Claim: Man invoices his date for half the cost of dinner.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2004]
Just to give you an idea of what dating life is like in June 2004 — This is an email I received from a guy who I went out with ONE TIME from Jdate — No worries, I am definitely sending him a money order — not a check with my home address on it!! Calgon, take me away!! Subject: Invoice 6/12/04 Dear Dana: On June 5, you agreed to accept dinner, paid for in full, by me, based on your stated offer that we would go out again. In that you have ignored all overtures to said follow up meeting, you are hereby considered in breach of contract. To that end, you are being invoiced for 50% of the cost of the dinner, pursuant to the offer. For the record, the offer presented you with the option of not going out again and paying for half of the dinner, or going out again and not paying at all. You accepted these terms, choosing to go out again, as stated above, but have since failed to deliver your end of the agreement. In that this was merely a promise to meet, and not a promise to marry, the agreement is binding under New York law and does not require a written agreement (i.e. statute of frauds). Furthermore, this is absolutely not a joke. Your share is 50% of $74.51 which is a total of $37.25. Payment in full is expected within You may remit to: |
Variations: Some versions open with the following paragraph:
For you single girls, in case you ever start to think your dating life is bad.... see below. If you're attached already, well you should thank your lucky stars you don't have to be on the receiving end of THIS. As for the guys, well, you can take heart that this guy is part of your competition pool.
Origins: This missive from a woman who meets a man through JDate (a Jewish singles network), goes on a date with him, and then receives an invoice for half the cost of dinner after supposedly reneging on an agreement to accompany him again began circulating on the Internet in
been intended merely as a joke (perhaps the parties involved were members of the legal profession), or whether it was possibly a tall tale cooked up by someone who had reasons for wanting to promote the sending of angry mail and phone calls to the person identified.
However, whatever the origins of the 2004 tale, its scenario was apparently acted out in real life in June 2006. According to the New York
"You ate the food. You drank the wine. Kindly pay your bill," said Sherman on one of the voice messages he left for Joanne. The frustrated swain also contacted China Grill, asking that his AMEX charge for the evening in question be reduced by $50 and 'Joanne' dunned by the restaurant for that amount. Personnel at China Grill have confirmed to a number of people who have checked with them that yes, the couple did dine there, and that they've subsequently spoken to both parties.
According to JDate, Sherman has been suspended "for behavior that violated the terms and conditions of membership," so date-minded ladies looking for him in that forum should now search elsewhere. Copies of his e-mails and voice messages to Joanne can be found at
Last updated: 22 July 2006
Sources: