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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To want to pay for the cracked plate?

270 replies

PinkStarAtNight · 17/04/2023 01:03

DP and I are staying in a holiday cottage for the week. We paid around £500 for the week, its in a nice area down south.

Tonight I have accidentally cracked one of the plates. I think it happened because I put it in the microwave. I have to have my food hot in order to eat it so I microwaved the last half of my meal. This is something I do often at home and have never cracked a plate, apart from one time a few years ago with some very cheap plates from The Range. I put it down to them being cheap and so cracked easily. However, the plate that has cracked in the cottage looks like a nice one. Its one of those that are hand painted (fruit).

Anyway, I did a quick Google to try gauge the value and it seems you can get a painted fruit plate for £10. I personally wouldn't pay more than £10 for the plate in question, so when I told DP what had happened I suggested we buy some superglue when we're out tomorrow and do our best to mend it, but that we also leave behind £10 so that if they notice the crack and want a new one they can buy another plate.

DP is annoyed about the plate being cracked and it put a downer on our evening because he's stressed about us possibly being charged. He doesn't agree we should leave the £10, he thinks we should hide the plate and hope they don't notice. He says he's annoyed at my suggestion of supergluing it AND leaving behind money because he says the only reason you would superglue is if you week going to try disguise it, as he thinks we should do, so why would you also leave money?
He thinks the plate is worth more than £10. I said that if the plate is worth more than £10 they shouldn't have left it in a holiday cottage that they rent out. This made him more annoyed and he said they were trying to make the place nice by equipping it with nice plates and they don't expect people to break them...

He also got annoyed with me because when I was washing the plate, a little bit on the edge where it was cracked got washed off (I hooked it out of the sink and put it back on there, so we could superglue it). He says I wasn't being careful enough. But when the plate was on the table and he was inspecting the crack he kept picking at the bit on the edge. I told him not to and that it would cause it to come off but he kept picking. Then, when it did come off whilst I was washing it he said it was my fault for not washing it carefully enough!

I ended up coming upstairs to bed because I didn't want an argument, but am now lying on the bed listening to him walk around downstairs muttering things under his breath, one of the being 'beyond help...beyond help'.

AIBU to think he is overreacting a bit and we could just superglue and leave behind £10 as a good will gesture, or is this a bigger deal than that and he has a right to be annoyed with me and also think I'm being U for wanting to leave the £10?

OP posts:
KeepScrapingBy · 17/04/2023 20:28

I would have worried about this in my 20s too OP. I’d have been worried about getting my deposit back and I wouldn’t feel relaxed.
In the light of experience though I can see that it isn’t a big deal.
It’s best to be honest and mention it to the owner. It’s very sneaky to try and mend the plate or hide it at the back of the cupboard. Holiday cottage owners are wise to those kind of tricks. You would definitely come off worst if you did that.

niugboo · 17/04/2023 20:31

It’s a plate!

InSpainTheRain · 17/04/2023 20:33

Just message the owner apologising and say you have cracked a plate. I wouldn't offer to pay, I certainly wouldn't super glue. They will expect some accidents so should cover it as part of the cost of renting out.

Wc100423 · 17/04/2023 20:38

We holiday cottage a lot. I always take champagne flutes, a salad spinner and a griddle pan with me. You need to start a list of items that would help you like a microwaveable plate as this will ease your worries.

timetorefresh · 17/04/2023 20:45

We managed to break a smoke alarm once. In a terrace late at night. Tried to use the toaster as we'd just got in and were hungry. Previous people had left the toaster full of cheese. Black smoke billowed out. We tried to waft it away from the smoke alarm as we didn't want to terrorise the neighbours. Managed to flick the smoke alarm off the ceiling: we messaged owner but got no reply :P

Twospaniels · 17/04/2023 20:47

You’re being ridiculous. Just either leave £10 and a note explaining the break, or (as I have done several times) go to the supermarket and buy a plate.
Last holiday we managed to break a plate and 2 wine glasses, I just replaced them from the supermarket.

