A Family Conumdrum

[Sam V]

A mother and daughter, aunt and uncle and grandmother book a holiday villa together sharing the costs equally.

The aunt decides not to come on the holiday due to knee problems, so stays at home and goes swimming and dancing instead.

During the holiday the pool heating and pump stops working for the majority of the stay and the owner refunds the mother $950

The uncle hires a car for the holiday costing $416.45 and emails the mother that is $104.11 split four ways.

The mother sends the uncle $237.50 refund for the pool and $312.33 for the car; as payment for the mother, daughter and grandmother. A total of $549.83

The uncle the replies that the amount she send was wrong and should have been $673.22:

2x $237.50 + 2 x 104.11 an underpayment of $123.39 and could she send the outstanding amount, no hurry.

The mother is left confused, is there a misunderstand from her or the uncle, how the uncle has arrived at this calculation as maths is not something she is highly skilled at and does not want to upset family members. She also wonders if the email was from the uncle or the aunt.

[Dotty]

Looks like the uncle is splitting the extra cost for the car 4 ways (ie not including the absent aunt) and expects the other 3 to each pay him that share. However he then only expects 2 shares to be paid to him (for the mother & daughter? Maybe the grandmother has already paid him?)

The mother has also split the refund 4 ways so has sent the uncle one share. The uncle wants 2 shares. If the uncle wants 2 shares then it should have been split 5 ways.
To decide the refund split they need to agree how many people paid the original amount. Ie whether the aunt & uncle paid 2/5 of villa cost or whether only the uncle paid 1/4 of the villa cost originally.

[Sam V]

Looks like the uncle is splitting the extra cost for the car 4 ways (ie not including the absent aunt) and expects the other 3 to each pay him that share. However he then only expects 2 shares to be paid to him (for the mother & daughter? Maybe the grandmother has already paid him?)

The mother has also split the refund 4 ways so has sent the uncle one share. The uncle wants 2 shares. If the uncle wants 2 shares then it should have been split 5 ways.
To decide the refund split they need to agree how many people paid the original amount. Ie whether the aunt & uncle paid 2/5 of villa cost or whether only the uncle paid 1/4 of the villa cost originally.

The grandmother hasn't paid him, the daughter is paying her the difference between her share of the pool refund and the car hire.

The villa was originally split five ways with aunt and uncle paying 2/5, so the mother does agree that she had made an error on not splitting the pool refund five ways. The mother is also still waiting a reply from the grandmother, having forwarded her the email and had a conversation with her to help with a response to not cause a family feud. The grand mother is a little upset that the uncle had also originally said he would cover the cost of her flights as he is financially secure but this was not forthcoming

[Marks]

Is this a GCSE exam question?

[tavi]

My figures come out slightly differently...

Cost of car hire (between 4 people) is 104.11 each. So if mother is paying on behalf of 3 persons she'll owe 312.34.

Refund of house rental (between 5 people) is 190.00 each. So mother is paying 2 shares to uncle/aunt i.e. 380.00

So the uncle is owed
312.34 (3xshares of car hire)
plus
380.00 (2xshares of pool refund)

Making a total of
692.34

[pepsipuss]

OK Sam, I give up. I have to know is this a real situation (guests? your own family?) or as Marks says a GCSE question? Or even an A level question as not at all sure they would be equipped at GCSE.

[Normandie]

She also wonders if the email was from the uncle or the aunt.

I also wondered if it was a GCSE question... and whether the uncle / aunt confusion might be some sort of pc LGBT thing...

[Marks]

She also wonders if the email was from the uncle or the aunt.

I also wondered if it was a GCSE question... and whether the uncle / aunt confusion might be some sort of pc LGBT thing...

I spat my Rioja out

[Cassis]

A mother and daughter, aunt and uncle and grandmother book a holiday villa together sharing the costs equally.

Here's another one:

A Frenchman, an Englishman and an Aussie are hiking in the Andes in the middle of summer, and are sweating like pigs. They get the top of a mountain and looking down they see a beautiful blue lagoon. They go scrambling down the mountain, get their kit off and dive straight in.

Natives emerge from the undergrowth, grab them and take them back to their Chief. He says, “You have broken our sacred law, you have defiled our most sacred site, and for this you must die. We will skin you alive and out of your skin we make canoes. Before you die you get one last wish - what is your last wish?”

The Frenchman says, “I’m not going to die at the hands of savages, give me a knife and I will cut my own throat. Vive la France!” So they bring him a knife and he cuts his throat.

The Englishman says, “I would also like a knife, like my Froggie friend I’m not going to die at the hands of savages. God save the Queen!” So they bring him a knife and he cuts his throat.

The Aussie says, “I just want a fork”. So they bring him a fork and he stabs himself all over. “Well there goes your ****’ canoe!”

[greenbarn]

The answer's 42.
And I've checked it very carefully.

[pepsipuss]

The answer's 42.
And I've checked it very carefully.

That takes me back a few years!

[Essar]

What was exactly wrong with the Aunt's knee that made her cancel and cause so much $hi7 to happen, 8l00d7 inconsiderate in my view? The grandmother should have paid for everyone as she's the rich retiree and then this stupid scenario wouldn't have happened and Sam wouldn't need to ask.

[pepsipuss]

Is there a clue in this bit?

The aunt decides not to come on the holiday due to knee problems, so stays at home and goes swimming and dancing instead.

Can't go on holiday but can go swimming and dancing??

[Mouse]

Crikey! It's just too hot for this kinda thing.....throw it at me in November please.

Mousie (sick to death of heat waves)
x

[Sam V]

What was exactly wrong with the Aunt's knee that made her cancel and cause so much $hi7 to happen, 8l00d7 inconsiderate in my view? The grandmother should have paid for everyone as she's the rich retiree and then this stupid scenario wouldn't have happened and Sam wouldn't need to ask.

Haha! No it's the uncle (and aunt) who have the most dosh!

Any way, to sum up. The Mother and Grandmother have discussed this whole scenario at length, still confused at the uncle's (or maybe it's the aunt's) maths and have decided to avoid any family disharmony to just pay up the sum the uncle has requested.

The grandmother still bemused at the activities of the aunt who had also chosen to take the August knee operation and not the July option as well as still complaining as to why the aunt didn't inform either the mother or grandmother that the uncle had missed his connecting flight due to the pilot and crew of his first flight not arriving until departure time, thus giving the uncle only 5 mins to get to his next flight, which he missed delaying his arrival at the villa by 8 hours, leaving the mother and grandmother worried sick as to the whereabouts of the 84 year old uncle who's flight as far as they were concerned, had arrived on time and he was then driving the hire car 1 hour to the villa.