There’s a lot of fun to be had when traveling with friends.
Even if it also comes with its share of problems, particularly when it comes to money.
There’s very little which can spoil the fun of a vacation faster than arguing over bills, or who owes what for travel and lodging.
Redditor radioactivemasculin found himself surprised when two of his friends he went on a recent road trip with asked him to pay for a service he didn’t enjoy himself.
Wondering if he was out of line to refuse payment, the original poster (OP), took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for not refusing to pay for my(22 M[ale]) friends’(21 F[emale], 22F) Über after I got us stranded on the side of the street?”
The OP first explained how what began as a fun road trip with friends ended with a literal bump in the road.
“So I took a trip with two of my friends last weekend to Miami.”
“The trip was fine and we all had a good time, but we ran into trouble on the way back home.”
“So I don’t know why I hit, but there was something in the road I didn’t see and I ran over it with my drivers side tire.”
“There was a bump but the car still ran fine.”
“Then about 45 minutes out from our destination, my tire blew out.”
“It was scary but we got over to the shoulder and everything was fine.”
“I have never changed a tire before.”
“I learned how to once when I was like 17 but I haven’t ever done it and pretty much didn’t know how besides broad instructions.”
“It took me like an hour to get it done by myself.”
Even with his admitted inexperience, the OP’s friends not only offered no help, but quickly ran out of patience before they took matters into their own hands.
“So when I started changing the tire its nearing eight and the sun was still kinda up.”
“My friends were no help at all.”
“They didn’t even offer to read out instructions for me, or to really do anything.”
“Like I at one point asked one to get me my water from the cooler in the back and she didn’t want to because she was filming a TikTok for the other friend.”
“About halfway through me changing the tire, the sun set and it was dark.”
“My friends asked me how much longer it was gonna be and I told them that I wasn’t sure.”
“They were getting tired and wanted to go home.”
“So another 15 minutes pass and a car pulls up next to us.”
“I think it’s someone who’s going to help.”
“It’s an Uber or lift or some ride service.”
“They tell me that they got an Uber because it’s dark out and they don’t want to get home.”
“They leave and I’m of course pissed.”
“About 10 minutes later, I change the tire and can finally get back on the road.”
“So I get back to my dorm at around 10 and finally can get a shower and sleep.”
While the OP thought that this unpleasant experience was now behind him, he found himself in for a rude awakening the next day.
“The next morning I wake up to a Venmo request for the money they had to pay for their 45 to an hour Über.”
“I call her and ask her what that’s about, and she said that since it’s my fault that we got stranded I should pay for at least a portion of their Über and that she’s not even making me pay the full price which was a lot.”
“I tell them they’re being selfish bitches.”
“I didn’t take the Uber and they were not forced to.”
“They could’ve waited another few minutes for the car to be back up.”
“What I think is even crazier about this is that neither one of them pitched in for gas.”
“This was because I wanted to go on the trip anyways so it’s not like they’d be paying for me to take them there since I’m going anyways.”
“I talked to my other friends about this and they agreed that I should pay some of their ride as I was driving and got the tire popped, and that if I got the tire changed faster they wouldn’t have had to take the Uber.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not the A**hole
- YTA – You’re the A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everybody Sucks Here
The Reddit community was in agreement that the OP was not at all the a**hole for refusing to pay for his friends’ Über.
Everyone agreed he was under no obligation to pay for a service he didn’t use, particularly after his friends didn’t offer to pay for gas, and then left him high and dry on the highway.
“Any of your friends that believe you should pay towards that Über need a serious reality check, frankly.”
“NTA, and start evaluating how entitled your circle is.”- cynical-mage.
“NTA.”
“And those aren’t your friends.”
“I wouldn’t pay a f*cking penny to those a**holes.
“You drove them to Miami.”
“They didn’t help with gas.”
“You got a flat tire.”
“They didn’t help you.”
“They left you stranded to fix it yourself.”
“They want money for leaving you?”
“Not. Your. Friends.”-Jessicasdoor.
“NTA.”
“They left you stranded on the side of the road without so much as holding a flashlight for you.”
“To me, that would count as them endangering my life.”
“If they don’t care about my LIFE, I wouldn’t give a single care about their Über bill.”
“They’d be my ex-friends for the way they behaved.”
“Maybe their TikTok will go viral and they can pay their Über bill with all their influencer money.”-AnarchyAcid.
“NTA – are you calling this persons friends?”
“The degree of entitlement is off the charts!”-Visual-Ad-9741.
“NTA.”
“Calculate the miles and send them a request for all of the gas.”- shepassedthebeautyon.
“NTA.”
“Let me get this straight.”
“A tire blew, you started changing it, they wouldn’t do the simplest thing to help you, complained you were taking too long, then, without your knowledge, ordered an Über for THEM and left YOU on the side of the road at night?”
“Wow.”
“And to top it off they actually think you owe for part of the Uber fee?”
“You need to drop them and any ‘friend’ who agrees with them.”-Critical_Ranger.
“NTA.”
“I got to “filming a ‘TikTok’ and I already made my judgement.”
“Get new friends.”-serpalert.
“NTA.”
“WTF your other friends think you should pay.”
“Why?”
“You were driving them and they ditched you there without a care in the world?”
“Your friends are users.”
“And horrible people.”
“Don’t even think about paying.”
“And get new friends!”-ShallWeStartThen.
“No.”
“God, Your friends are assholes.”
“Any normal, un-selfish person would have been concerned and helped you instead of standing there and complaining.”
“You were solving the problem.”
“They got impatient and called the Uber.”
“They pay, not you.”
“These people are not friends.”- simplyintentional.
“NTA.”
“That is unbelievable behavior on their part.”
“They should have helped you, at the least told you they were going to call an Über instead of you being surprised when it showed up.”
“And then for them to just leave you on the side of the road?”
“Wow selfish behavior on their part.”
:I wouldn’t pay them a dime, especially since they could have avoided the whole thing if they had just had the common decency to wait for 10 more minutes.”
“Also, I think you need to seriously evaluate if you want to be friends with these people.”-DisneyBuckeye.
“OP my friend had her tire pop at 4am in the morning and not only did I roll out of bed to go wait with her for AAA, I also stayed with her and we ran her errands in my car that day.”
:A popped tire is an inconvenience but ultimately not your fault.”
“Your ‘friends’ left you stranded by yourself because they were too tired after filming their TikToks instead of helping you change the tire.”
“You absolutely should not give them any money towards the Uber they chose to take without even consulting you.”
“Personally, I’d be rethinking if I wanted these people to be my friends.”
“NTA.”-EJ_1004.
“NTA.”
“You might have been faster if your friends actually helped.”- Misenica.
“Nope NTA.”
“Friends are so spoiled they just had to be home now then they made the decision to spend the money for instant gratification.”
“Don’t pay them a dime and remind them good friends would have helped change the tire instead of making TikToks.”-lilmiscantberong.
“NTA.”
“I had to read that twice to be sure I understood.”
“You had an unfortunate incident on the way home from a, to them, free trip.”
“Not only did they not offer to help you but they actively left you ALONE on the side of the road as it got dark?”
“Sweetpea, those are not friends, they are succubi.”
“They took what they could and when you could no longer offer fun and amusement, they took off.”
“Whatever friend group you’ve found yourself in, find the exit.”
“3rd party friends saying you should pay, they should be bounced too.”
“I’m truly sorry.”
“That had to have been a frustrating and scary situation.”- nytraia.
It’s hard not to agree with most Redditors that the OP might want to really consider if these women are in fact his friends.
Maybe they’ll take the time to reflect on their behavior and apologize to the OP.
Though it seems safe to say that another group trip is off the cards.