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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Boss smashed my phone - who should pay?

105 replies

HotChocolat · 06/03/2018 18:10

So my boss/ friend knocked my iphone off a sofa and smashed the screen. She has offered her husband to replace the screen as he has done it before. However I'm concerned that if he breaks it more I still have to pay the contract for 17 more months which I cannot afford to pay for a broken phone. I also know the phones are never as good once the screen has been replaced so I would feel much more comfortable having it done by someone who really knows what their doing. (She said her husband would heat my phone with a hairdryer to make the screen pop out which I'm sure can't be good for the device?) AIBU to ask her to pay for it to be sent to apple and have the screen replaced professionally? She must have business insurance she could claim on?

OP posts:
Sarsparella · 06/03/2018 21:35

Also new iPhones have a wonderful feature that eventually the phone will detect it’s not a genuine Apple screen and turn off

Another ‘only on mumsnet’ made up ‘fact’ Hmm

There’s no such thing, what a silly idea, I’ve had mine replaced and its 100% fine, that’s actually probably a rumour started by Apple to get gullible people to pay over the odds for repairs

CherryMaDeary · 06/03/2018 21:54

Also new iPhones have a wonderful feature that eventually the phone will detect it’s not a genuine Apple screen and turn off

This is

  1. not true
  2. stupid - why would this be a wonderful feature? How does it benefit the user?
Buglife · 06/03/2018 22:07

If you don’t want to pay for insurance because it’s too expensive I think it’s unfair to demand people pay for the priciest way of repairing it for you. If you are that precious over getting only the authorised Apple repair done then you should be insuring your phone yourself. If not then ask her for money towards a random phone shop repair which will do just as well.

BarbarianMum · 06/03/2018 22:10

Unless she broke into your house and sat on your sofa without being invited I think responsibility for the repair falls to you.

PattiStanger · 06/03/2018 22:14

I disagree that you should spend money insuring your phone in case other people damage it. If I take care of my phone I don't expect to have to have insurance to cover someone elses carelessness.

Putting a phone on a sofa sounds like a normal thing to do, isn't it standard if you're sitting down to put it somewhere nearby?

BarbarianMum · 06/03/2018 22:17

Putting your phone on something someone is going to sit on sounds like a perfect way to get it broken to me.

GardenGeek · 06/03/2018 22:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Buglife · 06/03/2018 22:19

No, I don’t think you should insure it just because other people might break it, I think you should insure your phone if you know you only want it repaired in the most expensive way. It’s a valid choice but then why not insure it? When I didn’t have phone insurance because I was skint I knew if it broke/got damaged I’d be getting it fixed on the market on a cheap stall. Even if you think you’re the most careful person in the world of course you could accidentally break your screen yourself.

buttfacedmiscreant · 06/03/2018 22:25

I think that is crazy that some people think if you don't have a case or insurance that it is your fault that someone else broke it.

WyfOfBathe · 06/03/2018 22:33

I think that is crazy that some people think if you don't have a case or insurance that it is your fault that someone else broke it.

I think it's more that she left it on the sofa, which isn't a great place to put things that need to be kept safe

deno · 06/03/2018 22:36

My dh tried to repair my dd's iPod touch, but while it had a nice new screen, it no longer turned on.

Personally, I'd want a professional to do it.

givemesteel · 06/03/2018 22:37

I'd be annoyed if I accidentally knocked someone's phone off and the screen smashed then I was expected to pay for damage, unless I was doing something really foolish and it was definitely my fault (rather than it bring left in a place where anyone could have knocked it off).

If you've got an expensive phone you need to protect it with a case. I have a really good case and screen protector on my phone so if I drop it its fine. If someone else chooses not to do that, fine, but that's foolish in my opinion so I wouldn't be happy to take responsibility for their broken item, in the same way as e.g. you can't be annoyed about losing a necklace if you know the clasp is dodgy.

If you want Apple to repair it I think that's on you

steff13 · 06/03/2018 22:40

I think that is crazy that some people think if you don't have a case or insurance that it is your fault that someone else broke it.

If it was laying on a table and the boss knocked it off, I'd agree it was her fault. However, I still think she should only be liable for the deductible on the insurance; it's not her fault the OP chose not to get insurance.

BackforGood · 06/03/2018 22:41

YABU to expect anyone else to pay for it.
You should either have insured it or bought a case that meant the screen didn't break. You chose to gamble on it not being broken and that was up to you, but it is /was your decision to take that chance. If you choose to have an expensive phone, it is your responsibility to protect it.

Eltonjohnssyrup · 06/03/2018 22:43

iPhones are fucking awful for cracking. You might as well buy them pre cracked.

WeAllHaveWings · 06/03/2018 22:43

I would thank her for being so kind to offer to fix but decline as I would take responsibility for leaving it on a seat meant for bums not phones.

TatianaLarina · 06/03/2018 22:46

You don’t get other people to pay for damage like this.

If you don’t have a mega protective case like I do - padded leather, if you leave your phone on a sofa rather than having it in your bag, if you choose not to insure it - all of that is on you.

You do not charge people for accidents, particularly not your friend/boss’s DH.

melj1213 · 06/03/2018 22:49

I think that is crazy that some people think if you don't have a case or insurance that it is your fault that someone else broke it.

But the other person didn't break it ... If they had picked up the phone and thrown it on the floor, smashing the screen, then they would definitely be on the hook for the cost of the repair.

However, in this case the OP left an uninsured, unprotected phone on an unstable surface and her friend somehow dislodged the phone (bumping into the sofa or sitting down, we don't know) and it fell and the screen smashed. Yes the friend's action physically caused the damage but it was an accident caused by the OP leaving their phone there when they knew it wasn't a safe place to leave a phone. If it was insured then there would be no issue, if it had been in a case there may not have been any damage and if the OP had put it somewhere more secure then there would have been no accident so the OP cannot absolve herself of any responsibility for the safety and security of her own property.

Justanamechange · 06/03/2018 23:15

I think Apple genuinely did have a feature that turned phones into unrepairable bricks if non official new screens were fitted. This wasn't all that long ago. There was a big outcry and they backed down pretty fast.

BoomBoomsCousin · 06/03/2018 23:39

Apple have never deliberately killed phones that had third party screen repairs. They have (and may still) killed phones with third party home button repairs in order to protect the fingerprint data and security.

HeddaGarbled · 06/03/2018 23:39

Unless she deliberately picked it up and threw it on the floor, which she clearly didn't, she didn't "smash" your phone at all. It got broken. It was an accident. She didn't do anything wrong. She sat on your sofa, and in doing so, accidentally knocked something which had been left there onto the floor. She is not legally or morally culpable and you would be very unreasonable to make her feel that she is.

Altwoo · 06/03/2018 23:45

iSmash are fantastic and have branches everywhere.

Apple used to do repairs for free and then realised they could get more money out of customers through overpriced repairs (and i’m a long-term Apple customer). Don’t feed their cynical business model.

And it’s very generous of your boss to offer to pay - but don’t accept.

bsbabas · 07/03/2018 17:33

Always get a case always eBay has like every type and its cheap and takes a couple of days delivery also got an 8 GB SD for four Pounds

bonnyshide · 07/03/2018 17:36

Accidents happen, she didn't do it on purpose. You can't make her fix it or pay for having it fixed, that's really petty.

specialsubject · 07/03/2018 17:40

Crap design ( probably deliberate) as if it was designed by non monkeys it would survive that fall.

That's brick phones for you, I fear. If you have one you need to recognise it is very fragile.

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