Friend drops out of group ski trip claiming her grandma is in the hospital, friends refuse $600 refund because she bailed to go on vacation with her boyfriend instead

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Feb 7, 2025 10:00 AM EST

When the vacation finally makes it out of the group chat, friend group morale is at an all-time high, and wallets are at an all-time low. But hey, you only live once, right? That's the energy everyone should have as young adults just trying to make as many memories as possible (without accumulating insane amounts of debt—that's what student loans are for).

Ski trips are one of the more expensive kinds of vacations out there, so it makes sense to communicate with everyone that their dollars are going toward a large sum of money and will likely not get paid back out to them if they decide to bail. In the story you're about to read,  the user who posted this story refuses to refund their lying friend the $600 she spent on a ski trip she bailed on. She claimed her grandmother was in the hospital, but it turns out she just wanted to go on vacation with her boyfriend instead. This friend believes she's entitled to her money back, but she has another storm coming. Continue reading the story below.

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  • "She pulled out because of her boyfriend and expected us to all just absorb the costs..."
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITA for not refunding my friend $600 after she bailed on our group trip"

    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.
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • In my friend group we have a girl let's call Sarah. 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
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • leading up to the trip we were all fine, sending outfit ideas, restaurants to books etc. the Tuesday before we left (Saturday) Sarah starts sending texts to the gc like "guys Jacob's (boyfriend) family is going to
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • 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
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • 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.
    via Ok_Mind9160

  • Hey, accidents and family emergencies happen. The user has no reason to assume her friend is lying and likely wants her friend to do what's best for her at that moment. Everyone was a bit bummed that the friend's trip had finished before it even started, but when Grandma calls, you answer! As you read, the user offered to give her back her money because this couldn't have possibly been planned… right? Her mind changes quickly when she realizes her friend made away like a bandit simply because she changed her mind about which climate she'd like to be in.

  • Cheezburger Image 10464955136
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+
  • 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
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • p ed 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
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • 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.
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • Cheezburger Image 10464955648
    via katie manning for Unsplash
  • The part that I'm wondering if I'm the a hole 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 $600 she had sent me for the rental. She pulled out so last
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • minute that we couldn't find anything cheaper and I said I was ok just wasting that money because again I thought she was having a family emergency. After finding out that she wouldn't be getting that back she went insane
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • and started calling me a bad friend and everything. My parents think I should send it back to her but I don't see why I should, she pulled out because of her boyfriend and expected us to all just absorb the costs??
    via Ok_Mind9160
  • umpaloompababy NTAH. She voluntarily bailed on the trip and lied to everyone saying that her grandma was in the hospital. She could have told the truth but she may have known she wouldn't get the money back or she'd be judged by all of you. Either way you paid solely for that bnb expecting everyone
    via umpaloompababy
  • would chip in. In this sense you're only expected to pay 600, not 1200 because she lied and went on a different trip instead. The bnb was already paid for and she knew it. If she really is from a comfortable background, she should have no problem paying the 600 for a choice she made.
    via umpaloompababy
  • LessResident9495 NTA Airplane tickets wouldn't be refunded that close to the trip, neither would a hotel accept a cancellation 2 days in advance. That + the lying means she chose her priorities, and should foot the 600€. Maybe she'll think twice next time
    via LessResident9495
  • Frequent-Intere... I'd tell her to get lost. However, if you feel bad....Take the number of friends you had on the trip and divide up the 600$. Give her your portion and tell her to ask the other girls for their portions.
    via Frequent-Interest796
  • LunaPerry1980 How much did this lie cost? $600. NTA
    via LunaPerry1980

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