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Original poster

Friend’s phone screen cracked a bit by accident

135 replies

Nousese · 23/02/2026 09:40

Hello,

My son asked his friend for a number that was stored in his friend’s phone. So, My friend’s son gave my son his phone while they were waking the stairs at the station. The floor it was wet as it was raining. My son tripped over quite bad at the stairs when he was going to give back his friend the phone. The screen cracked a bit at the bottom.

I feel i should pay for the repair. I don’t have to much money to be honest. If i had I would not hesitate to pay for it.
So i wanted to ask people for advice here.

thanks,

OP posts:
Tableforjoan · 23/02/2026 12:00

Yes you pay and no it shouldn’t matter if it had a screen protector or not. The owner didn’t break it someone else did.

Also I wouldn’t want a generic repair I’d want an official repair that kept my warranty intact.

Seeline · 23/02/2026 11:57

This is why 9yo shouldn't have phones!

At least teach them to sit down, or stand still when using them.

But yes, your DS dropped and broke it. You pay.

Amie30 · 23/02/2026 11:55

you should offer to pay

Why have two 9 yos got phones anyway?!? It’s just asking for trouble, they will definitely break and lose them!

I would also caution my kids against sharing other people’s phone numbers - I generally apply a GDPR approach and don’t give out other people’s numbers without their explicit permission.

edited to remove the bit where I said ‘just bad luck’ reading the OP again, the kid was using a phone while walking on wet stairs. Completely avoidable accident. My kids have it drilled into them not to look at their phones while on the move.

IsItSnowing · 23/02/2026 11:26

Your ds damage it so you pay to repair it. It's really that simple.

ImmortalSnowman · 23/02/2026 11:21

Nousese · 23/02/2026 11:17

And my son asked for a number that was stored on his friend’s home and his friend passed the phone to him. It was just in a minute all this happened. He didn’t really ask to borrow the phone.

Are you going to blame the stairs next because it wouldn't have fallen if it was flat ground?

Your child dropped another child's property and broke it. He should have stopped walking to get the number and he wouldn't have slipped. Pay for the screen repair. Message first and don't make another parent have to chase you to be responsible for your child.

If you can't afford to pay for phone repairs why does your 9 year old child have a phone?

HPFA · 23/02/2026 11:20

Do check that your son's friend actually wants a new phone.

I dropped my daughter's phone, paid for a replacement and then discovered she was continuing to use the old one with the cracked screen because she couldn't be bothered to transfer all the photos etc.

It might be the son's friend would prefer to have some "compensation" money rather than an actual new phone if the old one is still usable.

zingally · 23/02/2026 11:19

Yes, you should pay, or at the very least, offer to.

Unfortunately, accidents happen.

Original poster
Nousese · 23/02/2026 11:17

And my son asked for a number that was stored on his friend’s home and his friend passed the phone to him. It was just in a minute all this happened. He didn’t really ask to borrow the phone.

OP posts:
Applecup · 23/02/2026 11:16

Nousese · 23/02/2026 11:13

My son and his friend are 9 years old. I think my son was unlucky as his friend dropped the phone on the same day few hours ago and it did not cracked. My phone has screen protector and i have dropped it a lot of times on concrete and never cracked. I haven’t spoke to her since it happened. She has not asked me for money yet but she is not happy

Maybe you could offer to go halves. The fact she dropped it earlier is irrelevant really.

ThejoyofNC · 23/02/2026 11:16

So you allowed your son to break her son's phone and you haven't said a word about it? Absolutely terrible behavior you need to message her to apologise and tell her that we will pay for the repair.

The fact you don't have a lot of money is irrelevant.

Original poster
Nousese · 23/02/2026 11:13

My son and his friend are 9 years old. I think my son was unlucky as his friend dropped the phone on the same day few hours ago and it did not cracked. My phone has screen protector and i have dropped it a lot of times on concrete and never cracked. I haven’t spoke to her since it happened. She has not asked me for money yet but she is not happy

OP posts:
RoastBanana · 23/02/2026 10:50

Umm, assuming these boys are teens, if I was the other boy’s mother, I would probably be getting my son to pay out of his own savings/pocket money in order to teach him a useful lesson about being careful about handing your phone to people. If the repair was too expensive to be covered by my son, I would appreciate the other boy’s parents offering half but would still expect my son to be paying enough for him to learn something from this experience.

But I appreciate not all parents may feel like so think OP you should offer to pay the cost.

LightYearsAgo · 23/02/2026 10:39

BigSkies2022 · 23/02/2026 09:42

Yes, pay for the repair. Screens can be done for not much money at a generic repair shop.

I wish, I once lived with a cracked screen for ages as even at a local shop it was more than i could afford to repair, I can't remember the exact model but it was one with a curved screen

Zebedee999 · 23/02/2026 10:34

Nousese · 23/02/2026 09:40

Hello,

My son asked his friend for a number that was stored in his friend’s phone. So, My friend’s son gave my son his phone while they were waking the stairs at the station. The floor it was wet as it was raining. My son tripped over quite bad at the stairs when he was going to give back his friend the phone. The screen cracked a bit at the bottom.

I feel i should pay for the repair. I don’t have to much money to be honest. If i had I would not hesitate to pay for it.
So i wanted to ask people for advice here.

thanks,

If say the repair was £100, could you offer the lad £25 if he can just live with the small crack? That way it's a win win.

VodaSVag · 23/02/2026 10:21

Nousese · 23/02/2026 09:40

Hello,

My son asked his friend for a number that was stored in his friend’s phone. So, My friend’s son gave my son his phone while they were waking the stairs at the station. The floor it was wet as it was raining. My son tripped over quite bad at the stairs when he was going to give back his friend the phone. The screen cracked a bit at the bottom.

I feel i should pay for the repair. I don’t have to much money to be honest. If i had I would not hesitate to pay for it.
So i wanted to ask people for advice here.

thanks,

If it's insured I'd offer to pay the excess. That way any warantee would still apply.

For example mine is £75. Don't know how much a repair would charge. Depends on the phone I guess?

Whooo · 23/02/2026 10:20

Well it depends on your financial circumstances. If you’re in poverty or this money will conflict with bills/food or cause you to go into debt, then you can’t afford it.

Seeline · 23/02/2026 10:20

How old is your DS?

Someone should be offering to pay - either you or DS.

BerryTwister · 23/02/2026 10:17

KimberleyClark · 23/02/2026 10:16

I don’t use screen protectors but keep my phone in a wallet style cover which I’m sure most MNers wouldn’t be seen dead with.

So do I !!

KimberleyClark · 23/02/2026 10:16

I don’t use screen protectors but keep my phone in a wallet style cover which I’m sure most MNers wouldn’t be seen dead with.

BerryTwister · 23/02/2026 10:16

Definitely offer to pay. But if it’s not a bad crack, the friend may choose not to bother. Sometimes replaced screens affect the functionality of the phone in my experience. Another clever little Apple scam!

CurlewKate · 23/02/2026 10:13

Pay. Because it’s the right thing to do and it’s good for kids to see their parents doing the right thing, not quibbling about screen protectors.

TheChosenTwo · 23/02/2026 10:13

Yes of course you need to pay to repair it. You even said you feel like you should.
So actually not sure why you’re asking on here?!

HereintheloveofChristIstand · 23/02/2026 10:12

I wouldn't pay if it didn't have a screen protector. That is literally what they are for.

NotReadyForChristmas2025 · 23/02/2026 10:11

He broke the phone. Your are responsible for the damage. Imagine the reverse??

FuzzyWolf · 23/02/2026 10:10

Yes, unfortunately you’ll need to pay for the repair or at least offer to do so.