Page 23 | To not pay £480 to fix dd's friend's phone

FarangGirl · 2022-02-19T14:17:36+00:00

Dd (14 yo) was with her friends and accidentally hit a friend in the arm. He had his phone in his hand and dropped it. Apparently it will cost £480 to repair!!! His parents want us to pay this. I think this is ridiculous. First, friend dropped the phoen, it wasn't like dd was using it. Second. If you're going to give your kid a stupidly expensive phoen, you should insure it and have a bullet proof cover. Aibu?

UnevenBooks · 22/02/2022 00:19

The cause of the event is clear, although clearly wouldn't be taken any further, your DD assaulted their friend, and as a direct consequence of this the phone was damaged

Assault implies intent to harm in some way.

Original poster

FarangGirl · 22/02/2022 03:04

Actually we haven't heard anything from the paretns since Saturday evening so we'll see. Potentially (as I suspect from the timeline) the mum hasn't actually seen the repair quote since the friend was asking for the money directly on Saturday morning on the basis that he had got a quote from Apple but didn't want to involve his parents. So possibly she's realised that her son has not been entirely honest (I don't know but I have some suspicions here given the price).

Or alternatively they're just away for half-term!

OP posts:

llizzie · 22/02/2022 03:23

has anyone mentioned that it might be a cheap/reconditioned phone and he is trying it on?

Perhaps he should learn the lesson in life that no one likes a flashy showoff.

me109f · 22/02/2022 03:41

Apologise, but pay nothing. Any parents rich enough to buy a child an expensive phone but stupid enough not to insure it should grudgingly accept the loss. They should then buy butterfingers a very cheap phone, or reactivate an old phone and use the chip from the damaged one which is probably OK. I have never broken, damaged or lost a phone (I have had 5 in 20 years), although I have on occasion sat on them or had a phone drop off the roof of my car and had to stop and retrieve it from the road. (I always buy a rubbery cover for them. My phones are always quite cheap, on a contract and I never insure them).
The parents are trying to scam you, they are trying to punish your little girl and charge you excessively for a teenage accident of no consequence. The greedy arses would have no chance of getting money from me!

ThirdElephant · 22/02/2022 03:57

I'm with you, OP. The kid dropped his phone. That's his own fault. She hit his arm, not the phone itself, therefore it was a case of him not holding his phone tightly enough. His fault.

I'd offer £50 (in writing) as a gesture of goodwill (and state that it's a gesture of goodwill in writing, with no admission of fault or liability), take it or leave it. And say they can take it to small claims court otherwise.

Ridiculous behaviour from the parents.

Frannibananni · 22/02/2022 04:16

No way the repair is that much even in TL. I’d say mother and son are CF , wait to see the quote and speak to the Dad.

Superhanz · 22/02/2022 04:46

Those saying pay half, give over. If it was my DD the other family would be told to get to fuck, and I'd consider myself fairly reasonable when it comes to things like this but if you give your teen a phone that is wildly expensive to repair, its not insured and its not in a decent cover then that's your own stupid fault. And those saying your DD shouldn't have been waving her arms around 🙄, have you old curmudgeons forgotten what it was like to be a teenager? They jump around like eejits and there's a lot of horseplay. So no, OP, you shouldn't pay anything. I think they are CFs for even asking.

Silvers11 · 22/02/2022 11:51

@FarangGirl

Actually we haven't heard anything from the paretns since Saturday evening so we'll see. Potentially (as I suspect from the timeline) the mum hasn't actually seen the repair quote since the friend was asking for the money directly on Saturday morning on the basis that he had got a quote from Apple but didn't want to involve his parents. So possibly she's realised that her son has not been entirely honest (I don't know but I have some suspicions here given the price).

Or alternatively they're just away for half-term!

I strongly suspect you are right that the son, at least, isn't being entirely honest. But as others have said, could also be the parents. The whole thing sounds very dodgy, no matter how you look at it. An expensive phone apparantly, bought outwith the Uk and a questionable 'no warranty', no insurance etc - and something else is wrong with it as well as the screen? Bet they won't have a receipt for it either? Or if they do it will show they didn't pay a whole lot for the phone, maybe second hand to begin with so they will say they don't. Lots of red flags here. I would not be paying anything at all if it were me.

