Friend Assigns too Big a Percentage of Check?

[spinstermanquee]

Okay so I went on this 5-day trip with some friends. Me, single friend, and a couple with two teenagers. We met at the destination. I paid my own hotel room and chipped in whenever possible.

 

Every time we went out to dinner the guy of the couple "assigned us" 50% of the check (single friend paid 25%, I paid 25% and the couple paid 50%)

 

Not too terrible, but now he is telling me I need to pay 1/3 of the car rental (540 US)! I wouldn't mind but during the whole trip he was saying how cheap it was. I think he may be adding on the GPS maps, gas, and some other expenses. I feel a bit cheesed at this and think it's not right. I didn't decide/approve to pay ~195 for the maps. I wouldn't have brought a GPS. I wouldn't have rented an SUV either. I probably would have taken public transpo and roughed it...

 

I wish I knew in advance, because I wouldn't have gone if I knew how expensive it would turn out to be. For sure, I will not be going on any more trips with this couple but can anyone tell me a nice/classy way to tell the guy 1/6 of the car rental ++ is more fair? Why should I have to continue to pay for the kids? I never did that when I traveled with my kid, I always paid her share.

 

Please and thank you for any advice / experience you can provide.... w

[annie24]

i don't see why you should have to pay 1/3 if you've been paying 1/4th all along.....

[spinstermanquee]

Me neither... when it's happening, and you're with your friends, you don't really care you just pay the bill.

 

Later I looked at 1/4 versus if I just paid for myself and in every instance I would have paid less. Which made me start to think.

 

I think this is just leftover behavior from when their kids were small - any parent knows when they're less than ten, they eat like NOTHING.

 

So anyway, I will speak with the husband tomorrow... so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks annie

[Sunny1607307996]

Offer to pay for your share of the gas/oil changes and that's it. The GPS and maps were extra, although probably useful.

 

Politely say that you agreed to the gas but you think the maps were your friend's decision and you didn't agree to it.

 

How did just maps end up costing almost $200?!

 

Although, if you went on a trip with them, then I'm assuming you are relatively good friends.....you may need to pony up a little if you want to keep them as friends. If not, I say you've already paid your fair share for the trip.

[spinstermanquee]

sunny, thanks for the reply.

 

they were foreign maps, which cost extra... normally map updates cost 40-50 US.

[annie24]

i agree that since they were teenagers, they were probably eating more like adults, if not more!

[MiseryGuts]

It is totally out of order for someone to essentially be spending your money without consulting you. If you're going to split the cost of something it should be discussed in detail up front and agreed upon.

 

Whatever you decide to pay you should make it very clear that it was unreasonable of them to take these decisions without consulting you.

[thinkstoohard]

I think you should pay 1/6 of the car rental minus what you've paid above and beyond 1/6 of the food bills. you shouldn't have to pay for their teenagers food or car usage. period. personally, i wouldn't be hesitant to tell this to a friend or non-friend. my friends would understand (and not put me in this position to begin with) and my non-friends would remain just that for expecting me to pay their teenagers way...

[Crazyaboutdogs]

I am a bit confused...you say you met at the destination..so were you not even in the car driving with them for 5 days? I think there needs a better financial accounting here. If he is going to keep the GPS then, no, you shouldn't be required to foot the bill for the GPS. If the GPS was only rented then you should pay your fair share. If the guy did all the driving then you had a chauffeur and didn't have to do any driving and navigating...so paying a little more is only fair since you didn't have any of the headaches and responsibilities. There is nothing worse than being the designated driver on a long trip and having your passengers who could just put their feet up and relax and go along for the ride, start insisting on paying exactly their share and nothing more..everything split even steven. The passengers who have had no responsibility for driving and navigating should show their appreciation by giving a little more into the pot. There seems to be fault on all sides here....because nobody is looking at the other person's perspective. Regarding the meals, you should not have paid 25%. You should not be responsible for the meals for the children. If there was a bottle of wine at a meal, then that should get split according to the adults only..but not the food itself.

[spinstermanquee]

We all met there by flying in then rented the car. Anyhow I am going to call him today and ask him how he arrived at the number before I send a check. I am trying not to make a big thing about it but it is sticking in my craw

 

And it was his GPS, not rented.

[annie24]

yeah, i would ask how he got the number. if it's his GPS, then i think it only makes sense to pay for part of the maps that he wouldn't have bought otherwise.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

yeah, i would ask how he got the number. if it's his GPS, then i think it only makes sense to pay for part of the maps that he wouldn't have bought otherwise.

 

I agree. Upon reflection I think the gas and renting the vehicle should be split three ways because it is not fair to assume the children are part of the deal when it comes to gas money and the vehicle...if you brought your dog along would you expect the dog to be counted when divying up the cost...of course not...same with children. The food the children eat is a different story..but the car and maps should be split 3 ways. I think the lesson is that when people are going away together the splitting of the finances should be discussed beforehand and a budget should be make so that everyone knows before going away what the costs will be.

[spinstermanquee]

I think the lesson is that when people are going away together the splitting of the finances should be discussed beforehand and a budget should be make so that everyone knows before going away what the costs will be.

Nail, head. This is one uncomfortable situation I won't be revisiting! Thanks all for input...

[spinstermanquee]

Well I spoke with him this afternoon and asked him how he got the final number. As it turned out he put on rental, gas, gps maps, and the extra $ from credit card company for some type of additional insurance for the larger vehicle.

 

I reminded him of some other stuff I paid for that I was told we would "settle up" later for (and I hesitated to bring it up at all because I just hate people who do accounting on pleasure trips, that's so not me), because I believe he honestly forgot, and he told me to just deduct it from the 1/3.

 

So I'll send him the remainder. Case closed. Thanks for the input y'all.

[Crazyaboutdogs]

Are you okay with the outcome? I gather it is not the actual gps but just the extra maps?

[spinstermanquee]

Correct, just the maps. Anyhoo it is resolved and I'm fine with the outcome, lesson learned.