I paid heavy price for ‘free’ holiday
OLD PAL COST ME FORTUNE
I WAS chuffed when an ex-neighbour offered me a free holiday at her cousin’s cottage.
She knew that I was devastated after the breakdown of my relationship.
She promised me relaxing days and fun nights, but the “free trip” ended up costing me a fortune.
I had no idea that so many of her freeloading mates would be coming and going.
As I was the only the one with a car, I became the official taxi driver. If I wasn’t picking up one person from the station, I was dropping another at the ferry.
One morning she begged me to drive her sister (who wasn’t feeling well) 25 miles back home.
At no point did anyone offer me any money for petrol.
Every time we went to the supermarket, it seemed that I was the only one who had bothered to bring a credit or debit card. Pretentious friends were picking out expensive wines and steaks like gannets.
I drew the line when her brother tossed a frozen lobster into the trolley, knowing full well that he expected me to pay for it.
Later I heard him referring to me as a “tight wad”.
They all seemed to assume that, just because I have a decent job, that I was prepared to stump up for everything.
On the Friday night we all went to a pizza place where the booze flowed and the dough balls kept coming. Finally, the bill arrived and I sat back.
After some awkward shuffling, my friend hissed: “Please get this and I’ll pay you back. Promise”. She never has.
The next morning I did all the washing up and scrubbed the kitchen without any help.
Now my friend has emailed to say that her cousin was cross that the other rooms weren’t cleaned so we all need to chip in £30 for a professional cleaner. Do I have “mug” written all over me?
JANE SAYS: Did your devious ex-neighbour invite you – or your credit card? There’s no doubt in my mind that she cynically took advantage of your generous nature.
Just because you have a good job doesn’t mean that you are obliged to pay for others every time you leave the house.
Why don’t you play her at her own game? Sit down with a calculator and add up everything you spent during that ill-fated trip. From the
petrol and the pizzas to the steaks and the wine.
Divide the total amount among all the people who rocked up and ping that back to your friend.
It’s highly unlikely that anyone will reimburse you because they sound like a seasoned bunch of ponces – but at least you will have stuck your head above the parapet and made your point. Tell her to deduct the £30 from what you’ve already paid out…
Oh, and your ex-neighbour is no mate – she’s a user and a fake and needs to be edited from your life.