Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Original poster

I shouldn't have to pay for this right??

154 replies

picolata · 15/04/2022 09:25

Arranged to collect a second hand rabbit hutch on 4 legs. Had previously asked for dimensions but they hasn't given any.
When I arrived the lady said "I can't help you lift it as I'm pregnant." Fair enough (but would have been useful to know in advance as I would have asked someone to come with me but hey ho I didn't check either).
I said I'd give it a go and would see how heavy it was. Turns out very.. I tried to lift it but as it is big only 3 legs lifted off the floor. I pulled it towards me a couple of inches to see if it could be pulled towards the car. Turns out not and by pulling it and the leg not dragging with the hutch a nail popped out a bit. It is basically it is a very heavy hutch on 4 thin legs.
It was also going to be a tight squeeze in the car. I suggested a few things eg, if she has a screwdriver I could take the legs off and take them separately. She said she didn't.
I said unfortunately I'll have to leave it.
She said she wasn't happy about the damage I'd caused to the hutch. Given it is not brand new I'm not convinced that it wasn't already like that. Plus surely a hutch should withstand that kind of movement, it's not as though I moved it in a forceful way, just checked if it was movable. Am I being unreasonable to walk away in that instance?

OP posts:

gamerchick · 15/04/2022 10:07

So you went, broke the item and then said no thanks and walked away?

Howay man OP what's stopping you going back with someone to help?

DancingBarefootOnIce · 15/04/2022 10:11

I think you’re both at fault. She should have known by size and weight two people would need to carry it and foreseen problem but also as a buyer it’s good to check those things too. You did try by asking dimensions. Did you offer to come back with someone else or was she too confrontational to do that?

JellyBunny · 15/04/2022 10:14

I think this is a tough one OP but I can see it from your point of view. You didn't know how heavy it would be or that she couldnt help you lift it. I think if I was the seller I'd have told you that it needs two people to lift it and I wouldn't help. It is also odd she didn't have a screwdriver.

It sounds like she just expected you to turn up and take it big without thinking if the practicalities but it's not like it was a freebie. You were paying her £70.

As a side note most hutches are not big enough for a rabbit and also have you checked why she's selling as her rabbit could have died of something that could be passed on to your rabbit and it's hard to disinfect a wooden hutch sufficiently.

parietal · 15/04/2022 10:15

I don't think you should have to pay.

she should have given dimensions & said that it would need two people and been more helpful. But you could also have asked about dimensions in advance.

iklboo · 15/04/2022 10:19

I think it all comes down to how things are said. If she had troubleshooted with me we could have come to a solution but that wasn't the vibe.

What does that even mean (overlooking the fact that 'troubleshooted' isn't even a proper word).

CapMarvel · 15/04/2022 10:20

Presumably you saw a picture of it before you agreed to buy it, so would have reasonably known whether you could lift it by yourself or not.

So it's pretty shitty to turn up expecting the buyer to help you lift it into your car and then when you can't get it in the car you damage it and then drive off. Why didn't you just agree to come back with some help?

grapewines · 15/04/2022 10:28

@switswooo

The onus is on you to ensure you are able to collect the item, that means being able to carry it and to fit it in your car.

You’ve behaved very badly in my opinion.

Agree.

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 15/04/2022 10:31

Why dont you just go back with someone else and get it?

Take your own screwdriver, remove the legs (although, I dont know how you're going to get them off with a screwdriver if they have been nailed on) and take it.

Or go back with a hammer and fix it.

Parentcarerandcrazy · 15/04/2022 10:31

Personally I think YABU. I would have checked beforehand whether it would fit in your car and I would have asked about whether you were able to have a hand carrying it out / if it was a one person lift. I do get that it sounds 'shoddy' that you pulled it across the ground and it broke so easily but personally I wouldn't have risked that on a heavy, second-hand wooden hutch on legs. You did cause the damage and then walked away leaving them with a broken item, without giving them any money for it. Personally I would be sending her a message to apologise about the situation and offer to either come back with a second adult and larger car to collect it or offer some cash to pay for the damage. Regardless of how easy the repair is, she will still have to repair it and presumably this will affect how much she can get for it.

NewPapaGuinea · 15/04/2022 10:32

A popped nail isn’t “damaged”

andweallsingalong · 15/04/2022 10:34

It might be simple to you to pop the nail back in, but her attitude and lack of screwdriver suggests that it isn't simple to her and now she's stuck with a broken, devalued hutch.