Nanny0gg · 17/04/2023 20:47

Does anyone ever bother to read the OP's updates?

MN couldn't make it much easier

TheRookie · 17/04/2023 20:50

I cannot believe this was a SEVEN paragraph OP 🤯🤯🤯

Newuswr · 17/04/2023 20:51

On a scale of seriousness, this issue is on the low end of the scale.

the right thing to do is inform the owners and pay for a replacement if necessary

the common thing to do (due to the lack of seriousness) might be to hide the plate or ignore it

Regardless, this shouldn’t cause arguments especially when you’re on holiday

katepilar · 17/04/2023 20:54

The way you describe what is happening make me feel he does this all the time, getting nervous and coming up with silly things like gluing and hiding a plate. Surely you pay for your you broke and move on, no need to have arguments about it.
They seem to have a pattern of hiding stuff in his family, time for him to learn better ways of dealing with accidents.

momtoboys · 17/04/2023 20:57

Your husband sounds like a overly dramatic. Plates break.

JMSA · 17/04/2023 21:04

My God, is he always such a fun sponge?!

Beadyeyes91 · 17/04/2023 21:13

Definitely this!

goingback · 17/04/2023 21:18

glad you got sorted by doing the right thing, but this thread has a full house bingo card , nutty MIL, Childish DH, phoning mummy, bonkers holiday let owners, stealth boaster (Air BnB (high end)) ,Op with a weird habitjust warm the plates or eat faster

LemonSwan · 17/04/2023 21:18

Haha this is comedy gold.

Kassalah · 17/04/2023 21:23

Don't worry, they'll have spares - just leave a note to let them know.

AppallinglyReheated · 17/04/2023 21:23

His parents recommend HIDING the broken plate? Well they're a pair of arseholes.

The annoyance of a broken plates for a cottage owner is mostly the 'now I need to replace it' and the shorter the notice of that, the more annoying it is.

The cost is a minor factor, anyone with half a brain cell understands things occasionally get broken and factors that in, or has a small charge to cover it.

Hiding the plate would be MORE of an inconvenience to the owner than breaking the bloody thing was in the first place.

I hope your DP realises his parents are idiots soon!

snowbellsxox · 17/04/2023 21:27

Don't superglue it could cause an accident with someone else. Just leave a note and a bit of cash

PMAalltheway · 17/04/2023 21:29

Could be much worse, my housemate broke a dinner plate whilst washing up. Rather than just let me know he put a pizza slice version of a dinner plate in the cupboard and hoped I wouldn't notice 🥴

Marchitectmummy · 17/04/2023 21:29

Goodness what a sneaky nasty suggestion from your OH. Do the right thing tell the owner and ask them what they want to do, or order the replacement plate and get delivered to where you are.

Deceit is annoying.

3luckystars · 17/04/2023 21:31

Plate Gate

MoreRainbowsPlease · 17/04/2023 21:33

Glad you have got it sorted. I have stayed in quite a few holiday cottages and do always worry about breaking things and loosing the deposit, but I think most cottage owners would say the deposit is really for big things not the odd plate or glass.

On our last holiday we broke a wine glass, someone's sleeve caught it as they got up from the table. We messaged the owner straight away to apologise and to ask her if she wanted us to buy a new one or should we just leave money for it. She replied saying not to worry as she kept several spares in a locked cupboard in the property and she would put a new one out on changeover day. We offered to pay for it again, but she said there was no need and she always expected the odd breakage.

diddl · 17/04/2023 21:34

Anyone else curious to see a pic of the plate-or one of the remaining ones?

Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase · 17/04/2023 21:42

Leobynature · 17/04/2023 01:19

I wish I had these problems in my life….

I couldn’t agree with you more…

Uokhon · 17/04/2023 21:46

Omg calm down (and grow up). They have your credit card details/paid a deposit so don’t try and glue and hide it (that’s just dangerous for the next person using it) or bother leaving a £10 note. Message the owner and let them know. As a previous holiday cottage owner, a heads up is appreciated rather than tying to find a replacement during the 3 hours between you leaving and the next guests checking in.

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