Did you ever make a last minute decision to not attend a party you were invited to? Did the host send you a bill for what your attendance would have cost them? Are you also five-years-old?
Who hasn’t cancelled on an invite at least once in their lives? Whatever the reason, sometimes you don’t want to/can’t go. But one family in Cornwall, England found out the exact price of doing just that.
Derek Nash’s son Alex was invited to the birthday party of a schoolmate at a ski and snowboard location. The plan was for Alex to attend. According to the Plymouth Herald:
Alex, who goes to Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, told his parents he wanted to go and so Mr Nash and his partner confirmed he would be at the celebration.
Mr Nash 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.”
But Mr Nash later realised he had arranged for Alex and his sister Lily to out for a day trip with their grandparents.
“By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the boy’s mother] know,” explained Mr Nash.
Alex decided he’d rather spend the day with his grandparents and did not attend the birthday party. Things were fine until little Alex brought home a bill. From the birthday boy’s parents.
It listed a £15.95 “childs party no show fee” complete with invoice number and an order number listed as “verbal.” Nash told the paper, “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.” He also says the parents are threatening legal action if they don’t pay up and that Alex has become a bit of a pariah at school for not going to the party.
As to whether any of this would hold up in court, a legal correspondent for the BBC said it’s unlikely the invoice giver will get her money:
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’.
What do you make of all this, folks?
(image via Shutterstock – Copyright: PathDoc)
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Published: Jan 19, 2015 05:30 pm