Money Moral Dilemma: Should my mates pay me back for Glastonbury tent booking?

RFAJ

This is tricky, as if there are still 3 people going they will need the same size tent so will have to pay more due to you cancelling, really feel you need to take the cost on the chin but say if another friend to lucky enough to get through on resale can they take your place? If there is anyone you think would want to do this offer to try and help them get a tickets on the resale day.

However If it is due to these friends that you don't want to go, please still go but camp else where you won't regret it even if this means you will be on your own. Some of my funniest memories at Glastonbury are when I was on my own as you will always get chatting to others and basically you can be a totally different person as they don't know you from Adam.     

Previously Friends have tried to talk me into staying in Tipi and i Said can't think of anything worse then staying in a tent with loads of people snoring, farting and smelling bad!! Two in a tent is enough, One person in a 3 man tent is the best option for future reference (take it from someone that has been to everyone since 1995!) :-)

smartwoman

If you have already fallen out with the mates just tell them to pay up or you will cancel the tent. You have nothing to lose!

sandal_melody

An extra £16 per person per day (Assuming Wed-Sun/ Thu-Mon), are single-digit fractions in comparison to what they'll be paying over the week. Given what they'll be spending on booze and glitter! Space is a PREMIUM down on the farm - 4 people crammed into that tent would've been pretty tight in the first place, so really they should be paying you £83 each and you have your money back.

At the same time if you're on the fence about going, then go. When the weekend rolls round I promise you that you'll want to be there. There really is no other place like it - hadn't even been to a gig before I went the very first time, and now 20 years + literally 100+ music festivals later, although slightly greyer\ grumpier this is the only one I still bother going to. 162 days to go  

Chazza22

If you got a refund on the ticket then I'd cut my losses on the money for the tent. It was booked ages ago and speaking as someone who has lost money on hen dos, birthdays gigs, etc. How important are the friendships?

JayD

There is always some relevant information missing from these posts!

However, while it may depend on how much your share of the cost of the tent is -  your friends have already told you that they do not intend to refund any of it to you, so what is the dilemma?

You've already asked and they have already said 'No'.

Discussing the rights or wrongs of their response is really quite irrelevant now. So you either suck it up, or have a hissy fit and risk losing their friendship. Personally, I would suck it up!

Thrugelmir

Pollycat said:

elsien said:

This has been posted before in another bit of the forum. 

Just to save us all repeating ourselves.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6311474/i-want-to-cancel-a-group-booking-but-my-group-doesnt-want-to


As posted, this is missing some extremely relevant information about the tent booking terms and conditions.

And here is the original post with much more information as Elsien says - posted 2 months ago with 5 pages of replies:

adbacus said:

Hi, 

I would really like your advise and thoughts about my situation .

I secured Glastonbury 2020 tickets for me and my mates. We decided at the time to get a pre-erect tent, which was big enough for 6 people for 4 of us - worked out at £250 each.

When Glastonbury cancelled 2020 and then again this year, they allowed us to roll-over our festival ticket and tent booking, or cancel either/both for a full refund.

At the end of September Glastonbury announced that the festival would be taking place next year, in the announcement they once again advised that our tickets would be valid, or we could cancel either/both for a full refund, until the end of December.

In light of this, I decided to tell my mates that I no longer wished to be a part of their Glastonbury experience (even though my reasons were because we had fallen out/no longer close, I kept the detail to a minimum). I suggested that they have the option to keep the big tent for themselves, in which case they should reimburse my share. Alternatively, if the tent is too expensive between the 3 of them now, they can cancel the tent booking completely for the full refund and try to book a smaller tent in the resales.

They are refusing to pay me back my money, claiming that I had made a commitment. They don't want to give up the tent, as they may not be able to get a cheaper one (even though they were not guarenteed a smaller one to begin with).

I do appreciate we were lucky to secure a tent at the time, just as we were lucky to get hold of the festival tickets to begin with. However, I know that even if we didn't manage to book the tent, they would have still gone to Glastonbury. 

I'm angry about the situation as I feel it's 3 against 1, and even though Glastonbury are offering a full refund, I have lost my consumer rights.

What can I do?

Someone been caught with their pants down........ hope their boss doesn't find out. 

francesandrews1999

lincroft1710 said:

How much are we talking about?

In the original post I believe the OP said £250. I would say it depends on the context and how much £250 is for you. For me that is a lot and I would want the money back! I do understand that it is OPs fault for backing out, but there are other options for the other “friends” so they shouldn’t really refuse that OP gets their money back in any way. 

 Although it is a shame you don’t want to go anymore and have given up your ticket 🥲 but understand you said this is because you’re no longer really friends with the people you booked with. You said that they would go anyway without the tent booking, but there may be (even if a small chance) a chance for them to book a smaller tent anyway. In this case, I would say cut your losses and refund the ticket for the tent booking. 

Worst case scenario, you all get your £250 back and they can use the money towards a hotel or hostel for the week, or a decent tent to put up themselves (not sure how it works at Glasto)

Best case scenario, you all get your £250 back, and they are able to rebook another, smaller tent. 

I think either way they will resent you for this, but if you’re “not friends” with them anyway, does it really matter? You should explain that these are the only two options for them and let them decide which they choose. Reiterate that you can’t afford to lose the £250 on nothing (if that is the case). 

Ps. This is all assuming that you are the one with the ability to cancel the booking! 

MalMonroe

I really wouldn't want to go either because we don't really know what's going to be happening with covid. Some people seem to think it's all over now but it's worse than ever. Also, with somewhere like Glastonbury, nobody knows who's been vaxxed and who hasn't. People won't want to wear masks either. 

I'd love to go to Glastonbury and normally would say I'd just go because I know I'd enjoy it but I wouldn't chance it just yet. I wouldn't want to fall out with three friends over money. At least you have a partial refund. I'd have to just suffer the financial loss because I want to be safe and also keep my pals.

meknowalot-51

2020 cancelled,2021 cancelled and your telling us you haven't discussed options of refunds with your mates in the last two years.Your mates have said you made a commitment so i suggest you do the honourable thing and stick to it.

MaryNB

If the tent is as hard to procure as tickets I wouldn't be willing to give it up at the risk of not being able to get a smaller one. If OP originally agreed to go, it's not the others' fault OP changed their mind. If it was easy to switch tents I'd say their former friends were being unreasonable but if they risk losing their tent booking altogether I don't think they should budge. 

Anytime I go on a group trip I consider the onus on the personal dropping out to either cover their share or find someone to take their place. I wouldn't mind finding a cheaper option if possible, or helping find a replacement or but I wouldn't take on that responsibility. Obviously if there was something like a family issues meaning they had to stay home for that would be different but I wouldn't pay extra if they simply changed their mind too late and we couldn't downgrade.