Help me out here

[Oversosoon]

A long time ago, A was leaving the country and getting rid of stuff. She had a bike which she gave to B. After a while, B found she wasn't really using the bike and let C use it. After a while the bike got stolen. B asked C for compensation. C refused on the grounds that B hadn't paid anything for it herself. Who was right, B or C?

According to C the only person who should be compensated was A if she ever came back.

But that means the owner of the bike should be compensated. So once that principle is conceded... who owned the bike?

No way would I be giving money to B. That’s just CF behaviour.
If I was C I would say if compensate her for her financial loss which is £0.

Did B ever ask C for the bike back?
If she had asked for it back and then I was stolen then I guess that’s one thing and maybe they should come to some arrangement.

If B is only asking for the cash, But never mentioned actually wanting the bike, then B is being greedy and trying to cash in on her friends misfortune. Therefore nothing is owed.

If I was C I would say if compensate her for her financial loss which is £0.

It isn’t. She had a bike. Now she doesn’t, so if she wants a bike she’ll have to pay for it. I think she’s probably a complete jerk and this isn’t worth losing a friend over if the bike wasn’t worth much, but if it was worth a few hundred and she did actually own it, and she lent it not gave it to C, she’s not being completely unreasonable.

I think C owes B a bike. Doesn't matter if B paid for it or not. B is now out of a bike.

@Oversosoon

ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble Milkshake54 and Idontgiveagriffindamn I think the money element was the problem for C. B wanted financial compensation, not a replacement bike (not that C offered!). According to C the only person who should be compensated was A if she ever came back.

Yeah then B can go swing. TBH if I was C I would've offered to replace the bike but no way would I give money to B. Especially if it wasn't clear that there was an expectation of B getting the bike back.

The only reason why I would pay would be if A came back and requested the bike back, as then B would be out of pocket.

I dont think C owes B anything. If B was in need of the bike and just lent C it then C should replace it. But it sounds like B didn't want the bike so GAVE it to C. In the same way A gave it to B. B hasn't lost a bike, because she didn't have a bike.

I also dont think A should be able to come back and claim a new bike. Bikes deteriorate, unless just for a few weeks or even months, you cant expect to get it back in good condition. It sounds like we're talking years later. The bike probably just broke.

With the update that B wants money, not a replacement bike, B is a dick 🤷🏻‍♀️

I think the money element was the problem for C. B wanted financial compensation, not a replacement bike (not that C offered!)

As suspected, B sounds like a bit of a dick. B wants money even though they didn't spend money. At best they are owed a third hand (at least) bike.
B is a cheeky fucker

OP, you said "I guess I was equating the way A had let B have it, with the way B had let C have it, in other words, it wasn't a 'gift' either time."

How was it not a gift either time? Surely when A gave it to B it was a gift, wasn't it?

@Oversosoon

ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble Milkshake54 and Idontgiveagriffindamn I think the money element was the problem for C. B wanted financial compensation, not a replacement bike (not that C offered!). According to C the only person who should be compensated was A if she ever came back.

I assume you are C?

None of this matters. The question, which you have not answered, is: was the bike loaned or given to C (I'm assuming it was given to B)? If it was loaned, then B is entitled to either the bike or its monetary value. B could easily have been planning to sell the bike once she got it back from C.

If the bike was given to C, then obviously nothing is owed to B.

Until you answer the question of whether it was given or loaned, nobody ca decide who is unreasonable.

Until you answer the question of whether it was given or loaned, nobody ca decide who is unreasonable.

This.

We can say B is a money-grabbing git, but to be fair as well that might be dependent on the value and age of the bike. If it was a £700 bike clearly given as a gift to B, and clearly loaned to C (not given), then it’s no different to my sibling giving me a car, me lending it to my friend and it getting stolen. It’s still my property, however I acquired it.

If it was a £20 bucket of rust, B is a tightarse, but if B owned the bike then etc. as above.

While if I was B I would be disgruntled, no way in hell would I have the brass neck to require cash from C for something I had not bought & wasnt purchased new for me (ie something I had received for a birthday or Christmas).

If I was C I would feel terrible about what happened and would probably offer something to B but it would be an apologetic offering, not the full value in "compensation". As B if offered something I would only accept a token gesture at most (bottle of wine/box of chocs/flowers etc as peace offering).

It doesn't matter that B was given the bike for free by A. B loaned it out to C who should have ensured it was safe and secure (probably should have added it to her Home Insurance policy too). C needs to compensate B.

Hmm. If I was C, id offer (and tbh I’d offer money as happily as a bike, because it’s less faff for me!). If I was B, id refuse.

I do think given the very high risk of bike theft, the right thing to do is probably to chalk it up as ‘just one of those things’. If B had been riding it around rather than C, it’d be just as likely to have been stolen. It’s not equivalent to the analogy someone upthread gave where it was all giving/lending/stealing £10.

... although, maybe the devil is in the detail. I do think bike theft is an unavoidable risk and whenever I lock mine up somewhere I recognise there’s a risk I won’t be seeing it again. But if someone borrowed it and ‘locked’ it by locking just the quick-release front wheel to a fence or something, and it got stolen, I’d feel like ‘well, that wouldn’t have happened on my watch”, so I guess there are degrees of due care.

I wonder if B is judging C’s behaviour as a bit ‘easy come, easy go’ with bike security. That may or may not be fair...

God people are tight as fuck among friends

B and C were both fortunate to have had use of a bike without having to pay for it. Unfortunately while in Cs possession it got pinched (could have happened easily to B). B is no worse off than if they hadn't been lucky enough to have use of the bike in the first place, and yet they are going to charge a mate? I can't imagine doing this to my friends.

It's B's bike now, or was. IT's immaterial how B acquired the bike and none of C's business. C is a CF. A is a red herring.

I have just gifted my friends DD an iPhone 8 in giving this phone I am also giving her the worth of the phone. It now belongs to her, if one of her friends damaged or lost it then I would hope they take responsibility in replacing. How she came by the object is irrelevant at the point of loan it belonged to B.

No, I'm not A.

You are fairly obviously C. I don''t think you were completely unreasonable but that depends on whether B was actually the owner of the bike (in which case how they came by it was irrelevant) and whether B really wanted it back.

A rusty old bike that was being passed around amongst students, when it got nicked suddenly B wanted retail value- YANBU.

A bike which had definite value and you were supposed to return after a specific period- YABU.

I can't imagine doing this to my friends

Me either, but I've never really owned nice stuff. Now I'm a bit older and have stuff it would be a notable expense to replace I'd expect them to offer and probably go halves. I can't imagine taking money for a freebee but it's hard to be sure without details.

Thanks again everyone, and yes, I am C. I have to admit, its closer than I thought it would be in terms of replies which I find surprising.

NoIDontWatchLoveIsland makes a point that I found hard to put into words in my OP, that A didn't buy it for B as a gift for a particular reason, she just had to get rid of it and B got lucky. This is what puts a different slant on it for me. That we were both in more of an 'easy come, easy go' situation.

As I've said before, I can't answer the question was it given or loaned to me. For sure if she had wanted to use it and asked for it back I would have given it back to her, but she never asked.

As I've said before, I can't answer the question was it given or loaned to me. For sure if she had wanted to use it and asked for it back I would have given it back to her, but she never asked.

Of course you can answer the question. Did she say something like "Here you go, I don't need this any more. You can have it." Or did she say something like "I'm not using this so fire ahead and use it if you want"

If words were not exchanged during the handover, then the only conclusion is you stole it