I've done something very stupid

[Coldcoffeekindamorning]

I don't have a fancy phone, it's a Samsung galaxy a34 or something like that and I've had it for years. I had a big crack in my screen for a good while now but hey ho it still worked. Last week I dropped it twice in one day (butter fingers!) and the screen cracked so it felt like a section of the glass had shattered but the screen was still working. I thought, right now I should make a claim on my phone insurance so I called up and got a new one sent out for £50 (upgrade would have been >£150).

It arrives, I take it out the box to set it up and realise that I must have put a heavy duty screen protector on my old phone and upon removing it, the screen is not bloody cracked. I call up my mobile insurance and they won't allow me to return the new phone as I've opened the box. I now have to send a phone back to the insurance company otherwise I get charged. I'm such a bloody idiot. Imagine just throwing away fifty quid right before Christmas. I'm so bloody annoyed at my own stupidity!

I would've still replaced the old phone as like you say, you've had it for years.
I like being careful with money but perhaps not to your extent

Do you have an older child who wants/needs a new phone? If so could you return £50 worth of their Christmas presents and give them the phone in its place?

Otherwise are you allowed to sell it?

It was a very old already cracked phone and it would have needed replacing soon. Now you have a brand new phone for £50! Put a screen cover on it and a good robust case. Win!

Sorry am I being dense?

I call up my mobile insurance and they won't allow me to return the new phone as I've opened the box. So you have to keep the phone?

I now have to send a phone back to the insurance company otherwise I get charged. So they will let you return it to avoid the £50 charge?

Sorry I am really not understanding...

Your old phone now belongs to the insurance company so you’ll have to send that one back. It’s a pain. We found a phone once after reporting lost to insurance and the same happened but luckily we declined the delivery so they just took that one back. If we had accepted and opened we would have had to keep it.

So if you now accidentally drop the old phone, minus its screen protector, it’ll crack and you can send it back? I’d imagine 90% of people would do the same, even if they say they wouldn’t.

Just drop the old phone and send it to them

I wouldn't because I don't lie

Don’t think she even needs to drop / crack the old phone, she’s already explained what happened and that it’s not really damaged.

Whether it’s damaged or not she needs to send it back.

Op, send the old phone back and move on. Your phone was old, you now have a new one £50. I know it’s frustrating but there’s no point ruminating over it.

I don’t think anyone will be deeply checking the phone to make sure it’s cracked, just send the old one back and keep the new one! An early Christmas present for you

I don't understand this either. Are you keeping the phone or not?

Least you had that. I thought id only cracked my screen protector. Went to change it and it was the screen

The OP thought her phone was damaged. It's a not very good model but to upgrade would be £100 more than to claim on insurance.

The insurance company sent out the new phone and OP opened it. She then realised that her old phone (same model) was thicker. She realised that the old phone wasn't broken, it was just a cracked screen protector.

Because she had opened phone 2, the insurance company won't cancel the claim. So she now has to send back the perfectly well working phone 1. So she is £50 down for effectively the same phone.