Mom Surprised After Parents Who Invited Her Daughter To Join Them On Vacation Send Her A Bill For Accommodations & Rental Car

It's pretty clear that the two families should have worked this out before the vacation.

confused, upset woman looking at computer fizkes | Shutterstock
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Going on vacation with friends is a treat at any age, but especially when you’re a kid. There’s nothing like having days on end to hang out with your friend and have what feels like one giant sleepover.

Typically, when you go on vacation with a friend, financial arrangements are worked out ahead of time, or it’s understood that you’re just part of the family while you’re there. It’s not so typical to receive an invoice for your kid’s vacation time.

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A mom was surprised to receive a bill from her daughter’s friend’s family for the vacation she took with them.

Posting to Reddit’s “What Should I Do?” forum, one woman shared her shock over being billed for the vacation her daughter was invited to go on with her friend’s family. “Okay, so my daughter (16) went to Costa Rica with a friend and her parents and grandparents,” she explained. “I assumed they would only charge us for her food and activities like zip lining.”

teen girls sitting by pool holding innertubes Kenneth Surillo | Pexels

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It turned out that that was not the case at all. “Nope,” she said. “They are asking for a portion of her accommodations and car rental as well.”

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While the bill wouldn’t be a financial imposition, the mother still felt it was an affront to the basic etiquette of taking another child on vacation with your family.

The mom was flabbergasted mostly because sending another family an itemized bill for vacation expenses was not something she would ever do. “Why on earth did I assume she was tagging along?” she asked. “Because that’s what we did for my other daughter’s friend two years ago. I would never dream of charging so much when I was going away!”

“We have the money so this ain’t gonna break me,” she said. “I just want to have a conversation.” 

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In a reply to a comment on the post, the mom clarified just how she found out about these charges from the other family. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she received them in the first place, it sounded like she essentially got them in invoice form.“She sent me the bill via email and it would be a great face-to-face conversation to negotiate a compromise,” she stated.

Better yet, expenses should have been something the parents hashed out prior to actually going on the trip. What if this mom couldn't afford the accommodations and other charges?

RELATED: Study Shows That Americans Are Still Going On Vacation Even Though Most Can't Afford It

Other Redditors were pretty surprised to hear of the bill themselves.

People who commented on the post couldn’t believe the fact that this mom had gotten a bill for her daughter’s vacation expenses. “This is garbage,” one person insisted. “Parents in my friend group only expected you to have spending money if you were invited along … You shouldn’t invite someone along on your already planned vacation unless you plan to cover it.”

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“This is what you call ‘buyer’s remorse,’” someone else stated. “They’re regretting the money they spent, and now trying to recoup funds from you. If your child wasn’t there, the rental/accommodations would be the same! I’m sorry but this is very tacky!”

couple looking at bill together in shock Mikhail Nilov | Pexels

Several people, however, wondered how this had fallen through the cracks until now. “How did you send your child to Costa Rica with a friend’s family and not have the specifics detailed before it was agreed upon?” someone demanded to know.

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Another person insisted, “If this wasn’t discussed before the trip was agreed on then you shouldn’t have to pay.”

It turns out that discussing these things ahead of time is absolutely the right thing to do.

When addressing a similar situation, social worker and author of "The Relationship Protocol," Debra Roberts told Newsweek, “That’s not okay. In these situations, at the very least, they need to have a conversation ahead of time to see if everyone else is on board with their new plan. And if not, they might have to make other arrangements.”

women talking while looking at computer Arina Krasnikova | Pexels

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These two families would have benefitted from having a conversation about expenses ahead of time. However, it’s difficult to say who’s really in the wrong when one family added on charges after the vacation and the other assumed there would be none.

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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.