Our current AP, who's been with us since mid-April and thank God is due to leave around the end of July, has managed to destroy our very expensive B&O cordless phone by "dropping it in the sink" while doing the washing up. We weren't here at the time and am mystified as phone is normally nowhere near the sink so unless she was waiting for a call from a friend or her mom, I have no idea how this could even have happened.
This AP has cost us more money than it would have cost to pay for a nanny, what with insane eating habits, need for us to pay for taxis to ferry DS2 to and from school because she stayed out too late to be able to drive or scheduled holidays without checking first, destroyed 2 pairs of DS1's brand new trousers by washing them with a new red shirt...the list goes on, and she remains completely oblivious to how much she's costing our family. The latest is we discovered she is about to get points on her license from being caught driving with a cellphone (this was when with her previous family), so we now have to decide whether to stop her driving altogether or fork out to pay hundreds of pounds extra on insurance.
anyway back to the point at hand...what is fair to ask AP to pay for, re this d*mn phone? The thing costs a good £400 if I remember correctly, so for us to replace it is not just a matter of a small amount. We are not rich - far from it - this is a phone we bought pre-DCs when we had more disposable income, and yet it has survived two small boys with no problems and only the advent of this AP has managed to destroy it.
AP is from a reasonably well off family and manages to pay for trips back home nearly every month, expensive English courses etc. Realise this is not the point, but honestly, what do we do here. Am just furious, and we can ill afford a £400 replacement outselves. I'm sure AP does not realise it cost that much, but again, that's not the point - she is really old enough to know better and to step up and take responsibility (which she has not offered to do, appears instead to be hoping phone will magically repair itself, which would be nice of course). Suggestions anyone?