I worked in Retail: Long story short. Family bought a new phone. Returned it 3 hours later saying that it was used. It wasn't even the same make in the box when they returned it. It wasn't possible. The box was completely sealed when I sold it to them. They made such a huge fuss they got their 'refund' from one of the supervisors - but I've often wondered whether their son was the one who lied and the parents believed him. So people try things on ALL the time

MinnieGirl · 22/02/2022 13:53

@FarangGirl

Actually we haven't heard anything from the paretns since Saturday evening so we'll see. Potentially (as I suspect from the timeline) the mum hasn't actually seen the repair quote since the friend was asking for the money directly on Saturday morning on the basis that he had got a quote from Apple but didn't want to involve his parents. So possibly she's realised that her son has not been entirely honest (I don't know but I have some suspicions here given the price).

Or alternatively they're just away for half-term!

Ah….. That sounds even more dodgy..

llizzie · 22/02/2022 17:56

Turkey98 Really? Is that what you would do?

For a court case to be successful there would have to be at least two witnesses testifying that the DD deliberately knocked the phone out of his hand.

HaudYerWheeshtYaWeeBellend · 22/02/2022 20:23

You think the world would be a fucked up place if people replaced, or contributed to the cost of, the items they break?

I've heard some bullshit before but this might win.

Ive seen some bullshitting in my time but think you’ve got a mediocre award as you’ve unsuccessfully twisted my words to suit your own narrative, that’s not what I said or even insinuated!

Hopefully you reached a resolution OP.

CHML1976 · 26/02/2022 18:18

Are you sure it’s broken/need repairing or are they just getting enough money for an new phone/upgrade? Absolutely, I wouldn’t pay. I’d get some quotes though and see if it really is that much. Other child should have been more careful. And most probably made out the situation was worse so they didn’t get into trouble.

10forty3 · 26/02/2022 21:53

Accidents happen.
I also suggest they're irresponsible
A. For giving a 14yo an expensive phone
B. Not putting a bump case on it
C. Not having or be willing to claim on insurance.
In any case the sun mentioned seems an unreasonably high amount. At worst the screen would be smashes.
Without an admittion of liability ask to see a breakdown of the bill ?
I'd suggest theyre taking the piss at £450

XelaM · 26/02/2022 22:20

This is crazy! Do NOT pay! Ignore the crazy posters who seem to think you owe the world a ton of money

I have repaired a brand new iPhone at Apple for a broken screen and camera (also from a fall onto pavement and stupidly I had not bought a proper screen protector at the time). It cost £169.

I have never heard of repairs of a broken screen costing £480. That's crazy even by Apple standards.

My daughter currently has an iPhone 13 and I pay insurance (only £10 per month) to avoid this thpe of situation. It also has a case and screen protector. They should have done the same and protected their son's phone.

XelaM · 26/02/2022 22:21

type*

Original poster

FarangGirl · 27/02/2022 04:01

Still haven't heard back anything from parents.
I was following up with dh who had spoken to the mum. She HADN'T gone with her son to the apple store and was basing it all on what he had told her. I don't think she wanted to be involved and wanted dh to deal directly with her son
Dd (and we agree) is now of the opinion that her 'friend' had been offered the screen replacement or the upgrade cost (as indeed you are offered both options) and decided he would go for the upgrade and demand that dd pays him for it as she 'smashed his phone'.
Dd hasn't heard from for a few days when he had got arsey with her about it. Shes back at school tomorrow after half term so we'll see if he's going to cause problems for her and continue demanding payment.
We would have been willing to pay half of the screen fixing but now I don't really want to contribute anything!

OP posts:

Hb12 · 27/02/2022 07:39

I completely agree with you OP.

