A couple have told how they were asked to pay £200 to attend a friend's surprise party but left out of the 'real' celebrations.
The upset pair said they were happy to pay toward the event held for their pal's 40th birthday and expected an evening of merriment.
But they were left shocked when guests left the venue to attend an 'afterparty' they weren't invited to. Now, the duo feel they were used 'to fill up numbers' for the first event, given they weren't included in the 'real' party.
Shocked, social media users urged the couple to cut ties with their supposed friend after hearing how they were treated.
The couple say they weren't invited to the 'real' party (stock photo) (Getty Images)The story came to light when one of the hurt guests took to Mumsnet to share their side of the story. She explained: "We are a married couple and we have friends, 'Eva and Matt'. We invite them to our house frequently and are super-hospitable to them in our home."
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Sharing context, she added that the couple also have a 'close circle of friends who live near to them', and the group regularly meets without the post's author or her husband. However, they've not minded this arrangement on previous occasions. "We're all grown-ups," she noted, and she called this plan 'obviously fine'.
But the pair did take issue with their exclusion from Eva's birthday party at her home. "Matt recently invited us to Eva's 40th birthday where we were asked to turn up at a prestigious venue for the 'surprise' party and pay £100 each to be part of the party.
"We were very happy to do this, showed up early for the 'surprise', paid our £200 for the party, brought a present, and wished her well." So far, so good.
The trouble arose when the party started to draw to a close around 8pm - a time the couple thought was 'slightly weird' given it was held on a weekend but didn't think much of.
As the pair tried to find Matt to bid him goodbye, he was nowhere to be seen. So they phoned him - and it was then that they found out the other couple had plans for the rest of the evening. A select number of guests had been invited back to the couple's house for an after-party, and Matt was on his way there to prepare everything.
"So- Matt invited us to his wife's surprise party- for which we paid £200 and couldn't refuse 'because it's her important birthday'- but didn't invite us to the 'real' party which was clearly taking place from 8pm onwards at their house," the post outlined.
Its author added: "Am I overreacting to be annoyed that we just got invited to 'fill up the numbers' for the surprise in the fancy venue, but weren't asked to be there at their house?
"I understand that they'd prefer to have the 'after party' with their 'real' friends, but it stings a bit that we were only invited to make up the numbers (and the money) at a prestigious venue."
In response, commenters struggled to forgive the organiser's actions. "Ouch, I'd be really hurt by this," read one reply. "They hosted a party and expected people to pay to be there, I find that very odd. They sound like right users, I hope you won't be inviting them round for further dinner parties!" said a second.
Meanwhile, others were shocked by the £100 fee. Someone wrote: "What did you get for your money? Hope you weren't being used to subsidise their other 'guests'."
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The guest replied: "It was a package with drinks and food- shared platters etc. I wouldn't describe it as 'dinner'. But really that's not the issue." As such, a reader quipped: "I hope you got through £200 worth of nibbles and drinks. Lessons learnt. They sound awful."
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