'AITA for refusing to give my friend $600 back after she lied to ditch our group trip for her boyfriend?'

The internet is siding with a young woman who refused to refund her friend after she bailed on a prepaid ski trip at the last minute to vacation with her boyfriend instead.

In a viral Reddit post titled “AITA for not refunding my friend $600 after she bailed on our group trip”, OP (19F) shared how a fun winter getaway turned into a drama-filled fallout.

AITA for keeping my friend’s $600 when she flaked on our vacation?

In the post, OP explains that she and her friends planned a 12-day ski trip over winter break. "My (19f) friends and I all decided to go on a ski trip for a 12 days over winter break. We found a place to stay and all in all it was around $600 per person for the rental and we decided it was just easiest to have one person (me) put all the money upfront and just everyone pay me back before the actual trip, which everyone did."

One of OP’s friends, Sarah, was not only on board but was one of the key people helping to plan the trip. "Sarah comes from a comfortable family and was even one of the people who suggested the trip and was one of the leading forces to finding the Air Bnb. Literally in the weeks leading up to the trip we were all fine, sending outfit ideas, restaurants to books etc."

However, just days before the trip, Sarah started dropping hints in the group chat about her boyfriend’s family vacation. "Sarah starts sending texts to the gc like “guys Jacob’s (boyfriend) family is going to xxxxx next week” basically sending us a LOT of details about where his family is going for winter vacation that we didn’t really need to know. Then on Thursday (again we leave on Saturday) she texts the gc saying how she couldn’t go because she had a family emergency, said her grandma had gotten admitted to the hospital . We were obviously bummed but family comes first and I told her that I would send her the money back that she sent towards the rental."

But during the trip, the truth came out.

“We go on the trip and everything is ok until one of my friends who has Sarah’s location on Life360 (roommates) sees that she’s in a beach town and we put 2 and 2 together. We spend that night pissed and we call her out the next day where she admits everything. She had been last minute invited on her boyfriend’s vacation and decided that she wanted to go to that instead but didn’t know how to tell us. We were all obviously hurt and upset that she would choose a boy over us but at the end of the day she’s a 19 year old girl so I guess it’s just immaturity."

OP went on, "The part that I’m wondering if I’m the asshole with is that after finding out that she voluntarily pulled out of the trip, I had told her I wouldn’t be refunding her the $600 she had sent me for the rental. She pulled out so last minute that we couldn’t find anything cheaper and I said I was ok just wasting that money because again I thought she was having a family emergency. After finding out that she wouldn’t be getting that back she went insane and started calling me a bad friend and everything. My parents think I should send it back to her but I don’t see why I should, she pulled out because of her boyfriend and expected us to all just absorb the costs??"

Internet backs woman who refused to refund friend after last-minute trip cancellation

Reddit overwhelmingly sided with OP, saying she was not the a*****e (NTA). One user wrote, "NTAH. She voluntarily bailed on the trip and lied to everyone saying that her grandma was in the hospital. She could have told the truth but she may have known she wouldn't get the money back or she'd be judged by all of you. Either way you paid solely for that bnb expecting everyone would chip in. In this sense you're only expected to pay 600, not 1200 because she lied and went on a different trip instead. The bnb was already paid for and she knew it. If she really is from a comfortable background, she should have no problem paying the 600 for a choice she made."

Another commenter agreed, writing, “NTA  And she's calling you a bad friend! Tell her it's a 600$ Deception Fee for lying to her friends and trying to stick them with extra costs, but the genuine worry you had for the health of her grandma she got for free."

"NTA,OP. Even if you thought Sarah should be refunded, you wouldn't be responsible to reimburse her on your own anyway. Just send a text the group chat, inform them that Sarah wants her money back, break down the $600 per person that did attend and let each person decide if they'd like to reimburse Sarah for what would be their additional amount. Sarah isn't entitled to a refund anyway, as she voluntarily pulled out last minute for what was, in her mind, a better offer. But in any case, under no circumstance should this be your problem alone. Put it to the group and everyone can chime in with their opinion and those who feel Sarah should be reimbursed can go ahead and reimburse her for their %."

Another wrote, "The only mistake you made was ever offering to refund her the money in the first place. Emergency or not, she pulled out at the very last minute and left everyone else hanging, that's on her. She should not have been refunded one penny. She should just eat that cost... even if it had been an emergency. It's not your place to fund her emergencies... or her "emergencies." NTA Oh, and by the way, she's a bad friend and a big big fat liar."

One user lamented, "Agreed. Being the friend who organizes the group trip and makes the bookings can be irritating, exactly because of people like Sarah who flake and change plans at the last minute. The fact that she ditched this trip for her boyfriend and lied about it makes it both annoying and hurtful."

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