Flatmate says I owe her £600

[Digestivesandcheese]

I was meeting my flatmate (who is also a good friend) in London recently and agreed to bring her weekend bag with me on the train (She was meeting her DM earlier in the day for a trip to the Theatre) I had a rucksack containing my things for the weekend.
I got off the train in London and realised I had stupidly left her bag on the train. I got back on the train but the bag was gone! It hasn't turned up in lost property. I have chased up several times.
My friend says I owe her £600 for the bag and contents. I agree it was my fault but can I claim compensation from the rail company as the bag hasn't turned up? If not, I will have to borrow money to pay my friend for her things

Well because then the OP may need to cover additional costs too if the friend had to then spend time replacing stuff during the trip as they were essential.

What a lovely way to spend your weekend - replacing a bunch of stuff your friend lost.

It was your fault. But she took a chance entrusting it to you. It wasn't as if you were a paid courier. I don't think you should pay her.

Used trainers and a case are probably worth around a tenner each.

Wow, really you’d stiff your mate like that?

But, again, if those items have been used their value will be a fraction of the sale price.

You probably aren’t legally liable to pay her for the cost of replacing the items as you were only doing her a favour, but I think that morally you should do.

How has she calculated the £600 though? She can’t really expect new items unless the ones you lost were all brand new. She also needs to be reasonable.

I agree If I lost my friends stuff I’d immediately offer to compensate her as soon as I could afford it. She had a reasonable expectation that her flatmate could manage to transport a weekend bag for her.

This isn't the rail companies responsibility OP. You might say you had better not bring someone else's belongings next time though just to be safe.

But one generally insures so that items can be replaced old for new, not like for like, because the practicalities of finding second hand trainers in the same style and size, or second hand make up... is fucking stupid.

So yes, the new cost is the insured cost for such things.

Can you ask her for an exact list of what is missing then replace using Vinted or similar. Presumably the bag was used before so replace like with like e.g. excellent condition used once, which would be a lot cheaper, rather than brand new? What a horrible situation for you OP, easily done if you are used to only having one bag with you for yourself.

@plumtreebroke how on earth is it partly her friend's fault?
The OP was careless and forgetful (no offence intended OP), and sadly she now owes her friend.

I would think most insurance policies would not cover the consequences of giving your stuff to other people, even if temporarily. And of course they don't generally cover stuff you don't actually own.

OP is mostly to blame here, though I think friend should share some of the blame for being silly enough to trust £600 worth of stuff to someone who wasn't actually capable of looking after it.

But this is about compensation, not about the benefits you have paid a hefty insurance premium for. If, for instance, the friend sued OP, all she would get would be the value of the goods lost.

Probably because some of us have policies that cover our belongings outside the home. Revolutionary I know. Perhaps the OP needs to ask her flatmate to check her policy to see if it has the same clause.

Must save you a fortune in cloakroom fees and luggage lockers. Simply leave your bag any old place and if it's stolen when you have left it somewhere by itself just claim on your house insurance.

I would never in a million years ask a friend to pay for this. The bag has clearly been stolen. I have left several things on the train and on buses and my daughter several more things before and have always got them back at lost property. Some chancer stole the bag either during the journey or in the 2/3 minutes before the OP returned.

Why on earth is it the rail companies fault?!

You have to have a crime reference number.

It's a tricky one. I'm not sure i would have the courage to ask my housemate to pay for it. As you were doing me a favour and accidents happen.

If you end up paying for it...ask her to tell you what items the £600 are covering!

Used make up,perfum, and clothes don't cost the full price!! She is either charging you full price for used stuff or she really has an expensive taste!
Maybe you can cover half of the cost to help

I had my bag so she used my toiletries and make up.
She bought a toothbrush and a couple of cheap tops. I bought her some trousers. Obviously she wasn't happy. Despite this we enjoyed the weekend. I promised over and over to replace her things. I know it was my fault. I intend to honour my promise.
My DM has offered to lend me the money and I will pay her back £5 a week until the debt is paid off

I do think there's a case for saying that, if the friend wanted OP to carry valuable stuff for her and replace it at cost value if it got lost, she should at the very least have warned her. It's reasonable for OP to have the chance to say No thanks, she'd rather not take the risk, and/or to suggest that if the friend wants to be recompensed in the event of loss she needs to get her own insurance.

Well of course they don’t cost full price when they’re half full but have you been into Boots recently and asked to buy half a bottle of coco Chanel and 3/4 of a lipstick? Unsurprisingly you cannot.

Exactly. I might have £600 of clothes and toiletries for a week's holiday but not in an overnight bag for the weekend!

Neither of us have the type of insurance that will cover my mistake

If she had any decency she wouldn't accept your promise. You were doing her a favour, she didn't warn you about the value of the stuff in the case, and she should give credit for the fact that she's already had use of some or all of it and its actual value is in fact very low. Why should she in effect make a profit from you?