Agree with PP it's on you to take someone to help lift it unless you've had a convo with the seller where they agreed to help you to the car.

Poor seller now has a broken hutch and you've done one!

crimsonlake · 15/04/2022 10:35

Tbh you should have realised it would take to people to lift it and should have planned to take someone with you to help. I also wold not be happy with you if I was the seller.

JennyJumpup · 15/04/2022 10:38

She's trying it on.Particularly as she refused your offer to fix the very small amount of damage!
Don't pay for it!

Blanketpolicy · 15/04/2022 10:38

You tried to drag a large, heavy hutch on one leg and broke it. It was your decision to take the risk and if you had thought it through the risk of damage was obvious.

If she had troubleshooted with me we could have come to a solution

🤣 You had already shown yourself to have terrible troubleshooting skills, so not surprised she didnt want to join in with you and damage the hutch further.

Your bad decision, and your action alone, broke the hutch. Either buy it and fix it, or apologise and compensate her.

FuzzyPuffling · 15/04/2022 10:41

If a nail "popped out" then a screwdriver would have been of no help.

BuffyFanForever · 15/04/2022 10:42

Don’t think she should have helped you “troubleshoot” when you actually broke it. Do think you should have paid at least half as you broke it and she would now be unlikely to be able to sell it for the same price.

Whinge · 15/04/2022 10:43

@JennyJumpup

She's trying it on.Particularly as she refused your offer to fix the very small amount of damage! Don't pay for it!

Maybe I missed it, but where did the OP offer to fix the damage?

NewPapaGuinea · 15/04/2022 10:44

If you couldn’t carry it to the car, there’s no way you were going to get it into the car!

JudgeJ · 15/04/2022 10:44

@Monsterjam

You broke it… I think you should have paid

Or offered a couple of screws to put the leg back. It sounds to have been far too heavy for the legs it was on, a decently constructed huitch can be moved without damage.

Geezabreak82 · 15/04/2022 10:45

When I advertise something for sale I always state the dimensions and if it's big I suggest the size of vehicle that is required to transport it, then I double check how the buyer is planning to transport the item before the come to collect. If it's heavy I always either tell the buyer they're responsible for getting it to the car or I make sure my OH is home to help. I do that because of an enormous carry-on I had trying to sell a double bed including a really good quality mattress when we needed to turn a spare room into a room for one of my kids. Various people came to collect it, had a look then decided it wouldn't fit in their car. One guy turned up in a corsa with the back seats down and expected to be able to fit it in. No chance was that happening, but they wanted help to get the (very heavy) mattress down the stairs to see if it would fit. Eventually someone with a van came to collect it, but it was a tiny van and they had to do two runs and fold the mattress in half to get in in so I'm pretty sure the pocket springs would have be wrecked. I tried to talk him out of it and come back for it in a proper van later, but by this point he'd paid for it so it was his mattress and his decision.

I'd probably be a bit annoyed if you'd broken my rabbit hutch, but I'd also have told you to make sure you bring someone with you because moving it was a two person job, or I'd have had told you to come when I knew someone would be home who was able to help. On balance in your position I think I would have walked away too.

PS - Shop bought rabbit hutches are rubbish quality these days and don't seem to last more than a year or so anyway. You might be better off looking for a local shed builder and getting something sturdy built to order.

AnImaginaryCat · 15/04/2022 10:47

No, no need to pay, you didn't irreparablly damage it (unless you're under exaggerating and the leg broke).

She comes across as a reluctant seller. Making all stages work. Don't go to buy things with out more information in future. Lesson learnt!!

WonderingWanda · 15/04/2022 10:48

Surprised such a small amoubt fo force made nails pop out, was it rotten? X

Applesonthelawn · 15/04/2022 10:58

I don't think you should. You made reasonable efforts by asking her how big in advance (she didn't answer) and then she wouldn't help you lift it (being pregnant is pretty irrelevant, life doesn't stop), so she did not facilitate the sale and contributed to the circumstances in which you damaged the hutch. So I think her lack of cooperation is partly to blame, and I think you just walk away and forget it.

WeAllHaveWings · 15/04/2022 11:00

@WonderingWanda

Surprised such a small amoubt fo force made nails pop out, was it rotten? X

It wasnt a small amount of force though. It was the force of the full weight of a large heavy hutch being pulled against one small joint. Doesnt matter if it was moved 1" or 6' no hutch would be designed to take that pressure on one small joint.

MrsLargeEmbodied · 15/04/2022 11:06

sounds like you had a lucky escape

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Swipe left for the next trending thread