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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask who should pay for replacement guitar?

174 replies

SoldierKatnissEverdeen · 14/03/2013 18:55

Just want to canvass your opinions on the following situation...have tried to write the post without letting on which side I am coming from to get an unbiased opinion.

Today at school a guitar got broken. The child who owns the guitar is very upset. The child who broke the guitar is also upset. Both children are in yr 5 so aged 9 or 10.

The guitar was broken by a child doing that thing that boys do, of running, dropping to his knees and skidding. Didnt have enough control to stop himself and ended up falling forward with his full body weight on the guitar snapping it where the neck meets the body. It was a complete accident rather than a malicious act. The child apologised without any prompting.

The guitar was in the designated place, which tbh wasn't a great place. There was a teacher in the hall at the time, who didnt see it happen. I expect she was dealing with other children at the time.

The teacher does not know what the sch policy is for this type of situation and the head was unavailable.

My query to you wise lot, is who should pay for the guitar to be replaced?

OP posts:
ImAlpharius · 14/03/2013 19:49

The parents of the child who broke it should pay for either a proper repair job or new guitar, whichever is cheaper Both sets should be talking to the school about finding a better place to keep instuments.

MayTheOddsBeEverInYourFavour · 14/03/2013 19:50

The parents of the boy who broke it should pay

It was in a designated area and even if that area wasn't very secure he shouldn't have taken it and messed around with it

I have a son the same age and if he did this I would expect to pay and he'd get a massive bollocking

trixymalixy · 14/03/2013 19:52

Agree with everyone else. The parents of the boy who broke it should pay.

ZZZenAgain · 14/03/2013 19:52

don't think he took it but skidded and crashed into it

CajaDeLaMemoria · 14/03/2013 19:56

I'm confused - did he slide with the guitar in his arms, or slide and crash into the guitar?

Was the guitar in a protective case?

Maryz · 14/03/2013 19:56

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MayTheOddsBeEverInYourFavour · 14/03/2013 19:56

Ahh sorry I got the wrong end of the stick Blush

If the boy just crashed into it but wasn't holding it then to me that is much more accidental and that would make big difference to who I would think would be liable to pay

Maryz · 14/03/2013 19:57

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MamaMumra · 14/03/2013 19:59

Is the guitar privately owned? DS rents his from the school and I'd still offer to pay but I think the school should perhaps assume some responsibility.

I agree with the poster who said it depends on circumstances but think I'm probably in the minority here.

LindyHemming · 14/03/2013 20:01

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FakePlasticLobsters · 14/03/2013 20:01

The parents of the boy who broke it.

The designated place might not have been great, but the guitar would still have been safe there if the child hadn't been sliding about and crashed into it.

The school might have had some responsibility if the boy had tripped and fallen on it because they weren't stored safely, or if the guitar had just fallen down on it's own.

But he was running and sliding on his knees, and I know that's something children like to do and I'm not condemning him for it, but he was still the person responsible for breaking the guitar.

HollyBerryBush · 14/03/2013 20:03

Well the ages come in to play here. School will not have the insurance. Presumably the guitar owner will have insurance as the guitar travels to and from school. Insurance pays. It would be nice if the affordability of of the parents of the child who broke it could pay the excess that will be levied for a claim.

littlepeas · 14/03/2013 20:03

I assumed that the boy was holding the guitar too! I thought they were sliding around pretending to be rock stars, you know, how they do!

Original poster
SoldierKatnissEverdeen · 14/03/2013 20:03

Quick reply in between dc's going to bed.
Thank you for all your responses.

My dd is the guitar owner.
The guitar was in sch due to having a lesson during the day. The children had just finished choir after sch club, in the main hall, (rather than a corrider hall) and the guitar was against the wall with dd's other bags, ie book bag and lunch bag. It was a protective case, but not a solid one. All the other childrens things were along this wall too. He was skidding to the wall to get his stuff as choir had finished.

I cannot afford to replace the guitar. it was a gift from dd's godmother. I dont know the exact cost but would guess between £80-100.

Dd is distraught. When I collected her, my reaction was incredibly reasonable in an attempt to console her. Saying its only a guitar, not your wrist or ankle. The boys mums reaction was immediate 'where was the guitar?' ready to deny any responsibility. I don't know this mum at all, so can't guess at how she will react in the longer term.

While I cant help but think I shouldn't be out of pocket, if my ds broke something in the same manner, it would stick in my throat to pay...but perhaps it would bring home to me that I needed to teach him to stop doing silly things....

However I would have made a point of apologising to the child and the mother, but she made no eye contact at all.

OP posts:
littlepeas · 14/03/2013 20:06
scurryfunge · 14/03/2013 20:07

I think you will have to rely on the mother's good will to replace the guitar. I had a similar situation when my son was younger and a child deliberately snapped his glasses. The school refused to disclose the parents' details so I couldn't recover the cost.

MechanicalTheatre · 14/03/2013 20:07

It was definitely his fault. The mother is probably mortified. I would see if you can get a meeting between her and the school and you going on to sort the whole mess out.

The boy needs to apologise to your daughter. And he needs to be doing chores to pay his parents back for his silly behaviour.

Maryz · 14/03/2013 20:09

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MamaMumra · 14/03/2013 20:09

She should have apologised at least. Someone has to pay to replace it and it shouldn't be you.

Can you speak to the Head tomorrow. Sorry for you DD Sad

ihearsounds · 14/03/2013 20:09

The parents of the skidder should cough up and pay. It wasn't an accident because his behavior was inappropriate to begin with. Shouldn't be running and skidding. He could have easily knocked over a much younger child. If walking past the instrument, and tripped over shoe lace etc, then that would have been an accident.

Depending on how many children where in the area at the time, in relation to adults, then the school might have to review their policy on supervising pupils.

Scholes34 · 14/03/2013 20:09

I think about the cello we had at school and where the school stores them. They were stored well out of the way at primary school. At secondary school, instruments were piled up in a room. Decided we wouldn't risk our cello in there, despite having insurance.

I think the school has some responsibility, as they designated the "safe" area.

If it's an expensive guitar, it should have been insured. Indeed, any supplier of musical instruments would have provided details of appropriate insurance - ours specifically covers instruments taken into school. This should at least have alerted the parents of the owner of the guitar to the fact that insurance would be a good idea.

I certainly wouldn't send a musical instrument to school without it being insured, if damage to it would cause a major problem/expense, so I think I'm concluding that the owners of the guitar should negotiate with the school.

littlepeas · 14/03/2013 20:10

I don't think the mother ought to be mortified - these things happen and it wasn't done maliciously - but I do absolutely and without question think she should pay up. It is just the decent thing to do.

Maryz · 14/03/2013 20:10

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MamaMumra · 14/03/2013 20:10

WMS (what Maryz said)

LindyHemming · 14/03/2013 20:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.