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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
youvegottenminuteslynn · 15/04/2022 11:50

@WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles

YABU for all the reasons already stated. Also in any case, you should not be buying a rabbit hutch that doesn't require two people to lift it as clearly it would be too small and unsuitable for a rabbit.

If you weren't aware of that, YABU for buying a hutch that would clearly be too small. If you did realise that, you should have taken someone with you and also YABU.

A lot of people don't look after rabbits well enough, IMO and this is an example of that.

Absolutely this.

Please research the actual space a bun needs to live healthily and happily.

A hutch you can even attempt to carry as one person is nowhere close.

thecurtainsofdestiny · 15/04/2022 11:53
Laiste · 15/04/2022 11:57

Yeah, please don't keep anything in an outdoor hutch. It's miserable for anything in there through the winter and there's never enough room for anything except the smallest rodent in them anyway.

Think about it - how long would you leave your dog or cat in a wooden crate outside?

Tiredacheyandreadyforbed · 15/04/2022 12:11

So your arguments are:
She should have told you the dimensions (if you were that concerned) you should have not agreed to collect this one.
She should have told you to bring a second person to lift it.
She should have had a screw driver available for you.
She should have worked out how YOU were going to get it in YOUR car.

Now imagine you're pregnant, trying to sell an item. Hoping for a quick sale and maybe do not have the energy to go out and measure/weight the item.
You have someone agree to come and buy the item anyway, they arrive and then whilst trying to move the item, a screw comes out (and you have no idea what other damage could havr been caused).
I suspect you'd be getting a bit annoyed by this point, then you're asked for a screw driver and told it probably won't fit in their car anyway.
I'd be fuming, I cant see how you're putting any of this on her.
You've massively inconvenienced her, wasted her time, damaged her hutch and then buggered off.

TheArtfulBlogger · 15/04/2022 12:19

If she had troubleshooted with me we could have come to a solution but that wasn't the vibe

Well yes. if she had circled back and touched base with you, you could have said "basically, like, I'm sorry not sorry but let's power through this situ, and like brain storm a solution" .

Scottishnewmum · 15/04/2022 12:20

Yabu. If you broke it, you need to pay for it or fox it. You shouldn't have turned up without considering how you would lift it. That's on the buyer, not the seller.

Scottishnewmum · 15/04/2022 12:20

Fix it

BSideBaby · 15/04/2022 12:21

I don't understand why you were happy to pay £70 without checking the size of the hutch first? How did you know it would be a suitable size for your pet, or that it would fit in the car?

This kind of thing is why I'm now wary of local selling pages. More hassle then it's worth sometimes. You damaged it so you should pay OP.

BSideBaby · 15/04/2022 12:23

Also agree with others that if you thought you could carry it on your own, the hutch/cage was not going to be big enough anyway.

OzziePopPop · 15/04/2022 12:24

I wouldn’t have let you move it until you’d paid for it.

I’ve been ebaying for a long time… you check it, buy it and THEN you move it.

Op you should pay.

katepilar · 15/04/2022 12:28

If its a nail that came out than its not exactly a damage, is it.
She should have told you how big it is and that it needs two people to move it and that she cant be be the second person.
I think she is very cheeky and not being very good at communicating the sale. Possibly overridden by hormones if heavily pregnant /and I dont mean this in a bad way/.

WeBuiltCisCityOnSexistRoles · 15/04/2022 12:37

"She should have told you how big it is and that it needs two people to move it"

But anyone buying a rabbit hutch should know it should be big enough that two people are required. Otherwise they are going to be a shit irresponsible pet owner.

I also would never expect the seller to help lift something that needs two people anyway, onus is on buyer to bring sufficient lifting power.

This could/should all have been headed off at the pass (is that the right expression?) and didn't need to happen anyway. People should give proper thought to pets' living conditions.

I wonder if OP will be back to address this point.

BSideBaby · 15/04/2022 12:41

Possibly overridden by hormones if heavily pregnant

Unlikely. Much more likely is the fact the seller assumed (incorrectly) she was dealing with a functioning adult, able to make sensible decisions and take responsibility for their actions?

The type of person who's prepared to buy an unsuitable cage for a pet is unlikely to do either of those things. So many time-wasters on selling sites. Too many bad pet owners around too.

whynotwhatknot · 15/04/2022 12:48

I wouldnt have agreed to buy without the dimensions you cant tell from a picture

she obviously just wants rid of it for some cash and prob knew it was too big for a standard car

pocketbunny · 15/04/2022 12:50

Good on you for leaving it! I've sold a few things online and people show up needing help to get things in their cars...

Also, if I was selling something and it broke like that I would NOT expect the person to pay for it.

And if a hutch can't handle being slightly dragged it's terribly made!!!!

pocketbunny · 15/04/2022 12:51

Oh, but a hutch is a tiny home for a rabbit! They need heaps of room to move to be happy and healthy :)

Ponderingwindow · 15/04/2022 12:53

You shouldn’t have tried dragging something like that. It wasn’t meant to be moved that way. I do think you were responsible for the damage, even if it wasn’t in great shape.

You should never assume there will be help loading into your vehicle. Even if she wasn’t pregnant, she shouldn’t help just because she could be liable if she damaged your car. If I’m selling something big or heavy I always get it out of my house before the buyer arrives so they don’t have to carry through my space with risk of damage to my home and once they have paid they take the item from its outdoor location to the vehicle

hangrylady · 15/04/2022 12:55

YANBU. She was an unhelpful cow, anyone reasonable would have asked a neighbour to help, or at the very least asked to borrow a screwdriver. Totally feckless.

lemongreentea · 15/04/2022 12:56

YABU, rude and cheeky.

Bet you are like this all the time. Entitled and don't own up to your mistakes.

People like you make me sick. Grow up and stop causing damage to other peoples belongings with your irresponsible behaviour.

Gizacluethen · 15/04/2022 12:57

For 70 quid it shouldn't have fallen apart so easily.

If I was selling it I'd have said it was very heavy and I won't be able to help you move it. I wouldn't expect a hut h to be heavy to be honest.

I'd be annoyed if I was her but I'd also he annoyed if I was you.

Gizacluethen · 15/04/2022 12:57

I wouldn't pay for something that just needs a nail banging back in.

Genevieva · 15/04/2022 13:05

Nails don’t just come out unless they are rusty or the wood is a bit rotten or they have not been constructed properly. She will be lucky to sell unless she is honest about the description and says the buyer will need to being a second person to lift it.

SuchAsSeals · 15/04/2022 13:09

Both of you could have done better. Next time, ask the dimensions, ask if the seller can help you move it to your car, ask someone to come help you (because how will you move it when you get it home?), and bring a few tools of your own.

StoppinBy · 15/04/2022 13:12

Sounds like you should never have tried to drag all that weight against the one leg.

Sounds like it has screws and not nails?

If you ripped out the screw it's much harder to fix than a nail that pulled out a little, but even a nail if ripped right through could completely damage the leg structurally.

Any rabbit hutch that would fit in a standard car is not fit for a rabbit.

It's up to you that you chose to organise pickup without either supplied measurements or taking a tape measure.

It's also up to you to check if someone there can help you lift it although, yes, it would have been nice of her to tell you that she couldn't.

You can't break people's property and then walk away.

Either fully repair it or pay for it.

girlmom21 · 15/04/2022 13:29

Go back with someone else and buy it.

Or go back alone and fix it.

Attempting to drag a big, heavy hutch was always going to cause damage.