Your view on this situation.

[Dr. Bombay]

My friends and I are having a situation for which the resolution cannot be agreed upon. Let me present it to you guys since you are not part of the situation. Please tell me your feelings on this.

Our group of friends decided back in about November that we wanted to do a group trip somewhere real cool. We threw out a couple of ideas and decided we wanted to go in May but that we would wait until January to actually get things rolling. None of us are well off financially so we decided we could cut out some fun stuff and save our money. In January we decided to go to Hawaii and got a real great deal for a three bedroom 2 1/2 bath condo on the beach, two rental cars and airfare for $890.00 per person. Before we had only been finding airfare for like $700.00 per person so this was really good. There are six of us going.

A $100.00 deposit was made on one of the friends' credit card with the others promising to pay and then the rest is due March 29.

A couple weeks ago one of the friends' truck broke down and required repair which totalled about 1/2 the trip. This friend told us that he would no longer be able to go because of the money situation. This really sucks but none of us are in the position to foot the bill. But because this friend is cancelling the price for the rest of us is going up by $60.00 per person. Also this friend is one of two people going that is age 25 or older so they wouldn't have to pay extra to drive the cars. The travel agent said an underage driver would be $20.00 more per day, or if we dropped one car but upgraded the other it would be make the price per person $45.00 more.

We think he should have to pay the difference that is being charged to us. When we made these plans back in January everyone committed to going. I realize he is having trouble but we don't think we should have to pay because he is not going. At first he thought he shouldn't have to pay anything simply because he is losing his $100.00 deposit but agreed to pay 1/2 of what we are going to pay. I agree with this as well as one of the others but the others do not.

What would you guys say in this situation? Are we wrong for thinking that he should have to compensate us?

 

[Beebers]

This is the stuff of which divorces and ended friendships are made. Ouch all around.

Look at this from another point of view. Anything can happen in life and often does - what if he had passed away and so could not go? Would the balance then be charged to his estate? lol. Sixty dollars more per is not that bad. Not for a chance at Hawaii. I would stay on track with the trip and cough up the extra sixty apiece. Your friend's in enough pain not being able to go, and this is the type of pitfall we all have to be ready for with these sorts of arrangements anyway. Have fun in Hawaii, lucky guys.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Well, the truck breaking down isn't his fault. It's got to be fixed!

I say, ask around and offer the trip to some others, but any money he's already put into the deal shouldn't be refunded but rather applied toward the new person's trip.

 

[Whatever]

Why don't you have him "repay" you and your friends by taking you on a day-long trip to a city in your area? That way you get an extra trip and have fun!

 

[Dr. Bombay]

I appreciate your responses. I will confess that I actually wrote this message from the point of view of my friends. I am the one that is not going to Hawaii and I wanted to ask "strangers" their opinion but present the story from my 'friends' side to see what others reactions would be to the same situation. And your guys' reactions are the same as everyone else I've asked about it.

I really appreciate what Beeber said about what would've happened had I died. When I talk to them I'm going to ask them that. This whole situation makes me ill.

Word to the wise: if you are planning a vacation with your friends you need to discuss what would happen in the instance someone for whatever reason cannot go. It'd make the whole thing a lot easier.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Do discuss it indeed! My friends in the Mid-South Cartoonists Association did sort of the same thing with the publication of a compilation comic book (Muley has 2 pages in it) and because I couldn't afford more than 2 pages, those pages would have to have been taken by someone else in the club. Luckily, another member who was too late to sign up for it still wanted to be a part of the club and bought those pages from me.

Officially, I did back out of the book once, and it would have cost me $50 for the one page Muley was going to have at that time--but, I took the page back and bought one more.

 

[Beebers]

I appreciate your responses. I will confess that I actually wrote this message from the point of view of my friends. I am the one that is not going to Hawaii and I wanted to ask "strangers" their opinion but present the story from my 'friends' side to see what others reactions would be to the same situation. And your guys' reactions are the same as everyone else I've asked about it.

I really appreciate what Beeber said about what would've happened had I died. When I talk to them I'm going to ask them that. This whole situation makes me ill.

Word to the wise: if you are planning a vacation with your friends you need to discuss what would happen in the instance someone for whatever reason cannot go. It'd make the whole thing a lot easier.

I have to say, with our boys dying in the war against terror, (a real thing, we are at war, and it could have been my boy, too), sixty extra bucks to go to Hawaii seems to me a small thing indeed. Don't start fighting, please, everyone, lol. Just putting it all in a perspective. I'm sorry you can't go, and I hope it all works out for you, I really do.

 

[Dr. Bombay]

I wish my friends could see things from your point of view Beebers.

But good news! One of them found another friend who can go in my place. I called the travel agent and there isn't a fee for me to cancel, and in fact I get my $100.00 deposit back! The only thing that I can see will be an issue for them is that this friend isn't over 25 either so there is still the matter of the $20.00 per day for the car. Hopefully they'll just suck it up and not cause problems because I'm not going to pay that for a trip I'm not going on especially one that I wanted to go on and can't go on.

 

[Beebers]

Good for you. And they SHOULD suck up the car fee, you have nothing to do with that. I think they'll live. Don't lose sleep over that, stand your ground. And treat yourself to something nice. Dinner or something lol.

 

[Dr. Bombay]

Well we had a little meeting today to discuss what fees were charged for this and that. I told them I wouldn't pay anything and they wouldn't take no for an answer. We argued and argued. I told them that nobody I had spoken to about this situation agreed with me having to pay anything. They said that other people's opinion wouldn't count because they weren't in the situation.

Long story short I became a doormat and agreed to pay $70.00 which is 1/2 the price of the underage driver fee. I know the only reason I agreed was because I felt I was being ganged up on. I don't know why I feel that I have to make sure everyone is happy, especially when I'm not but it's over now. And I suppose I should be happy I didn't agree to more.

Thanks for your input. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks the way I do.