A coworker asked for a quick favor after work: help move a few boxes into a new apartment. They promised it would only take about 30 minutes, and the help was given exactly as agreed.

Boxes carried, job done, thanks exchanged. End of story…or so it seemed.

Read on for the story.

AITA for refusing to redo a favor because someone changed their mind last minute?

I offered to help a coworker move a few boxes into their new apartment after work. They said it wouldn’t take long maybe 30 minutes and I agreed because I had the time and wanted to be helpful.

After work, I drove over, helped carry everything upstairs, and we finished in about the time promised.

Before I left, they thanked me and said they were all set.

Perfect.

About an hour later, after I was already back home, they messaged me saying they had decided to rearrange the apartment and wanted me to come back and move everything again because it would be faster with two people.

I told them I couldn’t come back. I had already helped, had settled in for the night, and hadn’t agreed to multiple trips or redoing the work.

They got upset and said I was being unhelpful and that they wouldn’t have asked in the first place if they knew I wouldn’t be flexible.

Wow.

The next day at work, they were noticeably cold toward me and mentioned to another coworker that it was disappointing when people half-help.

I feel like I kept my word and helped exactly as promised, but now I’m wondering if refusing to come back made me look selfish.

AITA for saying no after already helping once?

Now the question isn’t about lifting boxes, it’s about whether generosity comes with an obligation to stay on call.

This person says they did nothing wrong.

This person agrees…they did what they said they were going to do, so NTA.

And this person says just stay away…far, far away.

Helping once doesn’t mean you signed up for unlimited free labor on demand.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check out what happened when a family gave their in-laws a free place to stay in exchange for babysitting, but things changed when they don’t hold up their end of the bargain.