just argue back. Just say Non refundable so end of.

OP they sound rubbish but no need to do this.

Be upfront and clear as per pp above. The owe you. Don’t lie but nip this in the bud.

and can you go with someone else? Frankly i wouldn’t be rushing to refund their tickets either. When i had to miss something due to illness i said please give my ticket to someone so you have company.

OP do it - pretend you didn't go and go anyway. They sound a bit dim so this will be easiest.

You might be 'enjoying their share of the hotel' but if the HAD gone, they would actually be enjoying a large share of your hotel as you paid the bulk of it.

I wouldn't sell their tickets. It's up to them to sell them. What if you can't get the full amount back... they'd probably ask for that too.

Give them a print out of the hotel points you used and the small print that says it can't be refunded. I know tesco vouchers can't. and how much it was worth and could have been spent on other things. And that means in reality you spent XXX..
Now you have to go to a concert on your own and stay in the hotel on your own, when you could have gone locally and saved the points etc.
You are not sleeping in three beds... Their beds are empty. If it was just you, you would have got a single room, not a triple and therefore you'd be paying less in the first place.
They are being very tight over £30-60... they are not subsidising you. They took a risk going on an non refundable break.
Even if you yourself cancel... none of you will get the money back. At least you are making sure your share doesn't go completely to waste. They could do the same but neither of them want to... that's their call.

I can't believe they want you to go on your own, having spent time and effort booking (and paying for) a hotel for 3... and they want you to pay them for dumping you.

Tell them ur ill too and it’s not refundable. Then they can’t make out ur using it. Although they are the height of absolute cheeky fuckers. Totally unreasonable. Also what if u can’t someone to buy their tickets. Surely they must realise this and how unreasonable they are both being. I’d be questioning whether I still want to be friends!

This is like that old adage 'if someone borrows £20 off you and you never see that person again, it was worth it.' (To get rid of a worthless, cheeky-fucker.)

Seriously @Nicolasaa9 I would give these cheeky grifters the £30 each back, and block the fuckers on everything.

Some 'best friends' they are. Allowing you to use all of YOUR credits/points (£200 worth!) to enable them to only have to pay £30, (instead of about £85,) and then demanding the £30 back, because THEY CANNOT GO!

Fuck. That. Shit. Pay them the £30 each back, and then block them.

If they try to enquire as to why, say 'why the fuck do you think, you shameless grabby grifter?!'

You don't need users like this in your life. These 'friendships' have gone past their expiry date.

Their share of the hotel?? That doesn't even make sense. You won't be using three rooms or three lots of facilities. You'll be using exactly what you paid for, one room and one set of facilities. There is no argument for you also using facilities that they paid for. They should refund you for everything you paid on their behalf.

What do you mean by points?

Have you asked Expedia if instead of refunding they can transfer the value (points and cash) to a different booking? Then you could pay them their £30s.

I would be proper pissed off after you put all the effort into arranging this

The hotel cost £260. I used £200 of my points to pay of this and kindly only asked you to pay £30 each. It is non refundable. Please send me £56 to cover the rest of your share of the hotel.

No hotel costs but I had a ticket and travel booked with a friend for a gig last year. A week before I had to have emergency surgery completely out of the blue, no chance of making the gig. I got my DH to message my friend saying so sorry whitewash won’t be able to go here’s the ticket and travel details ( for free as it was sunk costs anyway) to pass on, hope you can get another friend to go with you at short notice. I felt guilty letting my friend down.

Put it back on them.

"Just so we're clear, there are no refunds on the hotel or tickets as both are non-refundable or insured.

I know we don't see eye to eye on me making use of the hotel booking, but i don't think I should lose my stake in the arrangements we made and fork put for the whole lot. Look st it the other way, if i had been ill, I wouldn't be cancelling the booking and taking the hotel away from you just because I'm no longer using the points so that goes both ways. It's unfortunate you're ill but that is what travel and ticket insurance is for.

Im happy to list your tickets for sale but cant guarantee that they will sell.

Can you therefore just let me know

a) are you asking me to cancel the hotel and accept the money will be gone and registered your tickets, accepting they may not sell or

b) in light of the above, you are both now coming?

Finally, if you can't make it, can you let me know ASAP so you have the best chance of getting your ticket money back. And if only one ticket sells, minus fees, are you sharing the money"

[tbf you don't need to ask that las bit, I'd just do it for the lols 😆]

Oooooh @Terfarina what did you post?! Must have been a link or something that wasn't allowed. 😬

@Nicolasaa9 YANBU! Tell them that points do not count towards a cancellation so the full whack will have to be paid if you do indeed cancel, and ask them if they want to be £30 out of their lying-arse malingering pockets or £80! I hope the event is worth all this bother and you enjoy your night.

Or

"I've spent £200 on points to go and sit in a hotel room alone, one I wouldn't have booked at all if it wasn't for your convenience, and now you both feel so hard done by missing out on £30 each that you think its fair to ask me to pay you the combined sum of £60!!

I used points as a favour to subsidise you with a lower cost trip and you have the cheek to act like im your personal insurance to pay out because youre ill. You're absolutely taking the piss."

I would never book another event with them. I'd let them book their own tickets going forward.

Re hotel - there's no refund on it - sorry. I'd also say how disappointed you are.

I find it very strange that they're both to ill to go. Their tickets are their problem, so if they need to be resold, they need to do it.

The hotel, as you said, is non-refundable. You spent a heck of a lot more than them in the first place, and you could have used those points for something else. They get nothing back from the hotel, because YOU'RE getting nothing back!

Noooo! You are still £200 out though. You have used your points to go somewhere that you would have enjoyed had they been going but now have to go yourself or be £200 down - the previous poster who said tell them to send you extra money is absolutely correct. You might not have physically paid £200 out but you have lost those points if you don't go. Advise them that the room was non refundable and you are out £200 to each of their £30 so if they could transfer their share of the balance that would be great. They would have had to do this had you not used your points anyway. I see a shiny new backbone in your future OP! Good luck - you have got this!

Was it an event where they had a southern and northern strand and you booked the northern to make it fair on northern friend and she’s just pulled out? You now have to go to the hassle of travelling 200+ miles for something you could have travelled to in less than an hour?

Pain in the arse friends, of course they can’t have their money back. As if they put the ticket resale pressure on you too! So rude.

Expedia points I’ve accumulated when I booked my last family holiday.

Or she could block them without parting with more money that they aren't entitled to!

This is totally unreasonable of them. Why should you lose out due to their inability to go while they do their best to make sure that they personally don’t take a hit at all? You’re even having to do the work of listing the tickets.