Who pays?

[Imfinallyhappy1]

Have had my niece (11) for a day at the park. We parked and as it was crowded said to my ds and dn be careful opening car doors please.

Dn and ds acknowledged and then dn Flung open her door and has hit a gorgeous merc beside us.

We were all wtf and she said sorry I didn't think.

There was approx 5 seconds between the warning and her opening the door.

I've left a note for the car owner and taken pictures.

Dn lives with my dsis and my parents. My mum said they will pay but my dad has said he's pissed off and I should pay?

Aibu? If my kids damaged someone's property even if they were with someone else I wouldn't expect them to pay.

We should be able to take third party liability for kids, like with dogs. How mine never did serious damage to someone else's property I will never know.
In my opinion your DSis should pay but if this happened to me in real life, i'd pay as my Dsis couldn't afford it. If it runs to thousands (and it might) you will need to claim on your insurance.

@Lostinthemail

Either way I’d never ever take her with you again.

Bit harsh!

I think as you warned her then your sister should pay. If you hadn't then you pay

@Lostinthemail

Either way I’d never ever take her with you again.

🙄

I think if your sister and dad take the view you should be the one to pay for any damage your niece causes even when you've warned her, you need to stop taking your niece anywhere.

In this situation, her parents should pay, as she was warned, and is old enough to know better. If it was my child I would be paying.

@Purplecatshopaholic

Why on earth should you pay? Or have your premiums increase because your Insurance pays? She’s 11 - old enough to acknowledge her mistake, and to take responsibility for it

So, you think the 11yo should pay?

@Imfinallyhappy1. Why did you not tell her to wait and go around and hold the door for her or get her to get out the other side?

Kids don't have adult brains and unless 'trained' properly don't have understanding of how to 'be careful' or the damage they do.

Nor do all adults.

What damage was on the other car?

Oh behave. OP said watch that car. DN said yes and merrily flung it into the car.

DN made the mistake. She's a child, but this is not on OP. DNS parent should pay.

@Lostinthemail

Either way I’d never ever take her with you again.

It's her niece! You'd never take her out again because she made a mistake?? Jesus Christ.

If this was me I would pay because I was In charge. If she was older - say 15 - I might ask my sister to go half’s.

She's 11.

Over the age of legal responsibility.

What age do you suggest drivers stop opening doors for passengers?

@Butwasitherdriveway

Why on earth would your dad pay?

Why isn't DN paying?!

Where would an 11yo get that kind of money?

@Lostinthemail

Either way I’d never ever take her with you again.

That's a heck of an overreaction, she's a child who was probably excited at seeing family for what could the first time in ages.

@Butwasitherdriveway

Why on earth would your dad pay?

Why isn't DN paying?!

Because she's 11 & at a guess, not working🙄🙄

There was enough room to open the door safety and exit the car with ease.

My parents and my sister would never pay if my kids caused damaged and was in their care just as a side note.

I’m so upset with my niece and will have to see how the poor owner wants to proceed with the damage. It’s a small chip not seen unless close up however it’s still damage to a lovely car.

It could be very costly depending on the damage. My eldest is 13 and I still open the car door to let them all pile out if I’ve parked close enough to another car that it could be hit by a door. I try to avoid this though by parking further away in a quite space. I wonder if your dad is annoyed that you left a note? I have a Mercedes and someone did the same to our car and left no details. The repair was £800.

Even if it’s not done through the Insurance it won’t be a cheap fix
A guy reversed back and hit my husbands Mercedes no visible damage but the badge had come off
Cheeky fucker said we could try and stick it on
We went through insurance and the whole grill had to be replaced as there was damage that we couldn’t see .
Cost about 2k with everything plus car hire
It wouldn’t have been much cheaper if we had got it fixed without the insurance
Depending on the damage the whole door may need to be resprayed and that’s probably around £500 min especially if it’s a metallic colour
They might be able to get it fixed via something like dentmaster for £200
But if it’s leased ( which it probably is if brand new then they will want it done properly and through insurance .

@TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN so why isn't the child's own mother paying??

@CuriousaboutSamphire

She's 11.

Over the age of legal responsibility.

What age do you suggest drivers stop opening doors for passengers?

At the age or stage they can be trusted to be careful. If her parents haven't taught her how to be careful, it's not really her fault. 11 they're still pretty careless as well as clumsy & easily distracted. If you park next to someone else's car you as the adult/driver take responsibility,

Why does your dad think you should pay? And what did your sister say?
This is the kind of thing my DCs would do, unfortunately. And I would pay. But I would also not let them open the door themselves if we were that close to a car (my eldest is also 11, but clueless ). I don't think you should pay, OP. Have you heard from the Merc driver yet?

Oh fgs . You all knew I met the nieces mother

Meant!

I'm not doing well 😂

You should pay. She is 11 and in your care.

Did PP see where OP said if her children did something in her family's care they wouldn't pay? So why should she?

DN should pay. She can't. So it defaults to her parent.

[quote Butwasitherdriveway]@TheThingsWeAdmitOnMN so why isn't the child's own mother paying??[/quote]
Because the OP had responsibility for her DN at the time, not her mother.