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AIBU?

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Original poster

Who should pay ?

53 replies

Mum2mum2018 · 06/11/2018 21:28

My daughter, fiencee and my self stayed away at a family's house for a night .my partner messaged our good friend who lives right by us to check on our two rabbits and to feed them. When we arrived home this morning the rabbits were free running so the cage wasn't closed how it should of been I know mistakes happen . We got the rabbits in the cage and started to check our flat as rabbits being unadented and carpets don't mix as we soon discovered. The carpet In my daughter room has been bitten and scuffed quite bad. We told our friends what happened at first they said just patch it up ?I said it needs to be ripped up as our landlord will charge us. They have offered to pay for a new carpet but I feel awkward accepting there offer if it's the wrong thing to do please help

OP posts:
Singlenotsingle · 06/11/2018 22:07

No wonder they damaged the carpets. They shouldn't be indoors!

Lethaldrizzle · 06/11/2018 22:07

I feel sorry for the rabbits

GabsAlot · 06/11/2018 22:11

if they owe u anyway just take it

then u can knock it off the debt

cheesefield · 06/11/2018 22:12

Poor rabbits, do they never go outside?

Missingstreetlife · 06/11/2018 22:14

Your partner is fed up that they owe you money, that's a seperate issue. Clearly they are not reliable.you knew that. How can they pay for carpetvif they already owe you? Move away.

mumsastudent · 06/11/2018 22:14

I doubt any insurance would pay for this kind of damage & even if it did there would be a certain amount that would have to be paid out. Quote from money supermarket.com:" It may therefore be well worth paying an extra premium for accidental damage cover to be added to your policy. And even then, the bad news for pet owners is that many home insurance providers will not cover damage caused by chewing, tearing, scratching or fouling by animals"

NoSquirrels · 06/11/2018 22:15

Accept 50% from them if what’s offered and say you’ll knock it off the debt they owe you. That way they’re not handing over cash and you’ve all compromised.

On a side note, some carpet repair people can work miracles seemingly. If it’s not a massive area and near a door/wall it might be repairable - get someone in to quote.

HazelBite · 06/11/2018 22:16

Claiming on house insurance for damage caused by animals is a very grey area and many policies do not cover it. this is why many pet insurances cover damage caused by your pet to a third party?

I would suggest you look around for a decent carpet remnant/offcut and just replace yourself.

user1485816612 · 06/11/2018 22:16

Rabbits are actually quite a common house pet. They are great, when free range and house trained. One of ours used to sleep in the bed with us by choice.

You are being unreasonable locking them in an indoor hutch though - they aren’t big enough for a hamster let alone a rabbit, doesn’t matter if it’s only overnight - that’s when they are most active and need the room most.

For the new place, rabbit proof a room or at the very least section off a large area, it’s in humane locking them in a small space whether that’s an outdoor hutch or an indoor one. Look at RWAF website to make sure you are keeping them properly, they need a lot of space and there are good indoor and outdoor housing examples on there.

As for the money and the carpets - don’t accept the money, your pets, your responsibility, rabbits and carpets don’t mix, check all of your electric cables too, lost a fair few to ours Grin and thanked heavens they weren’t plugged in at the time.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 06/11/2018 22:17

If you didn't expect them to pay, OP, why mention it to them at all? You did that. It put them in a position of having to offer to pay for the damage caused by your pets.

I think you need to be prompt with a "No of course we wouldn't take payment for this, you were doing us a favour". And don't mention it again.

There are always carpet sales, wait until the next one and replace it then.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726 · 06/11/2018 22:20

... and you started a thread asking about payment so yes, I think that was your premise in the first place. If everybody would say that they should pay, you'd ask for payment in a flash, I think.

Ontheboardwalk · 06/11/2018 22:22

I don’t know much about rabbits 🐇 however it doesn’t feel right two rabbits, indoors trapped in a cage, doesn’t seem tight to me. How big is the hutch?

I would not accept any money from your friends.

NoMudNoLotus · 06/11/2018 22:24

To all those criticising OP for having rabbits indoors ...

Rabbits are very social creatures, they make excellent indoor pets . As long as they have the space to exhibit their natural behaviour, eg "binkying", running , hopping etc .

The real crimes are committed by those who keep single rabbits , in hutches outdoors no bigger than 4ft long , and those who do not bother to neuter female rabbits, because most females die of uterine cancer.

Indoor bunnies can be the happiest of all bunnies.

pretendingtowork1 · 06/11/2018 22:31

They did the right thing to offer. You will do the right thing to say "don't be daft, of course I wouldn't expect you to pay, you were doing us a favour".

Maelstrop · 06/11/2018 22:31

Does the landlord even know you have pets? And stop lending money to the neighbour when you say you're not well off yourself. Also, keeping bunnies in a hutch over the weekend is appalling.

Rachelover40 · 06/11/2018 22:34

I had a rabbit once and somehow the catch on the cage came undone. As you say, mistakes happen, your neighbours wouldn't have left the cage unlocked deliberately.

They probably feel awful about it and it was nice of them to offer to pay but, personally, I wouldn't take anything from them.

Iminagony · 06/11/2018 22:36

It has nothing to do with who can afford it. They were doing you a favour and made a mistake. It's frustrating, but no way would I expect them to pay.

Penguin34 · 06/11/2018 22:54

I'm surprised your landlord would let you have the rabbits and this is why.

I think it would be very awkward for your friendship afterwards if you accept their offer

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 06/11/2018 22:55

We had rabbits as children. They lived outside in a big hutch with a grass run, but in extreme cold weather we would occasionally bring them inside to a smaller hutch overnight. They would hop about the living room until bedtime, merrily gnawing on anything lying about, and digging up the carpets if we took our eyes of them for a second - my dad was always torn between a state of collapse at their mischief, and knowing it was unkind to keep them cooped up any longer than necessary.

OP, no, you can’t take the money from your friends. We have a cat in our long-term rented house. Before we got her we agreed with the landlord that we would cover any damage she caused, plus have the property professionally deep cleaned (with receipts) if we leave. We are actually really lucky in that she never claws, but she is a hairy beast, often with muddy feet, and deep cleaning will be 100% necessary. Obviously if anything was damaged we would pay without question. Our pet, our responsibility.

BackforGood · 06/11/2018 23:09

Of course there is no way the friends, doing you a favour should pay.
Hmm
I can't believe anyone would even consider this.

I too am a bit puzzled about as rabbits being unattended and carpets don't mix. Surely rabbits being shut in a cage inside without access to grass and a run, don't mix?

Berniethefastestmilkwoman · 06/11/2018 23:12

Your rabbits did the damage. Your friends were helping you out. You would be very unreasonable to say anything other than 'don't be silly. They are our rabbits.'

DianaT1969 · 07/11/2018 05:27

Is your partner odd when it comes to money? I'd be more concerned about his attitude.
You can't take money from friends doing you a favour.
Speed up the repayment of their loan.

ZoeWashburne · 07/11/2018 07:42

They were doing you a favour! If this was a commercial company that you were paying for a service, of course you should get money.

But that is not the case. You asked someone last minute to help you out. You can't get mad if it isn't perfect on their part.

Hire a proper pet sitter next time, and also let your rabbits out of their cages more!

Giantbanger · 07/11/2018 07:45

Can’t you claim on your insurance?

Giantbanger · 07/11/2018 07:46

Also, from the op, did you go away and leave the rabbits,without having a plan in place before you left for the rabbits?