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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11354515/Boy-5-given-invoice-for-missing-friends-birthday-party.html
A five-year-old has been handed an invoice and his parents threatened with court action - for missing his friend's birthday party.
Derek Nash and his partner discovered the £15.95 "no show fee" invoice after it was slipped into their son Alex's school bag.
Mr Nash said he originally "thought it was a joke", but the issue has remained unresolved with the birthday boy's mother, Julie Lawrence, threatening small claims court.
The family confirmed their son would be attending the party at the Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre just before the Christmas holidays.
However, Mr Nash, from Torpoint, Cornwall, realised he had already arranged for their daughter to go on a day trip with her grandparents.
He said: "She saw me and asked if Alex was coming to the party. At this time I agreed and said that Alex was looking forward to it.
"By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the boy's mother] know. So on the day of the party we asked Alex what he wanted to do - he chose to be with his grandparents."
Alex returned to Torpoint Nursery and Infant School on January 6, but the family were shocked to receive the bill just over a week later.
Mr Nash added: "My partner looked out for [the friend's mother] to apologise for Alex not showing up to the party, but didn't see her.
"But on January 15 she looked in Alex's school bag and found a brown envelope. It was an invoice for £15.95 for a child's party no show fee.
"I asked Alex's class teacher if [the child's mother] had given anything to her. She said, 'Yes, a brown envelope'.
"I then visited Alex's school head teacher, who couldn't apologise enough that one of the teachers had passed this on. She said she would remind all staff that this was a breach of protocol.
"I left the school and went to see [the birthday boy's mother] as her address was on the invoice. When she answered the door I told her I had found the invoice in my son's school bag and that I wasn't happy about it.
"I told her I would not be paying her the money. I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son's school bag.
"I would have sympathised with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can't believe the way she has gone around it."
Ms Lawrence has since threatened the family that she would take the case to a small claims court, while the birthday boy will no longer play with Alex at school.
Mr Nash added: "I drive all around the south west for my job and I have talked to quite a few people about this. They're all quite incredulous that this has happened. I thought it was a joke to begin with. I am lost for words."
His partner, who does not want to be named, has been in contact with the mother via Facebook in a bid to resolve the situation.
Ms Lawrence said the boy's non-attendance left her out of pocket and insisted his parents did have details to tell her he was not going.
She said in a statement: "All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11354515/Boy-5-given-invoice-for-missing-friends-birthday-party.html
A five-year-old has been handed an invoice and his parents threatened with court action - for missing his friend's birthday party.
Derek Nash and his partner discovered the £15.95 "no show fee" invoice after it was slipped into their son Alex's school bag.
Mr Nash said he originally "thought it was a joke", but the issue has remained unresolved with the birthday boy's mother, Julie Lawrence, threatening small claims court.
The family confirmed their son would be attending the party at the Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre just before the Christmas holidays.
However, Mr Nash, from Torpoint, Cornwall, realised he had already arranged for their daughter to go on a day trip with her grandparents.
He said: "She saw me and asked if Alex was coming to the party. At this time I agreed and said that Alex was looking forward to it.
"By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the boy's mother] know. So on the day of the party we asked Alex what he wanted to do - he chose to be with his grandparents."
Alex returned to Torpoint Nursery and Infant School on January 6, but the family were shocked to receive the bill just over a week later.
Mr Nash added: "My partner looked out for [the friend's mother] to apologise for Alex not showing up to the party, but didn't see her.
"But on January 15 she looked in Alex's school bag and found a brown envelope. It was an invoice for £15.95 for a child's party no show fee.
"I asked Alex's class teacher if [the child's mother] had given anything to her. She said, 'Yes, a brown envelope'.
"I then visited Alex's school head teacher, who couldn't apologise enough that one of the teachers had passed this on. She said she would remind all staff that this was a breach of protocol.
"I left the school and went to see [the birthday boy's mother] as her address was on the invoice. When she answered the door I told her I had found the invoice in my son's school bag and that I wasn't happy about it.
