Money Moral Dilemma: I bought a friend gig tickets as a gift - should they have invited me?

JamesyMac

MSE_Kelvin said:

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I bought two concert tickets for a friend as a birthday gift, but they took another friend to the gig. As it was a present, was my friend free to take whoever they want, or should they have invited me?

Unfortunately the MSE team can't answer Money Moral Dilemma questions as contributions are emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be a point of debate and discussed at face value. Remember that behind each dilemma there is a real person so, as the forum rules say, please keep it kind and keep it clean.

If you haven’t already, join the forum to reply.

Got a Money Moral Dilemma of your own? Suggest an MMD.

I suppose it’s their property, but they clearly aren’t a good friend. If I was your friend, my first thing would be to ask if you’d like to come with me.

MaggieJ100

You say 'I bought two concert tickets for a friend as a birthday gift', but actually, you bought them one ticket and made the mistake of giving them your ticket too.

So no dilemma - if you want to go, you give your friend one ticket and say you'd love them to go with you.

comeandgo

MSE Kelvin, go talk to MSE Laura F who posed exactly the same question end of January so less than two months ago.

ripongrammargirl

Not a dilemma, and posted before. If you had wanted to go you should have asked if they wanted to go with you and it would be your treat for their birthday. Communication is everything.

gloriouslyhappy

This one pops up all the time, concert tickets, gig tickets, theatre tickets - take your choice, but the answers always the same: Give two tickets, it's their gift, their choice. Otherwise keep one ticket, give the other stating your present to them is to accompany you to the performance.

phillw

Is someone watching old episodes of friends?

https://youtu.be/Fj5l_CZSlok

Marshie92

See I’m with the person asking the question here. Although it does depend what the tickets are for and your relationship.

I bought my close friends experiences for their birthdays last year, one straight away said about looking at Spa half way between us (we live 200 miles apart) and the other is my best friend and I feel I can tell her I’m inviting myself along because we have that sort of relationship.

However, I’ve bought gifts that were meals for 2 for people in a long term relationship or marriage and has intended for them to take their partner and assumed they would do so. 

I do think it completely depends on the relationship but 2 tickets for a concert would not have been cheap so I find it odd for said friend to not take you with them. 

Maybe a lesson for both you and I to make things clear in future. 

Ed264

If you were close friends you should know each others taste in music. If you are both fans of whoever it was, it would have been more straightforward to have given the tickets on the basis of you going to the concert together. Having said that, your friend could have asked you if you wanted to go with him/her. Whatever, getting upset and falling out over the matter isn't justified. Put it down to experience and forget it. There are more important things in life to worry about today! All the best to you.

grandmafromnorth

Absolutely no dilemma. If you wanted to go to the gig you should have bought two tickets and told your friend, Happy Birthday. I’ve bought tickets for US to go to the gig. Otherwise,  handing her two tickets as a present gives her the right to choose whoever she wanted to go with her.

akira181

If you wanted to go, you should have bought a ticket for yourself to

Unless the present was intended to be self-serving, so you look generous while expecting half your present back? In that case, just tell your friend and they’ll probably give you both tickets back