Five-year-old misses friend's birthday party and gets invoice for £15.95 (UK)

[Nye Bevan]

The parents of a five-year-old schoolboy have been invoiced for failing to attend a school friend’s birthday party and have been threatened with legal action if they do not pay. Derek Nash and Tanya Walsh found a brown envelope with a £15.95 “no show fee” left in their son Alex’s schoolbag last week, sent by his classmate’s mother Julie Lawrence.

Lawrence claims that Alex’s failure to attend her child’s birthday party has left her out of pocket, and that his parents had her details to tell her that their son would not be attending. Nash said he had been told he would be taken to small claims court for refusing to pay.

It all started with an invitation to the birthday party just before Christmas at the Plymouth Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre. Alex – who attends a local nursery in Torpoint, Cornwall – told his parents he wanted to go, so they confirmed he would be at the party. However, his parents realised on the day that Alex had been double-booked to spend time with his grandparents. His mother told Apex News, “Julie Lawrence and I weren’t friends, we didn’t talk to each other at school, but I felt bad about Alex not going to the party.”

.......

“It was a proper invoice with full official details and even her bank details on it.” He added: “I can understand that she’s upset about losing money. The money isn’t the issue, it’s the way she went about trying to get the money from me.”

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jan/19/five-year-old-misses-friends-birthday-party-and-has-to-pay-1595

Here is the analysis from the BBC's legal expert:

It is all but impossible that Ms Lawrence will be able to recover the £15.95 party "no show fee". Any claim would be on the basis that a contract had been created, which included a term that a "no show" fee would be charged.

However, for there to be a contract, there needs to be an intention to create legal relations. A child's party invitation would not create legal relations with either the child "guest" or its parents.

If it is being argued that the contract is with the child, it is inconceivable that a five-year-old would be seen by a court as capable of creating legal relations and entering into a contract with a "no show" charge.

It's amusing to imagine what a children's party invitation seeking to create a contract might say: "I, the 'first party', hereinafter referred to as the 'birthday boy', cordially invite you the 'second party', hereinafter referred to as 'my best friend', to the party of 'the first party'.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cornwall-30876360

[MohRokTah]

1. Even under some weird state laws in the US, this would never rise to the level of contract. eom

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. British contract law is pretty much the same as U.S. law.

That's where we got it. There wasn't a contract under either British or U.S. law, and the party child's mother would seem to be simply a British version of an entitled twerp. £15.95 is about $25, so it's pretty amazing that anyone would go to the trouble of sending out an invoice and threaten court action over this. I'd be tempted to tell Mum to go ahead, take me to court; spend exponentially as much as your petty claim is worth. You're going to lose anyhow.

[frogmarch]

3. How absurd.

The party boy's mom could have made oodles of money if she'd sent invitations to every kid in England and then sued the non-responders, because apparently it's okay to sue people who don't respond even when they hadn't asked for an invitation in the first place.

This case should be called "How To Discourage Anyone From Wanting To Be Friends With Your Kid."

[Jefferson23]

6. lol..that's what I thought too.What is your objective, have your kid be feared?

If the parents needed the money that bad...they could have had a phone conversation in a private manner.

[pennylane100]

4. I feel sorry for the birthday boy

He has one wacky mother. I can only imagine the teasing her kid will get from the students at his school. It also makes me wonder how she treats her child when he does anything she thinks is wrong. I wonder what a psychological evaluation would tell us about such behavior.

[dballance]

5. Totally ridiculous

Let's think about this logically. This idiot mother was willing to basically throw away the money and get nothing, really, in return except the child's presence. She would have been no more and no less out of pocket if the child attended.

In the US I think it would cost more than $25 to even file in small claims court.

[2naSalit]

7. The alleged plaintiff

sounds like a cheerleader for the TPP.

just sayin'

[petronius]

8. Well, at least the BBC's legal expert got to spend time on something

that is probably a bit more entertaining than what s/he usually gets asked, and likely earned more than £15.95 while doing it. So that's good.

I imagine--I have no kids so I'm really talking out of my backside here--that party mom has a legitimate point: no-shows do drive up costs and probably sadden the party kid when there are too many of them, but she chose a really awkward way to make that point...