Boss smashed my phone - who should pay?

[HotChocolat]

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?

Firstly go to your local apple store as they may well be able to do a screen repair or offer a replacement hand set for a fraction of the cost of a new one, don't let anyone mess with it as is can invalidate any warranty you have

You have 3 options once you have your repair replacement costs

1. Give the bill to your boss ,
2. Claim on your home contents policy under personal possessions section
3. pay for it yourself

If you do end up paying to get it done I highly recommend ismash which are in big cities.
Apple won't "switch off" the phone but your warranty will be invalidated if you still have one.

How are Apple going to know if a screen is replaced?

Don't. You will totally void the Apple warranty if anyone elses touches it! Call Apple and get a quote and go from there

So really your Boss didn’t smash your phone at all? It was an accident. I am disappointed because I was expecting something far more exciting!
YABU - it was an accident. Accept what she has offered with good grace or sort it yourself.

Christ on a bike! It was on a sofa for God's sake, not balancing on a see saw at the top of a volcanoe. People telling OP its not a very good place to leave a phone, what would you suggest? Putting it in a kevlar case, inside a plastic box and locked in a safe?? Accidents happen, chill your beans

I feel sorry for you but I don’t think your friend/boss should be paying.

Also, iPhones are appalling for this. I’m currently using one because it’s provided by my employer. Have never smashed a screen before but this one was cracked within weeks. If you see someone with a phone with a smashed screen, it’s almost always an Apple.

I would get them to pay for the cost of getting it repaired at Apple. Then you won't lose your warranty.

My dh has replaced my mobile screen before but it is never that good

Take to Apple for (written) quote. Ask friend to pay half. Do not accept repair from husband.

@steff13

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.

Only problem with that is if you claim on your insurance the premiums tend to go up. When I was still at home with my parents I broke an iPod, my DF claimed on the insurance and it put his premiums up by enough that he wished he'd just bought me a new one.

It was just an accident - you're responsible for your phone! It's not like you lent it to her and it got damaged, it was supposedly in your care.

Claim it under your normal home insurance? You say you don't have insurance so I'm guessing you mean specific phone insurance and hoping you have home insurance. Phones are generally covered by home insurance. Buying extra is a bit of a con!

My two year old just knocked my friend's iPhone off (it was balanced on a plug, whilst charging, in a socket close to the floor, in her house).

I think I am responsible, she thinks she is.

Currently having a battle of words as to who should pay.

I do think I should as it was my child who did the damage.

Either way, it's £30. Not worth the hassle. If she won't accept my money, she'll be getting the equivalent in wine (which she won't refuse).

BTW, Apple won't know, nor will they turn your phone off.

some people have said apple will know and switch the phone off?!

Aaaaaand some people clearly don't really seem to understand all that confangled technology

Relax OP, her husband changing it is exactly Apple will do it! They don't have a special way of getting the screen off that we don't know about!

Firstly, if I accidentally damaged someone’s property I would be mortified and offer to pay for the damage. Even though it was an accident I’d feel bad not giving them something towards the cost of repair.

Yes you should be more careful where you put things, but that works both ways and they also should take an element of care in what they’re doing too.

I would be nervous about letting her DH repair it, purely in case he made it worse. So I’d want to take it to a proper repair shop.

Maybe you could go halves on the cost though? If there was negligence on both yours and her part, then that would seem fairer to me.

Also my iPhone is covered by my contents insurance. My excess is £100. Paying £100 to ensure the phone gets repaired by an authorised repairer or getting a replacement phone seems like a reasonable deal to me given how much some iPhones cost (I have an iPhone X, so to me that’s a steal!).

Oh also one more thing. What network are you on? On O2 you can get your first screen replacement for free with some phones?

No such place really as a place where it can’t be knocked off - so not your fault and as mentioned will kill off any rights you have with Apple! She needs to pay for proper repair

And why shouldn’t you push up your home insurance with a claim even if you are covered!

Did you not have a screen protector/case? I have them on every phone I've ever had!!

No such place really as a place where it can’t be knocked off - so not your fault

The OP put an iPhone (which are notoriously fragile) on an uneven surface without any kind of protection by way of general phone case or screen protector. She chose not to protect the phone and she chose to place it somewhere where it was more than likely going to be dislodged (it only takes a small bump to dislodge something from a sofa cushion whereas it would take a much more significant bump for it to be knocked from a table or other stable surface in my experience)

Yes the friend's physical action made the phone fall but if it had any kind of protection it probably would not have smashed. The OP cannot absolve herself of all responsibility for the severity of the damage when she chose to make zero effort to protect her personal property in case of accidents like this.

I understand how annoying this is because phones are expensive and yours is quite new-you still have 17 months to pay.
A non Apple repair will invalidate your warranty but it won't allow Apple to switch your phone off.
It will cost much more than a non-brand repair and probably be more inconvenient and time consuming for you- trips to the Apple bar, a further appointment to have the repair done, or sending phone away for days and days eeek no phone!!!!!
On balance, because the phone still has a long warranty, I would go for Apple repair. I think you and your friend (boss? coincidental detail) should go halves.

If you have house contents insurance or a bank account that covers you, you pay the £50 or £100 excess and they'll replace it. Ask your friend to pay the excess.

If you have a good relationship and job, just do it yourself. It's a pain in the arse but things like this can escalate into resentment and rifts, and you don't want it affecting your professional relationships. Just take it somewhere on the way to work, and when she mentions it, just say 'no worries, all taken care of as I know how busy you both are, but thank you, I really appreciate the offer'
Don't be precious about a phone you left lying around and didn't insure. That sounds harsher than I mean but it isn't worth it for the sake of a working relationship. Chalk it up to experience, find cheap insurance going forward if you can and always put your phone back in your bag.

I don't know the answer to this, as I've never had a phone repaired (in fact I've never had a phone that cost more than £40) - but I just wanted you to know that I keep reading the title as "Boris smashed my phone," and it makes me smile every time. If that had really been what happened, I would say take him for everything you can get! In this case I think TheSeason is probably right and it could mess things up between you if you insist.

She knocked it off, she pays. Simple as that.