Hello Paul, I'm pretty much in the same situation (in the need to change the keyboard on a A1369 model)
It's been 2 times I read somewhere on iFixit that you can try unweld/unsolder the keyboard from the topcase and get a new one. It could save a lot of money as it seems to be possible to find some on eBay less than 50$
As you mentioned "a friend of mine" I'm really curious to know if you could provide us more information.
Thanks