MinnieGirl · 27/02/2022 13:39

@FarangGirl

Still haven't heard back anything from parents. I was following up with dh who had spoken to the mum. She HADN'T gone with her son to the apple store and was basing it all on what he had told her. I don't think she wanted to be involved and wanted dh to deal directly with her son

Dd (and we agree) is now of the opinion that her 'friend' had been offered the screen replacement or the upgrade cost (as indeed you are offered both options) and decided he would go for the upgrade and demand that dd pays him for it as she 'smashed his phone'. Dd hasn't heard from for a few days when he had got arsey with her about it. Shes back at school tomorrow after half term so we'll see if he's going to cause problems for her and continue demanding payment. We would have been willing to pay half of the screen fixing but now I don't really want to contribute anything!

Thought it sounded dodgy…. I wouldn’t be paying anything at all now. And I would also want to talk to his parents… this boy appears to be trying to pull a fast one, and his parents need to be aware of what he’s done, if he has.

TolkiensFallow · 27/02/2022 14:19

I completely agree with you OP

Hawkins001 · 01/03/2022 00:02

@FarangGirl

Still haven't heard back anything from parents. I was following up with dh who had spoken to the mum. She HADN'T gone with her son to the apple store and was basing it all on what he had told her. I don't think she wanted to be involved and wanted dh to deal directly with her son

Dd (and we agree) is now of the opinion that her 'friend' had been offered the screen replacement or the upgrade cost (as indeed you are offered both options) and decided he would go for the upgrade and demand that dd pays him for it as she 'smashed his phone'. Dd hasn't heard from for a few days when he had got arsey with her about it. Shes back at school tomorrow after half term so we'll see if he's going to cause problems for her and continue demanding payment. We would have been willing to pay half of the screen fixing but now I don't really want to contribute anything!

Sounds like he's pulling a fast one, could your dd lawer up, demand proven quotes, reference numbers for repair options, things like that ect , then if he is pulling a fast one, it may alter things ?

Original poster

FarangGirl · 01/03/2022 01:42

DD had her first day back at school after half term yesterday. The boy is still hassling her for money but haggling about it like we're bargaining in the market. First it was 21,000 baht (480 gbp) then he went down to 13,000. Now he's saying 8,000. He's even getting their mutual friends to demand the money from her. Thankfully they're all a bit WTF!

Anyway, last night DD asked me to speak with the friend about the issue. I'd rather have dealt with the parents but they don't seem to want to be involved and I'm not chasing them! So she passes the phone to me. I tell the boy that there's no point in communicating with DD about this, she doesn't have this kind of money available, that this is not her decision but ours (the parents) and that if we are going to make any kind of payment, I want to know exactly what happened, exactly what is going to be fixed and to see the quotes in writing. Kid hung up the phone on me!! However, DD was delighted and said I'd said exactly what she'd wanted me to do and that friend hung up because he doesn't really have a leg to stand on so I hope it helps her deal with him!!

OP posts:

TigerLilyTail · 01/03/2022 04:57

I don't know what the schools are like there but if he continues hassling her at school, maybe have a word with his teacher. Hopefully, that's an end to it though.

Original poster

FarangGirl · 01/03/2022 05:26

I will intervene with the school if it gets out of hand and I'll keep an eye on things with dd to ensure it's not escalating. But for now dd thinks she can handle it and it's a good life lesson to learn to deal with friends who turn out to be chancers!

OP posts:

Hawkins001 · 01/03/2022 23:23

@FarangGirl

I will intervene with the school if it gets out of hand and I'll keep an eye on things with dd to ensure it's not escalating. But for now dd thinks she can handle it and it's a good life lesson to learn to deal with friends who turn out to be chancers!

These days, cannot trust anyone really.

RockinHorseShit · 01/03/2022 23:38

That sounds excessive even for the Apple Store, DD dropped hers several times & the most that was needed was a replacement screen

Several reasons why you shouldn't pay.

Accidents happen, that's what insurance is for.

It's also what phone cases where for.

That repair cost if genuine, suggests it wasn't in a protective case. If you're going to provide your DCs with expensive phones, you spend a few extra quid on a good protective case. It's not your DDs or your fault that they haven't done that.

If it's a new phone, they will need to have it repaired at the Apple shop unfortunately or it negates the warranty.

We've given our DD newest IPhones over the years, if it gets damaged accidentally, that was on us.

They are CFs