QUESTION 61: WAITING FOR A CAR SERVICE

I was at Pathmark and I called a car service to take me home, and the service said it will send a car to Pathmark within 10 minutes. After 8 minutes, someone offered me a ride home. Do I have to call the car service to cancel the ride? Do I owe the car service something anyway, since I caused one of their cars to come pick me up? How about if I’ve been waiting for their car for 20 minutes? Or 2 minutes?

RABBI BELSKY

First of all, you should call the car service immediately, as soon as you know you won’t be using their car. The car from the car service may come and wait for you for a half an hour, and will be assuming that you will come out. And in addition, you should send the car service a few dollars.

QUESTIONER

How much time do I have to wait before I can take another ride without owing them anything?

RABBI BELSKY

The cut-off point, I think, is 15 minutes. After waiting for 15 minutes, then if you get another ride, just can call them and say, “I have another ride.” Then you don’t have to pay them anything.

NEXT WEEK’S QUESTION 62: TYPING DAUGHTER’S REPORT

My daughter in 7th grade has a report to do for English. The teacher said the students have to type it on the computer, and that the parents shouldn’t type it for them. I surmise that the reason they want it typed on the computer is for readability, and the reason they don’t want the parents to type it is so that the parents don’t write the actual contents of the report for the students. My daughter wrote the report in long hand. She is an extremely slow typist, and it would take her 5 hours to type it, which is time hard to find considering how much other work she has. Can I type part of all of it for her, and does she have to be totally honest with her teacher about it if I do?

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