Poll: Am I in the right here?

[Fooz]

case closed

 

[Random berk]

Depends. Does he constantly rely on you or others to drive him around? And were his directions particularly bad, or did you mess up when interpreting them?

 

[ChaosBorne]

basically unless you've got an agreement that he pays you to drive him around he owes you exactly nothing.
it's best to discuss these things for future reference and let this slide. (unless you did have some sort of understanding ofcourse.)

my 2 cents

EDIT: i've driven my friends around a lot too, i always asked where exactly they needed to go/get picked up and then if it was far let them know i'd want some payment for my investment of time/money, now normally it wouldn't cost them anything though cause i didn't regularly get asked to drive them far or anything, but i've never had any trouble getting the money from my friends because it was known before hand what it would cost for me to act as a taxi driver.

 

[Fooz]

i followed his directions to the letter, honestly, and i give him lifts all the time for free, but they usually are not this far away

 

[bauke67]

I don't see any poll, but technically, yeah, you are in the right here.
Though I don't think you should ask money when you're just picking this guy up, I mean, he's supposed to be a friend, right?
But if you really want to be fussy about, yes, he should be paying you.

EDIT: If you pick him up all the time, for free, then of course he's gonna think he doesn't owe you anything

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Perhaps you didn't get his directions clearly. You should have asked him to repeat the directions so there was a proper understanding. As for the money situation, if this person does this all the time then he might owe a little bit of money, however, if this was just a one time thing then you're being a bit of a dick.

 

[Actual]

How does he know you actually left the house at all?

It does seem a bit odd to pay for a ride you didn't take.

 

[rje5]

No. Friends don't do that. I give friends lifts all the time, and most of the time they give me some gas money, but not always, and I don't care if they do or don't because who cares? Maybe next time we're out my friend buys me a beer, or has me over and gives me a meal. It all balances out in the end, and counting who does what makes you seem like a prick.

 

[manic_depressive13]

You gave him a lift to a test that he had no way of reaching- for free?!? Really, who does he think you are? Oh right- his friend.

If I wanted to pay for someone to take me somewhere, I'd call a fucking taxi. Friends don't demand money from eachother. How petty. Really, this just stomps all over my perception of friendship. You do favours for them because you fucking like them, and presumably they would do the same for you. Perhaps he gave you dodgy directions, perhaps you missed a turn, but asking for money is just absurd. If doing favours for this guy is so painful, then stop it. And stop pretending you're friends. I'm so tired of seeing people abuse that word.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Offering someone a lift and then demanding they chip in for gas is pretty chintzy, especially if you didn't even actually succeed in giving them the lift, shoddy directions or not. Is it nice when friends chip in for gas? Yes. Would I ever demand that one chip in for gas? No.

If the guy is such a chiseler that you feel the need to hold his feet to the fire for $5 in petrol money, then maybe you should reconsider who your friends are.

 

[Fooz]

At least tell him beforehand that he should be paying you.

i did, i said i aint coming unless you pay me as petrol isnt cheap these days

 

[Fooz]

so am i in the right here? does he owe me petrol money?

Friends don't charge friends taxi fare for short trips. You either say yes or no to helping out. It's especially ignorant to try and send him a bill for something you agreed to do without mentioning money.

If he wanted you to go on a two hour round trip and that gas was too expensive for you, then you could tell him up front that's the problem and then he could choose between offering money and you saying no.

Basically you owe your bud an appology.

10 miles there 10 miles back, isnt a short trip to me

 

[Sparrowsabre7]

I gotta say that while "technically" you did go out of your way and thus could ask for some recompense, I would say that it's not very friendly of you to do so.

I give lifts all the time and hardly ever get any money back for it. It's nice to be given some as a token of thanks, but I would never demand payment. Otherwise, yeah I'd call a taxi.

Would you win money if this case was in a court of law? Probably, but you'd lose friends for it so I don't see why you'd get so upset about the money, unless you literally are living on about £5 a week.

 

[DasDestroyer]

If this person really was your friend, you wouldn't demand him to pay you even if you gave him the ride, much less so when you didn't give him a ride, bad instructions or not.

If you don't consider this person your friend, then by all means get him to pay for every time you've driven him, but only for the times you've actually driven him, once again bad instructions notwithstanding.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

10 miles there 10 miles back, isnt a short trip to me

10 miles? That's it?

I dunno man. You call the guy a ****, you demand recompense for a tiny drive, you don't even bother picking him up and leave him to find his own way home because you get lost and then whine about the inconvenience like the world's fanciest martyr...

I mean, seriously. Where can I find a "friend" like you?

 

[Random berk]

I know a guy who does this a lot, relies on other people for basically everything, the difference however is that he clearly has no intention of learning to drive, seems to never have money on a night out and so doesn't usually eat or drink unless someone else buys it. Your friend on the other hand went and did his theory test which suggests to me that he is at least making some effort at independence. It sucks to have to go out of your way for someone constantly (if you're going to the same place anyway then it shouldn't bother you at all) and seems reasonable enough to look for petrol money for a long trip normally, but if he won't pay you only because you never showed up then that is also understandable.

 

[Blow_Pop]

I have a rule in my car. If I regularly go and pick you up you pay me money for the gas. All of my friends know this. Now, if it is on my way to pick someone up and drop them off that rule does not apply. For instance I have two friends who are on my way to work that I pick up because we all work the same place, same time so it isn't out of my way but there's a girl I go swing dancing with who actually still owes me $5 come to think of it from me loaning it to her but she lives around the corner and down the street from me. Once she gets a job I'll start charging her money when I pick her up. I try not to charge people money for rides. However if I am in a position where I really need the money for the gas I'll ask if they can contribute a few dollars towards gas. But to answer your question, you are justified in it. If there is a prior arrangement for them to pay you for picking them up then yes you are in the right. If not...its kind of a more grey area

 

[Zach of Fables]

You were pushing it a little when you asked him to pay you back for the gas after not picking him up. IMHO.

 

[Quoth]

I'd say suck it up and dont offer to give the guy any lifts in the future unless he's on route. But, as in any relationships there should be give and take, if all he does it take from you and doesnt give anything back that ditch the mooch and find a new friend.