Is it 'Tell her I say hi' or 'Tell her I said hi'?

[Earby]

Hi! I was texting my friend yesterday and I told him that my sister was in my room. He responded, "Tell her I say hi." That sounded incorrect to me, so I decided to correct him by telling him that it's said, not say. He told me that I was wrong and we started this huge argument. He asked his mom and she said that he's right, while I asked my sister and she said that he's wrong.

So is he right, or is he wrong?

Thanks! :-D

 

[Zelda Butterchunks]

You're both right in certain situations, but in this case I prefer "Tell him I said 'hi' ".