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Original poster

To not pay for friend to get her phone fixed after I smashed it?

507 replies

katie3347 · 16/09/2018 11:17

Friday night me and my friend went out for drinks.
We were stood at the bar and I turned around quick and knocked my friends phone out of her hand,it hit the floor and smashed the screen.
It's still working but the screen is totally cracked.

She was a bit upset saying she didn't have insurance and couldn't afford to get it fixed.
I can't afford it either and shouldn't she have had insurance on such a expensive phone?
Anyway I haven't mentioned it since ..aibu to just not mention it again?
I know she probably expected me to pay to get it fixed but it was a accident and she was the one who let go once I hit her arm.

OP posts:
llangennith · 16/09/2018 12:51

I think I'd offer to pay half.

chickedychicked · 16/09/2018 12:53

The 80 she's going to have to pay is £80 she could've used for other stuff too

userofthiswebsite · 16/09/2018 12:54

Yes, you should.
If it was me I'd be annoyed at myself for being clumsy but it's not her fault you smacked into her.
Also quite amused by those saying it's her fault for not having insurance. I don't have phone insurance as I'm a careful person and handle my phone carefully. But I can't control the actions of others.

Also if you came round and let's say knocked a glass photo frame off the shelf, would you refuse to replace it as I didn't get the frame insured?
Same thing

NotACleverName · 16/09/2018 12:55

Yes of course you should pay, you massive cheeky fucker.

AimlesslyPurposeful · 16/09/2018 12:56

I can’t believe you don’t think you should pay for the damage your accident caused. I would be quite upset if any of my friends had your attitude after accidentally breaking something of mine.

Yes if she’d had insurance it’d be a non issue but she didn’t - possibly because she couldn’t afford it along with the other costs that come with owning a mobile.

Surely if you accidentally smashed a window or scratched someone’s car you’d apologise and pay? Why is this different?

Yes an accident - your accident! You should pay.

maddiie · 16/09/2018 12:56

It was an accident but it was caused by you, I agree with many other posters that you should pay. At the absolute minimum offer half, but if I was in your shoes I'd pay the whole thing. It's nice to be nice. It's not nice to cause accidents and then leave a friend out of pocket so you can spend money on 'other things'

Spacezombies · 16/09/2018 12:57

This seems like a good test of someone's moral compass. There's no way to force anyone to pay so it is completely a personal choice. You break something, but it doesn't belong to you so either you refuse to take responsibility by shouting "but it's not mine" or you help your friend out because your actions have caused it. I know what type of person I would rather be.

Saracen · 16/09/2018 12:57

I don't think she should expect you to pay, but I do think you should offer. You have enough money to be going out for the evening, so you can probably scrape together enough to pay for what you broke.

My opinion would be different if the phone were ridiculously expensive. People have no business carrying £600 uninsured gadgets around and expecting anyone else to pay for fixing accidental damage to them. You might well be unable to afford that much.

Likewise if you and your friend were both extremely hard up - which I think isn't the case from what you say - then she shouldn't be carrying an £80 phone around in case it gets damaged, and you should only be expected to pay if you'd done something REALLY stupid such as chucking it across the room to her.

multiplemum3 · 16/09/2018 12:57

Can afford a night out but can't afford to pay for something that you broke? Pay for your friends phone, you fucking broke it!

DonnaDarko · 16/09/2018 12:58

I would offer to pay at leasr half as I am a good friend and not a #£&@

CantankerousCamel · 16/09/2018 12:58

I would pay. Part of my ‘not being an arsehole’ life mission.

However I would buy a screen for £25 and get DH to fit it. It’s not difficult to do

LaCerbiatta · 16/09/2018 12:58

I see so many cracked screens. It baffles me that so few people have decent protective cases and tempered glass screen protectors......

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 16/09/2018 12:59

You didnt smash the screen! You werent using the phone, she was and she dropped it.

"You weren't to blame for punching her, mate - it was HER face and SHE allowed it to be punched. She should have been more careful if it mattered so much to her - maybe if she locked herself in her bedroom and stayed there all the time, she wouldn't run the risk of carelessly walking into a man's fist - especially when she can CLEARLY see how angry he is."

