AIBU to not pay for something my kid supposedly damaged?

[PopandFizz]

I have a disabled son, hes a small 8 year old with autism and learning disabilities. Cognitive age is around 2 but he doesnt talk. We rented out a sensory room on weds, private rental. They take a £75 bond but the actual hourly hire is £20, we had 90 mins so I paid £30 + the bond.

We had a great time, my son is stimulated by movement and interaction so he was more interested in things he could effect. They had a lot of button triggered features that he really liked plus a glowing ball pool. As such he didnt play with one of the bigger light tube features, but I do know it worked as I turned it on initially, its on a timer (I assumed?!) So we didnt switch it back on again. It is in like a soft play surround but my son wasnt interested, didnt jump on it or similar - though if he had the soft play would suggest that it supports that. I must state he is watched 100% of the time, he has to be. I dont go on my phone and let him run about jumping/climbing etc. I have to be proactive as he is a danger to himself. He did not interact with it.

We were the last session of the day and the owner messaged me that evening to say that this tube has broken and it's going to cost £150 to fix. They were very nice about it but.. how can it be?!

I dont really know what to do. Ive replied explaining im very confused about this because of the reasons above and have asked for a photo which they said they dont have and tube is now in a skip.

So thoughts please
YABU - It must be your son so you should pay, who else could it have been?
YANBU - You shouldn't pay that much when your son didnt go near it, its a business expense.

They are a big name in our local send community but this is my first interaction wirh them. On one hand I think well they are clearly trusted locally and not pulling a fast one but on the other I think who doesnt take a photo of this type of thing.

Explain that you didn’t break it, as you didn’t play with those things.

Do they just mean it rang l wasn't working?

In which case how can it necessarily be anyone's fault

Of course you shouldn’t pay; it wasn’t your son who did it. You need to explain that to them, how you saw it working and he didn’t touch it after.

I’d want some evidence it was damaged after you used it, and that the damage was not just due to a build up of wear and tear. A light not working could be caused by a million things!

Can you rewrite your first sentence please.

I would nicely, but very firmly, rebut that it was your son who damaged the equipment, based on the scenario you have given here.

What's the point of the deposit/bind then if they're going to try and get £150 out of you
Surely they should have a camera in there for situations like these.
Just say you're really sorry to hear that but you arent liable for the damage as your child did not touch the tube, you turned it on and off at the beginning of the session and then it wasn't touched. Had a great session, thanks, blah blah

The business should claim on their insurance

Don't they have cameras? My children go to a sensory area and it has cameras

Do not pay it. Stand your ground.

If the soft play supports playing on / around it, even if your ds had had something to do with it (which I’m not suggesting that he did), then it is fwat, surely no?

Explain honestly it wasn't you, and let them prove it was. Don't fret, this will go away

I agree with pp that you stand your ground . You know your son did not touch this piece of equipment.

They are being extremely dodgy here by not providing any proof to you that the item was actually damaged and in what way it was damaged. I thought pps point about security cameras was a very good one and you should definitely ask about whether there is security footage

I have a son with LD and Autism also and we’ve spent many a hour in our local sensory room and like PP says they have cameras all over ours. Explain to them what you’ve put here and see what they say?
When I worked in a facility that had its own sensory unit we also had to book it hourly and clean it up with antibacterial spray and do a quick check of everything and record any damage, maybe the person who did the previous clean and check didn’t notice it was already broken? Either way, your son didn’t do it. Now my son 100 percent would have broken it as it took me a long time to realise that actually the sensory room was completely over stimulating him and we stopped going in the end.

i agree with PP up-thread. Its up to the company to prove their case. Saying they threw it in the skip is not acceptable. They will have insurance for their equipment so they can claim on that or write it off as a tax deductible business expense. Do not allow them to intimidate you,

This.

I'd explain exactly what you've written here. I'm all for people paying for what they break, but if he honestly didn't touch it, I wouldn't be paying.

Did you get your bond back on the day? Do they have CCTV footage?

At worst, I guess they've got your bond, but I wouldn't be paying any more.

Do not pay. They should have insurance for this.

What does the contract/booking doc say?
I'd be minded to say the truth, worked on arrival, your son (or you) didn't break it. Ask for records of checking and inspections, purchase invoice (this will give age), and replacement invoice. It's a load of boilleaux, designed to keep your bond. What's their reputation? Have you checked the reviews?

If only OP had said in her one post that she’d already done exactly that

Don’t pay and if they ask again, keep reiterating your point politely if you’re keen to go back (given they’re a big name in your local send community). I’d be surprised if they forced the issue after you said no.

As others have said these places are full of cameras so I would be asking for the footage to be reviewed because you know your child did not cause the damage. Additionally I would be asking if they check all equipment in between sessions and reviewing their policy for 'damage'.

Also it seems incredibly convenient that the item is already in a skip just hours after the alleged incident. What are the chances the company had a skip on the premise and they removed the item which I'm guessing is very expensive almost immediately after closing instead of trying to fix it.

The whole thing sounds incredibly suspicious and the burden is on them to prove you were responsible.

You've provided them your initial feedback, including that it worked when you switched it on and off at the start of play.

They haven't a leg to stand on and can't ask you to pay.

If they come back insisting.... Contact Citizens Advice....

Definitely check the terms of use, anything you signed before use.
I'd expect the spec on all equipment to be high and virtually unbreakable in such a play area.
It's unlikely that cost of any breakage are to be covered by users as this should be covered by insurance. But it's suspicious that the part has been thrown into the skip immediately, as surely it's needed for their investigation and proof.

There's such a thing as wear and tear, and I've known equipment to break on its own in such a way that's never happened previously (a glass pane shattered just because of a manufacturing weakness. It was the first time out of a trillion panes. The shatter pattern proved it.)

i think you will just have to reiterate that he didnt touch it and suggest they claim through their insurance

Agreed she should have cameras