"I told her I would not be paying her the money. I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son's school bag.
"I would have sympathised with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can't believe the way she has gone around it."
Ms Lawrence has since threatened the family that she would take the case to a small claims court, while the birthday boy will no longer play with Alex at school.
Mr Nash added: "I drive all around the south west for my job and I have talked to quite a few people about this. They're all quite incredulous that this has happened. I thought it was a joke to begin with. I am lost for words."
His partner, who does not want to be named, has been in contact with the mother via Facebook in a bid to resolve the situation.
Ms Lawrence said the boy's non-attendance left her out of pocket and insisted his parents did have details to tell her he was not going.
She said in a statement: "All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me."
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I read this and my biggest question was why such a petty dispute ends up in a big article in a national paper.
Good that they're going through the courts and not resorting to violence
Wow. If you can charge people for not turning up to your birthday party as a child then I'm owed a fortune 
Hopefully a claims agency will txt me.
Hopefully a claims agency will txt me.
I'm baffled how the boys non attendance leaves the mother out of pocket.
This is just par for the course, annoying yes but you invite twelve or more kids to a party there is always a no show, remember booking a party for my daughter a few years back she had 16 going, I told the place there would be 14 kids going & that is what I paid for.
Hence to say the fourteen children that attended had a good time
Hence to say the fourteen children that attended had a good time
I'm baffled how the boys non attendance leaves the mother out of pocket.
probably as the birthday boy got no present but they still forked out for the ski slope
Many parents will ask there kids if they want a party or the money so you pay out £150 for a kids footy party invite 20 kids and probably get back between £100 and £200 as birthday presents
probably as the birthday boy got no present but they still forked out for the ski slope
Many parents will ask there kids if they want a party or the money so you pay out £150 for a kids footy party invite 20 kids and probably get back between £100 and £200 as birthday presents
this could be one of the funniest yet saddest things ive ever read, what a sad bitch
5 year olds at a dry ski slope? Sounds like a H&S officer's nightmare.
I think there may be quite complex VAT issues here ... if the invoice for £15.95 has a food and drink element (unless it's alcohol, of course then there could be a VATable component if they served hot food and ate it inside, but ok if they went outside to eat it. And the ski component is no VAT as it's educational (unless, of course, the kids enjoyed it (in which case it's entertainment, then VATable).
But if the parents are below the VAT threshold, then no need to account for the VAT.
Who'd have kids - nightmare!
But if the parents are below the VAT threshold, then no need to account for the VAT.
Who'd have kids - nightmare!
I sympathise with the mother here, the non-attender's father could have contacted her, and didn't bother. Such rudeness and lack of consideration may be par for the course these days, but it remains rudeness.
And the absolute hide of the bloke saying he can't believe she acted in this way, when the crass behaviour was on his part in the first place.
And the absolute hide of the bloke saying he can't believe she acted in this way, when the crass behaviour was on his part in the first place.
Really strange that he had no way of contacting her despite all the info being on the invite according to the birthday boys mother.
Now they've not only been at her door but contacted her on facebook.
Now they've not only been at her door but contacted her on facebook.
Let the kids sort it out themselves.
Water pistols at dawn.
Water pistols at dawn.
I NEVER HAD ANY BIRTHDAY PARTIES WHEN I WAS SMALL,I DONT THINK THEY HAD BEEN INVENTED
love how the invoice is £15.95, £16 would be taking it too far!
A ski party for being 5 ffs symptomatic of our modern world, a combination of beating the "Jonse's" and giving kids "everything I never had," bolocks. So what are you going to spoil the brat with next year, a mortised kiddies Merc perhaps. Will 10 be the new 18?? a Jolly for him and all his friends at The Sandy Lane" for a fortnight, he will expect no less as you (the parents) have started the stratospheric expectation ball rolling at the age of 5, and think it's OK to invoice others who dare not buy into this fecking nonsense.
Very harsh, they should have demanded it be taken out of his pocket money weekly, and interest charged at the current rate.
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