ALittleTinyTea · 16/09/2018 13:00

I've actually done this before and was almost exactly the same scenario (knocked it out of his hand and it fell down a flight of stairs, totally smashed the screen!). I paid for it to be fixed. I went with him and put my card in the machine after he had told me no don't worry about it. He was a bit annoyed at me but I felt I should pay for it. He never lets me buy the coffees now because he's making up the £100 I had to pay for a new screen Grin we are food friends and we look out for each other. I was quite skint at the time but I don't regret paying for it!

londonrach · 16/09/2018 13:00

Of course you pay. You broke it either if it was an accident. If shes a nice friend she might let you 50:50 but morally and legally you need to pay.

ALittleTinyTea · 16/09/2018 13:01

*good friends!

Itchytights · 16/09/2018 13:02

You broke the damn thing then you pay for it.

Sinples

WhereYouLeftIt · 16/09/2018 13:03

"I can't afford half's either tbh."
"It's about £80 for a new screen."
"That's £40 I could use for other things."

That last sentence is very telling. It tells me that actually you COULD pay, but you DON"T WANT TO.

"I know she probably expected me to pay to get it fixed but it was a accident "
I looked up the definition of accident for you, since you seem to regard the word as Get out of Jail Free Card.

accident
noun

  1. an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury.
  2. an event that happens by chance or that is without apparent or deliberate cause.

Now, this fits the first definition - it was unintentional and resulted in damage. But you seem to be pitching for the second - that it was 'nothing to do with me, Guv'. No. This accident had a cause, and the casue was you, which you are well aware of.

Be an adult. You didn't intend to smash her phone, but your action did cause it to be smashed. Offer to pay for its repair. Apologise for not offering right away. Otherwise, you can probably kiss this friendship goodbye. And a good friendship is definitely worth a lot more than £80.

MyNewBearTotoro · 16/09/2018 13:03

She dropped it. She obviously wasn’t holding onto it properly and if all you did was turn around and bump into her then clearly she was standing too close to you.

It was an accident and not your fault at all and I wouldn’t offer her anything. She should have had a proper hold of it and she should have an adequate screen protector, phone case and/ or insurance.

ALittleTinyTea · 16/09/2018 13:05

she was standing too close to you.

How far away should one stand from their friend on a night out?

LittleMissedTheSunshine · 16/09/2018 13:05

I'd offer to pay half... seems the fairest outcome.

ThumbWitchesAbroad · 16/09/2018 13:07

I think you should offer to pay half. I'm sure you could spend the money on other things, can't we all, but you should still do the decent thing.

timeisnotaline · 16/09/2018 13:07

It was an accident caused by you, it was your fault. If you were driving for example it would be a chargeable offence. Accidents are not nobody’s fault.

NoBirthdayHugs · 16/09/2018 13:08

You weren't to blame for punching her, mate - it was HER face and SHE allowed it to be punched. She should have been more careful if it mattered so much to her - maybe if she locked herself in her bedroom and stayed there all the time, she wouldn't run the risk of carelessly walking into a man's fist - especially when she can CLEARLY see how angry he is.

That’s ridiculous and not the same scenario at all. A punch is a deliberate act which would be like OP intentionally taking the phone out of her friend’s hand and smashing it to the ground.

That is not what happened. All OP did was turn around, which is a perfectly normal thing to do. It doesn’t sound like OP was being reckless or careless and if her friend was stood behind her she’d have no way of seeing she was there.

Thefriend shouldn’t have been stood so close to the OP and she shouldn’t have had an uninsured, unprotected phone out at a crowded bar. She should have had a better grip on the phone.

It was smashed because the friend dropped it on the floor, not because OP did anything wrong.

YetAnotherThing · 16/09/2018 13:08

She may be unknowingly covered by either bank account, home insurance or credit card. I would ask her to check and then offer to pay any excess on her policy. The excess on my Barclay bank account was only £25 for a new screen.

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