‘AITA for refusing to pay in full for meal I accidentally ordered and someone else took home?’

A woman was slammed online after she refused to pay in full for a meal that her friends ended up taking home. Social media users argued that once the woman ordered the food, the bill was her responsibility.

The scenario was shared by the woman on Reddit’s popular 'Am I The A**hole (AITA)' forum, where it quickly gained thousands of upvotes and comments.

Woman refuses to pay in full for meal someone else took home

In her Reddit post titled, "AITA for refusing to pay in full for a meal someone else took home?", the OP (20) explained that she went out for dinner with a friend (20) and her friend’s boyfriend, also aged 20.

"By accident I ordered a dish that I couldn’t eat (this was my fault). When it came time to grab the bill my friend and her boyfriend asked if they could take my meal which was barely touched. I said sure since I wasn’t going to eat it and it would be a waste otherwise," she wrote.

However, a few days later, the OP was caught off guard when her friend’s boyfriend reached out asking her to pay for her portion of the bill, including the meal they had taken home.

"This caught me by surprise since again, they were the ones who ended up eating it all and it felt like being asked to pay for part of their meal. If they hadn’t done that I would have paid in full since it was my mistake for ordering the dish," the OP said.

She explained her perspective to the friend's boyfriend, and he agreed to recalculate the total bill, which ended up being $20 less. The OP then paid the remaining $10.

However, after this, the OP noticed that her friend and her boyfriend became distant and seemingly upset with her.

"This is the first time something like this has happened and there have been times where I have covered the meal without really caring if I got the money back just because I wanted to hang out. Since we were already growing distant in our relationship I kind of just let it be," she wrote.

Later, when discussing the situation with another friend, the OP was told that she was in the wrong.

"When I brought it up in passing today a different friend said she disagreed with my actions and claimed that they were helping me by not wasting my food. To be honest I still don’t really see how this was helping me as either way I wasn’t eating it," the OP said.

She stood by her decision, saying that her friends chose to take the meal home, so they should be accountable for that choice.

"This feels like if someone ate your food and still asked you to pay for it. It’s not something I would do to anyone else and I don’t think it was wrong of me to voice my objection considering how the bf even said he understood," she added.

Despite all the justifications she gave, the OP admitted that she felt guilty: "That being said, I feel bad at how the friendship fell apart over some dollars. AITA? Should I have just paid the full meal?"

Internet calls out woman who refused to cover cost of meal she didn’t eat

Redditors were quick to rule OP as YTA (You're the A**hole), overwhelmingly agreeing that it was still her responsibility to pay for the meal, regardless of whether she ate it or not.

One user wrote, "YTA - you ordered the dinner and made a choice not to eat it (the reason why does not matter). You could have asked to take it home to give to someone else. You didn’t do that so presumably, the food would have gone to waste. Your friend is simply not wasting food that you didn’t want. You order it, you pay for it."

Another user wrote, "This. YTA. You ordered the dinner, you're responsible to pay for it regardless of whether it ends up in the trash or someone else decides to eat it."

"Yeah, that has happened to me. I didn't realize something had gluten in it. I just gave it to my friends. I was pissed off, but only at myself for not asking. It wasn't their responsibility to pay for the mistake, YTA", a user said, while another wrote, "YTA. There is no shame if your budget is limited. Start asking the server for a separate check before you order. And be careful about your order. Apologize to your friends and let them know that Reddit informed you that YTA. Ask if there is a way to come back from this? Consider making them a dinner of food you all like."

A user remarked, "I came to say this. 'YOU' ordered it. The end."

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