Five-year-old boy given bill for missing school friend's birthday party

A five-year-old boy has been handed an invoice for missing his friend’s birthday party. And now his parents claim they have been threatened with the possibility of court action if they don’t pay up. Derek Nash and his partner, who live in Torpoint, Cornwall, discovered the ‘no show fee’ invoice for £15.95 in their son’s school bag last week. Mr Nash, a delivery driver, said he “thought it was a joke”. Just before the Christmas holidays, Alex, their son, was invited to a classmate’s Birthday party at the Ski Slope and Snowboard Centre. Alex, who goes to Torpoint Nursery and Infant School, told his parents he wanted to go and so Mr Nash and his partner confirmed he would be at the celebration.

Mr Nash said: “She saw me and asked if Alex was coming to the party. At this time I agreed and said that Alex was looking forward to it.” But Mr Nash later realized he had arranged for Alex and his sister Lily to out for a day trip with their grandparents. “By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the boy’s mother] know,” explained Mr Nash. “So on the day of the party we asked Alex what he wanted to do; he chose to be with his grandparents.” On January 6 Alex went back to school as the new term got under way. Mr Nash continued: “My partner looked out for [the friend’s mother] to apologize for Alex not showing up to the party, but didn’t see her.
“But on January 15 she looked in Alex’s school bag and found a brown envelope. It was an invoice for £15.95 for a child’s party no show fee. I asked Alex’s class teacher if [the child’s mother] had given anything to her. She said, ‘Yes, a brown envelope’. I then visited Alex’s school headteacher, who couldn’t apologize enough that one of the teachers had passed this on. She said she would remind all staff that this was a breach of protocol. I left the school and went to see [the birthday boy’s mother] as her address was on the invoice. When she answered the door I told her I had found the invoice in my son’s school bag and that I wasn’t happy about it. I told her I would not be paying her the money. I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son’s school bag.”
He added: “I would have sympathized with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can’t believe the way she has gone around it.” The couple claim that the mother of Alex’s friend has threatened the couple with taking the case to the small claims court. And five-year-old Alex has told his parents that his classmate will no longer play with him after he didn’t show up to the party. Mr Nash said: “I drive all around the South West for my job and I have talked to quite a few people about this. They’re all quite incredulous that this has happened. I thought it was a joke to begin with. I am lost for words.” Mr Nash’s partner, who doesn’t want to be named, has been in contact with the mum via Facebook hoping to resolve the situation. The mother of Alex’s friend was unavailable for comment.