Damages

[Chocaholic4672]

Last week my 16 year old son, had a few friends over watching the football. I was held up in work and DH stuck in traffic and we were late home.
Things clearly got a bit lairy and they had drunk a few beers and broken some panes of glass on a neighbouring greenhouse.
I apologised and said that the damage would be paid for. My son didn’t do any damage it was his friends but nevertheless I said him and his friends had to work out who was paying what once we knew how much.
The bill comes to approx £50 but the letter says that along with paying for the replacement panes they want compensation paying to a charity and have asked for a donation of £120 and want a receipt as proof of donation.
The boys are 16 and so clearly they won’t be paying it’ll be the parents. I don’t have an issue paying for the damage but compensation as well? AIBU.

The neighbour could say I have a pet that will rip its paws on glass therefore the lawn/ land needs hoovering. My crop of veg is inedible it has glass in it, now I will have to buy the veg instead. He could have employed someone to replace the glass- tiny job but factor in builder drives from home, does job it all costs money. They’ve not mentioned the hassle factor or started down any roads of I cut my finger on the glass your friends broke ( although hard to prove it would open a nightmare of investigation). The amount he wants l’d, snap his hand off but maybe do and keep a copy letter stating exactly what’s been agreed , apology once again, glad it’s all sorted now etc for your records

@Tiredmumno1

I always thought that to get compensation you will have had to suffer some sort of monetary loss, which in this situation they obviously haven't. I think paying for the damage and as a pp says a little gift to say sorry.

I think it is a ridiculous and an odd request from your neighbour.

This

Maybe they're trying to teach both you and your son a lesson. That being, for he and his mates to act the big lads with a couple of beers and wrecking his greenhouse whilst mummy runs along afterwards apologising.

They want a donation to charity, not to themselves. If you wanted to teach your son any sort of lesson in life you'd have him pay it immediately. At least he will have no beer money for a week or two until he decides to vandalise a neighbours property again. You should be thankful he didn't ring the police.

As pp have said I think the neighbour is only accounting for the cost of glass, not the cost of cleaning/replacing plants etc. They probably felt it was better to ask for a charitable donation as it seems a nice compromise - something good comes out of it and you don't feel like they've fleeced you. You're under no obligation of course but considering you live next to them I think it would be a nice gesture, as well as potentially a way to get the boys involved to realise how much these spaces can mean to people (could ask them to research relevant charities for example). Your son might not have been the one to kick the ball but this will be an important lesson to him I imagine, for better or worse you're judged by the company you keep.

@JamieLeeBee

Maybe they're trying to teach both you and your son a lesson. That being, for he and his mates to act the big lads with a couple of beers and wrecking his greenhouse whilst mummy runs along afterwards apologising.

They want a donation to charity, not to themselves. If you wanted to teach your son any sort of lesson in life you'd have him pay it immediately. At least he will have no beer money for a week or two until he decides to vandalise a neighbours property again. You should be thankful he didn't ring the police.

Clearly you didn't read the thread properly. The police were called. You sound awfully condescending

Since it’s an oddly specific amount I’d assume this compensation figure came from somewhere like plants/ seeds damaged. I suspect they thought they were trying to be fair in having it donated to a charity rather than seeming to personally profit off it. The boys got off somewhat lightly as the bill could’ve been a lot higher so I’d pass the figure on to the young men to deal with.

@Peoniesandpeaches

Since it’s an oddly specific amount I’d assume this compensation figure came from somewhere like plants/ seeds damaged. I suspect they thought they were trying to be fair in having it donated to a charity rather than seeming to personally profit off it. The boys got off somewhat lightly as the bill could’ve been a lot higher so I’d pass the figure on to the young men to deal with.

Eh No...

they have already paid for the Damage. 🌸

Is it a donation to the allotment association?

Also, the people saying get them helping on the allotments - this is more of a punishment for the plot owners! They’d need supervising and hand holding, they aren’t going to be instantly helpful, allotments are a labour of love for most people.

I think they are changing their arm a bit with a compo, I’d be more inclined to pay for the glass and Chuck them a bit more for the inconvenience

Things like this is why Germans have 3rd party insurance to cover damages caused by members of their family.

Of course you don't have to suffer monetary loss to get compensation, what a weird thing to say.

It's a lesson learnt, and whilst you son wasn't involved, the other children evidently do need patenting.

@QueenBee52 I have an allotment and being close to the boundary have had occasional damage from lobbed items.

Glass damage is fairly cheap to repair. What can also be lost is the time/effort spent on raising plants from seed. If I were to lose the plants in my greenhouse because of someone's thoughtless actions I would lose not just the plants themselves but their harvest. For many allotmenteers that can be quite significant.

[quote GnomeDePlume]@QueenBee52 I have an allotment and being close to the boundary have had occasional damage from lobbed items.

Glass damage is fairly cheap to repair. What can also be lost is the time/effort spent on raising plants from seed. If I were to lose the plants in my greenhouse because of someone's thoughtless actions I would lose not just the plants themselves but their harvest. For many allotmenteers that can be quite significant.[/quote]

absolutely.. but that's not what happened here.. they were asked to pay to repair the damage and they did..

asking for a further financial payment to be donated elsewhere is not appropriate. 🌸

Sorry pay for the glass but £120 compensation, they are having a laugh

It’s a no from me and that would be conveyed to the neighbours

However the boys would be paying via pocket money etc

@JamieLeeBee

READ THE POST

Her son did not vandalise anything

Now you be big enough to apologise to the op for your nasty posts

It’s a shame the 16 year olds have been stupid, but it’s being replaced. I’d tell them to take the compensation up with the parents of the kids involved.
I agree a better ‘punishment’ would be the repair plus get the 16 year olds to do some weeding / painting type chores at the allotments instead.

It is possible that the plotholder realised that nothing could be done about damaged plants. I did a quick google and could find none of the things I have in my greenhouse available now. They may have suggested that a donation to charity would be a suitable 'compensation' for the loss of this year's plants and the expected harvest.

No way would I want a bunch of unwilling youths doing their penance on my plot. This time of year is harvesting, hoeing, tying up plants as they grow. That takes knowledge and practice, not some grumpy 16 year old who has already shown they thought it would be a lark to damage my greenhouse.

One of the hardest lessons people have to learn is that sometimes 'sorry' isnt enough. If plants have been damaged then the plotholder is having to write off this season.

At the very least, I trust none of them will be let watch the football tonight.

If plants have been damaged that should have been costed in to putting everything right along with the glass
Your son cleared everything up.
They are projecting their own opinion of a suitable punishment.. I'd ignore it and just say you are dealing with it