Real life MMD: Should I ask her to buy curtains? 14 June 2012 at 4:55PM in Money Saving Polls 66 replies 10.8K views

Former_MSE_Debs

Money Moral Dilemma: Should I ask her to buy curtains?

We needed some new curtains and my mum offered to make some for us free of charge if we bought the material. For one of the windows we wanted floor-length curtains (even though the window doesn't go to the floor). We explained this to my mum and bought the right amount of fabric, however, instead of making what we asked for she's made short curtains and used the left over fabric to line some other curtains (that didn't need lining). Should I ask her to pay for some replacement curtains that are what we actually wanted?

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beaker141

No - we all know mums are a bit skatty, I'd stand over my mum and supervise knowing what she's like - and mum knows best!

flyingflea

Whaaaaat!? This isn't even a dilemma! Firstly, she's your MUM.. think how much she has done for you!

Secondly, regardless of this, she's tried to do you a favour and has meant well so you can't expect her to pay for her mistake. These things happen and it's not like you're paying her.

cardiffjoiner

FOR SHAME...I find it difficult to believe that this has even been posted.. No doubt you expect your mother to give you free unpaid child care as well. Thatcher would be proud of you....

Pee

It's been said already. More fool you for trusting her to do it your way rather than hers, very unlikely to happen, and she thinks that she is helping so no, you can't charge her.

Maybe you could ask her for sewing lessons, though to avoid any problems in future?

gainsboroughgirl

I hope if you do decide to charge her for the curtains, she has the good sense to charge you for her time and in the process, teach you a few lessons you clearly haven't learned yet. Have you got kids yet? More to the point- have you got teenagers yet or even university returners? You know- the "I want to be independent but here's my washing, can dinner be earlier as I'm going out on your money and can you pick me up, oh and here's my washing..."

GROW UP!

geri1965_2

A similar thing actually happened to me. I bought some material and asked my mum to make curtains - which she did, only when I hung them up I noticed that one of them was upside down!

I just kept them up and never mentioned it.

Same as when I asked her to take some trousers up for me and she ruined them by machine stitching instead of doing them by hand.

If you ask someone a favour, it would be churlish to moan when it goes wrong.

bogwart

No, of course you shouldn't. Maybe you didn't explain properly to her, maybe she just made a mistake. You can always buy new material but you can't make a new mother. Write it off to experience and hope that's the worst thing that happens - it's not such a big deal that you need to insult her in the way you suggest.

eyechub1

Anyone who dose work for free cannot be asked to underwrite the goods. No one would ever help anyone if the could be held liable.

If you advised to cap my utility bill and the price then dropped would you cough up the difference?

saversfriend

Legally speaking, NO - it's a favour and you've not entered into a contract by paying here for her efforts.

Morally, NOOOO! - She's your Mum!

Put up the curtains and get used to them!

PasturesNew

No. It's your mum. Just smile, suck it up and move on.