Should I replace child's designer coat?

[happyrain]

DS punctured a hole in the arm of a classmate's coat while playing with a stick during breaktime this week. The children play in a wooded area so stick play is not unusual there, although I have of course had stern words with DS about stick games and being careful and so on.

Parents of coat-child naturally aren't happy. I have offered to have the hole professionally repaired but no, they want us to replace the coat. I'm guessing the coat is some sort of designer one as they want the best part of £200 from us.

Whilst I completely accept my DS's responsibility for the damage I am not sure that £200 for a small puncture hole is entirely reasonable.

Any thoughts?

I wouldn’t even be offering £50 for a replacement coat. My own dc don’t have coats that cost that much, so there’s not a chance I’d be giving away that much because someone else was daft enough to send an expensive coat to school. Even if you have a dc who only wants to make daisy chains and doesn’t engage in ‘rough play’ I think it’s ridiculous to spend £200 on a school coat, accidents happen, and you can’t guarentee who your child will be stood by on the playground.

I can't believe some of these replies. Claim on the house insurance 😂

I wouldn't do anything Op. it's a child's coat. It's normal wear and tear.
She Claus no power and This won't have any affect on you if you ignore it.

To the pp who said (bragged) about having to buy an expensive coat because they live in a wet and windy place and do lots outdoors, you absolutely do NOT!
www.cotswoldoutdoor.com/p/regatta-kids-stormbreak-jacket-C1124208.html?colour=138
Buy one of these waterproof coats, shove a nice fleece from Asda underneath it and job done!

Oh god don't involve the school! Just block and ignore, this isn't for the school to advise you on.

Repair is perfectly reasonable!

Was the other child also playing wth sticks? And hitting / pretending to hit your child as well?

Is it possible that the parents are actually more upset about the fact that your son came at their son wielding a stick and the damage to the coat is a bit of a red herring because they are more angry that their son could have been hurt?

If it was part of mutual consensual adventure play (mining sword fighting but not meaning to hit each other etc) then I don't think you need to offer anything, although the cost of mending is a nice gesture.

If your child hit or tapped the other child with a stick when they weren't agreeing to it then I think you need to pay for mending it or even replacing it.

You might manage to calm the parents down at no cost to yourself by reaching out to them, apologising or getting your son to apologise and explain that you've spoken to your son about not playing with sticks blah blah blah. Sometimes people just want their feelings acknowledged and they focus on something like a coat because they can't articulate their real problem.

If worst does come to worst, I'd want proof of purchase. They could have bought that coat off Ebay, or from TK Maxx. Or offer to source a replacement yourself and replace a used coat with another.

Don't be taken advantage of.

@HappyRain I had this exact same thing with a kid's £500 Canada Goose coat last year. No way on earth was I going to pay for the coat to be replaced. I offered and offered again and again to get it mended professionally but they were hell bent on me replacing it.

I didn't and they don't speak to me anymore! To be honest, I thought I was doing them a favour offering to pay for it to be mended because at the end of the day the coat was damaged in play not malice.

Tell them to take you on Judge Rinder

Buy him a similar type of coat from Primark? Surely he needs a coat, not £200?

Of course not, they're children at school. Shit happens, it's their choice to send them in a £££ coat

I would not pay anything.

They sent their child to school in an inappropriate coat - too expensive, not robust enough for a school playground.

Even if the coat cost £200 to buy, it was no longer worth £200 once it was worn. Second hand clothes are virtually worthless.

There is no evidence that your child is responsible for the damage. It could have happened before or after the stick play. The fact that the teacher saw the boys playing together is irrelevant.

Offer £50 max which gets a nice waterproof and warm jacket, anything more for school is plain stupidity on the parents part!

Your ds was seen holding a stick but was not seen damaging the coat. It is just as possible that he caught it on a branch and snagged it, knew his parents would go mad at him therefore pinned it on your ds to avoid getting into trouble.

DS1 came home with a ripped coat yesterday. He explained that he was blocking the goal and he didn't move when asked so another child grabbed in and the sleeve got ripped.

It would not have occurred to me to ask the parent of the child to replace.

Our school make it quite clear that if a garment is damaged on the parents own head be it. Very sensible.

By the way my (adult) technical -50 3 in one jacket with 10,000 hydro rating was £75 - £200 means paying for a name

Your offer of a professional repair is more than generous. What a cheeky mare.

My 7 year old has had a coat ripped, hat ruined and a brand new water bottle broken by other children at school this year alone. We're not that well off and these things cost money to replace, but I'd never dream of chasing the parents for a replacement, kids are kids... they break stuff.

The value of the coat isn't really the point and the finances of the other parent are indeed none of our business. You would like to think though, that if they can afford to send their child to school in a £200 coat in the first place, they shouldn't have to harass another parent for money for a replacement.

a) You don't know that this 'designer' coat isn't a £20 copy from the market.

b) Sending your child to school does not mean you are in a contract to replace other children's belongings damaged in play.

c) If you can afford to send your child to school in a designer coat, you can afford to replace it.

d) If you can't afford to replace the coat, you don't send them to school in it.

e) A professional repair is way more than I would consider offering. If they don't accept the offer, just ignore them.

f) YWBVU to replace the coat and set up expectations that other parents will do the same in the future.

Remember someone designs for asda and other supermarkets!

So DS wasn't actually seen ripping it and denies it? the other child has no reason to lie apart from that its a £200 coat with the type of parents who expect a replacement rather than repair... I actually wouldn't be so quick to doubt your DS, I've caught quite a few children lying about how things have got broken because they don't want their parents to be cross.

Offering to pay the repair is perfectly reasonable, or replacing a cheap coat (replacing some cheap coats might be less effort/money than sorting a repair) but no way would I be replacing a designer coat unless I was certain my DC had sat there and deliberately ripped it beyond repair.

Don't do it op. I sure as hell wouldn't. Then again I wouldn't message the parent on messenger asking for £200 either!! My two wear ASDA George to school/the park etc because I'm not bloody stupid.

Not saying ASDA George is crap, far from it I love their stuff, just mean it's cheap to replace if gets damaged or lost!!

I think legally youd just be liable to pay for a repair or the replacement of a similar cost ie a second hand one of similar age and condition. I'd have a look on Ebay to see how much they go for and how much it compares to cost of repair. No way would I fork out for a brand new one. Why dont they want it repaired?

This is a nonsense. If they choose to send their child into school in a designer coat, they accept the risk that it will be damaged. In any event, even a designer child's coat has relatively little second hand value. Just be firm that your offer to pay for professional repair is a very reasonable one and you won't be replacing the coat.