How much to pay neighbour for theft

[tippietoppy2]

We live in London in a converted building where there are several flats. We had some guests over to the communal garden, and during the visit one of our guests must not have secured the side gate properly (for a max of 30/45min). Our neighbour later said their bike, which they had secured with a bike chain, got stolen (they told us thief cut through chain with bolt cutters).
We were very apologetic to our neighbour, and asked if we could contribute towards the bike. Our neighbour has sent us an invoice for the bike purchase of £525 from 2017 and their bank account. They asked us to send them £550 to buy the current model.
We feel terrible their bike got stolen. We want to be a good and considerate neighbour, and want to contribute financially towards the bike. But TBH I was shocked by the amount they are asking for. We were not expecting to buy them a brand new bike. It's not like we stole the bike ourselves. We are not familiar with the bike involved, nor seen a police report for the theft.
We have not even bought brand new bikes for ourselves or our kids ever, always purchasing our family bikes (and even our children's buggies) 2nd hand. We also don't have the budget to pay them £550.
Our neighbour is evidently extremely wealthy with multiple kids in private schools (we are an ordinary family with kids in free state schools). Possibly they might not understand £550 is a huge amount to a normal family.
How much is fair and reasonable to pay towards the neighbours stolen bike?
a) £550
b) £275 - half the price of another brand new bike
c) £250 - full cost of a 2nd hand bike (eg buy same model on ebay/gumtree)
d) £125 - half the price of another 2nd hand bike
e) see if they can claim it under their home and contents insurance, and we contribute towards the excess. The bike was chained right outside their front door. Although I suspect they probably didn't report the theft to the police
f) £100 - goodwill gesture
Any other idea's or suggestions appreciated. Would like to try to resolve it so we all feel comfortable and happy.
PS The Freehold building insurance doesn't cover personal property

Their insurance excess is sufficient.

If the thief wanted their bike that much they would have climbed over the gate anyway - bikes can be stolen to order

Bike aren't always covered on insurance and also they would have to declare a claim so would face price increases on there policies for at least the next few years.
For £525 the bike must be a pretty reasonable spec I wouldn't want to be palmed off with some shit £100 bike .
The fact there well off doesn't mean you shouldn't pay .

£0

they brought bike chain cutters so were certainly ready to take it. Doesn’t sound to me like an opportunistic theft

That's a good point.

Why did you offer money their bike was stolen.

I would go back with.
Sorry 😐 we had no idea it was so expensive, I think you will need to use your insurance to claim. We thought it would be circa £100.
Please give us a copy of the police report and your insurance excess and we will hopefully be able to cover that.
Kind regards

Next time this happens, do not offer to pay.

As it is a communal garden, your neighbour should be aware that the garden is not guaranteed to be secured at all times.

They should have insurance for the bike, and claim on it. It is not your fault - you didn't steal it!!

Do not offer anything. Refer them to their insurance company.

It sounds like you’re not even sure if one of your guests left a gate open or not, never mind the chances of someone coming passed with a set of bolt cutters with them in that short amount of time. I think you’re being taken for a mug. If the bike has genuinely gone missing while the gate was unlocked it certainly wasn’t chained up. People do not routinely walk round with a set of bolt cutters.

If they have insurance, offer to pay the excess for them. If they DON'T have insurance, tell them to jog on... If they're keeping the bike outside, in shared housing, in central London, with no insurance, they are CFs of the highest level

A bike that valuable left outside should have had multiple locks on it. Especially in London (where I understand that bike theft is common).

My cheap bike is locked in a shed, locked (using a d-lock) to another bike, which in turn is locked (using a d-lock) to a wall hook (secured with special screws). The bike is also listed as an item in our contents insurance.

It's not your fault the bike was stolen. If a bike thief came by with bolt cutters they would have had a plan to get in and steal the bike regardless of whether the gate was open or not.

I'd make a small gesture. £100 would be the absolute max I'd consider.

I'd pay nothing unless I had proof it was stolen and my actions played a part in it.

What if they were inside fuming about the fact that you had guests in the communal bit and then plotted the whole thing? They might scam people all the time - how well do you know them?

Don't just give them your money.

Just offer them the excess on their insurance policy. If it isn't insured then tough - their loss.

I wouldn't have offered to pay anything. A sincere apology that your friend didn't lock the gate would have been what I would have offered.

How can they be certain that the bike was even stolen in that 45 minute period?

Also, if the flat is shared between several flats it might not have been your guests!! You owe nothing. They do not have a leg to stand on in asking you for money. They are CFs.

Yes I agree with @SciFiScream. They were very lax with said very expensive bike... almost waiting for it to be stolen

I would personally pay £0 and agree with PP’s suggestion of saying you checked with the guests and they didn’t leave the gate unlocked.

Insurance is unlikely to cover them if it was left in a communal garden overnight. Mine certainly insists on it being indoors AND locked up each night - can only be chained up outside for a few hours at a time.

Unfortunately £500 isn’t that much for a brand new bike - it’s an entry-level Specialised/Giant hybrid or road bike. But yes, you don’t expect to get new-for-old off a neighbour.

Could there be a chance it was nothing to do with your guest ? If indeed it’s been stolen at all ?
Nothing to do with you really IMO, but as you’ve already offered and your got to live by these people I would contribute 50% of the cost and a copy of an advert selling the same model. End of discussion about bikes.

They were taking a risk as it was leaving in a communal garden.
I would say you're sorry but say they need to claim on their insurance

Bike locking technology has seriously improved since I last had a bike as a teen!

I wouldn't give them anything , that's what insurance is for .
They need to report to the police get a crime number .
If someone stole the bike why should you be out of pocket of £550 you didn't steal it . Insurance will cover it if they are insured and if they are not kinda there fault to have a £550 bike .
Also did you see the chain cut off ?
I mean if it was a opportunist who saw the gate open would they actually have chain cutter implement with them ? Sounds odd to me

There’s absolutely no way I would pay, or have even offered to pay.

Your guest left the gate open ...this isn’t on you.

Further, where is the police report?

What is to stop the neighbours claiming on insurance and then getting cash from you?

They want more money for the latest model. I would query this, as to why they want you to pay more than they originally paid for a second hand bike.

Then I would say, we simply don’t have the financial resources to pay that sum.

You offered, so I would pay £100 only.

Have you checked Ebay/Gumtree to see whether your neighbour someone is trying to sell the ‘stolen’ bike, @tippietoppy2? 🤔

Claim on your insurance?

I'm with Mummy2017.