A FIVE-year-old boy has been handed an invoice

arty.

for missing his friend s birthday p

And now his parents claim they have been threatened with the possibility of cour
t action if they don t stump up the cash.
Derek Nash and his partner, who live in Torpoint, discovered the no show fee
ce for 15.95 in their son s school bag last week.
Mr Nash, a delivery driver, said he
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invoi

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How The Herald's Plymouth birthday party bill story went round the world
Birthday bill mother maintains silence after venue criticises her for sendin
g invoice
Plymouth people tell Alex Nash, five, not to pay the invoice for missing his
friend's birthday party
From the battery to the cattery, Plymouth chicken moves in with her natural
enemies after rescue
Alex's parents fear they may be dragged into a court battle - all because their
son chose a day out with his grandparents over a pal's birthday party
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 realised he had arranged for Alex and his sister Lily to out f
or a day trip with their grandparents.
By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the bo
y 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 wit
h 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 apologise 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 wa
s an invoice for 15.95 for a child s party no show fee.
The bill Alex brought home. He was not charged VAT on his birthday party no-show
...

I asked Alex s class teacher if [the child s mother] had given anything to her. She s
aid, Yes, a brown envelope .
I then visited Alex s school headteacher, who couldn t apologise enough that one of t
he 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 ba
g 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 s
chool bag.
He added: I would have sympathised 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 t
aking the case to the small claims court.
And five-year-old Alex has told his parents that his classmate will no longer pl
ay with him after he didn t show up to the party.
Poor Alex says his friend will no longer play with him at school since the row b
roke out
Mr Nash said: I drive all around the South West for my job and I have talked to q
uite 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 has been in contact with the mum via Facebook hoping to resolve
the situation.
The mother of Alex s friend was unavailable for comment when contacted by The Hera
ld.
Post by Plymouth Herald.
Full Facebook conversation between Alex's mum Tanya and the birthday boy's mum J
ulie.
Tanya Walsh
Hi Julie. This is Alex's mum. I don't know what has happened between you and my
partner, Derek. I was very shocked to see the invoice in Alex's school bag. I di
d not realise that you had to pay for each child, as you never mentioned anythin
g about money when we spoke. The only reason Alex did not attend the party was b
ecause his nan and grandad were going away for christmas and the only day the ki
ds could go see them was on the same day as the party. I did not know this. On t
he day Alex decided that he wanted to spend time with his nan and grandad. I apo
logise for not letting you know, but I did not have a phone number or an e-mail
for you to let you know the situation(I also didn't know your first name, or I w

ould have looked you up). If I had known that I would have to pay if Alex did no
t go, then I would have paid you the money, no problem. I do not like fighting w
ith people, and would prefer to settle this amicably.
Julie Lawrence
Hi Tanya, I didn't mention the money when we spoke because it was a child's part
y, it doesn't matter if you have to pay per person or for a group if people agre
e to going, I confirmed that with all parents on the Thursday before the party t
hat they were going as I had to pay that day, and Derek told me Alex was looking
forward to it and would see us there, to me that is confirmation. My phone numb
er was on the invitation that was sent out to Alex. I don't like fighting with p
eople either, and was not best impressed when Derek turned up on my doorstep, an
d said you won't get any money out of me, rather rudely, I do admit it rattled m
e. This is not the first time Alex has not turned up to a party that he has been
invited to, either. the amicable way round this I believe would be to pay me th
e money and let a lesson be learnt, I hope this is agreeable ? Julie
Tanya Walsh
Hi Julie, who's party is Alex supposed to have gone to? I did speak to another m
um about a party but she never got back to me with details, other than that I do
n't recall any other confirmed invites. The only reason Derek was angry was beca
use of the fact that the envelope was put into Alex's school bag, when it has no
thing to do with the school. He spoke to the headteacher about and she said that
it's against school policy to do that kind of thing. Birthday invites are fine,
but not personal items. Like I said before, no money was mentioned when we spok
e, and I feel it would be inappropriate to pay you the money, when I don't know
what it's actually paying for. Alex was very excited to go to the party. I didn'
t know until the day about his nan and grandad, and he decided he would rather s
pend the day with them. Like I said before I didn't have your number to let you
know. And exactly what lesson would I be learning. I am not a child, so please d
o not speak to me like I am one. So, to answer your question, unfortunately no.
This is not agreeable.
Julie Lawrence
You are paying for 1 x child's party at the ski slope including snow tubing and
tobogganing and lunch, to with you said Alex was attending on the Thursday
Tanya Walsh
Just so you know, small claims court cost #60 just to start a claim. Also I'm no
t paying for something we didn't use.
Julie Lawrence
It doesn't cost that much
Tanya Walsh
It does. Also I don't think the school are very happy with you involving them in
this either. I don't know why you are out for our blood and slandering us. I've
told you the reasons why alex didn't go. I also told you why I couldn't call. Y
ou also don't seem to understand that I never ran away from you. I didnt hear yo
u calling after me. I have to get to my daughter at carbeile. So if they let ale
x out last then I have to rush a bit because evie, my 2 year old, walks slow. So
maybe that's why you thought I was rushing off. I had no reason to run to run a
way from you. So please do not state things as truth when you do not have all th
e facts. Maybe if you actually spoke to me rather than making your own mind up a

bout what happened then none of this would be happening right now. If you had co
me up to us the first day back and explained about the money, then I could have
explained about alex, then maybe we could have sorted something out. Instead you
send an invoice.
Read more: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/year-old-Plymouth-boy-gets-missing-sc
hool-friend/story-25884528-detail/story.html#ixzz3PSJCqVSg
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