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Money Moral Dilemma: Who should pay the bill?
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You might not have asked her to come, but giving her the key and code is a bit of an open invitation. (What on earth were you thinking?! Surely a traditionally disliked relation is one that would normally be kept out!)
That plus the alarm clearly being a poor choice on your part plus the small issue of causing massive family rifts over £50 suggests to me that you should suck it up. And try, somehow, subtly and after the dust has settled (i.e. not appearing to be a result of this) to find an excuse to change your locks and not give her a key this time0 -
putting myself in her shoes, if i'd just popped in to pick something up and messed up the alarm and had to call an engineer out, i'd foot the bill. as it was my mistake. I'd not give the bill to the homeowner. i very nearly did something similar to my parents in law when house sitting for them and was prepared to pay a call out fee.
technically she broke something in your house and should pay for it, but i guess the bottom line is the kind of relationship you have with them, and that she gave you the bill and expected you to pay. No doubt she thinks it's your fault for having a 'faulty' alarm system.. but it's your MIL, so that adds a whole other pile of... stuff.0 -
Surely when you gave her the code you showed her how to use the alarm panel? How would she know what to do if the alarm went off if you hadn't told her? Either you didn't explain to her how to use the alarm properly (so she had to look up the number, presumably from information on the alarm itself which you did not instruct her not to use) or you in fact told her how to contact the alarm company. Either way she got the information from your house. You should have told her not to do this if it was going to be a problem.
It was your choice to have an alarm system set up which cost £50 for a call out, not your MIL. It was your system that broke under normal use, not your MIL who broke it. If someone breaks something they shouldn't be using by neglect or improper use, then that's a different matter. But if your MIL was in your house to do you a favour and your alarm broke when she tried to use it, then she used information you had provided to fix the problem, I cannot see how you would possibly contemplate asking her for the money.
Would you give her £50 if the situation was reversed? How would you feel if you tried to help someone and they asked you for £50?
Perhaps you should sort out your alarm first.0 -
I use a keypad alarm at my local craft centre. I have the code legitimately and I am authorised to pop in and out, yes. If the alarm malfunctioned while I was using in a perfectly correct way would I expect to pay the call out charges? Would you expect to pay the charge if it was you? Thought not...
All the above points about MILs being disliked, why you wouldn't give her a key etc etc are irrelevant. If you gave her a key and the code then you're giving her permission to enter your house, basically. If the alarm goes loopy when she's using it correctly then why is she liable for call out and repair? If you don't want to chance this happening, don't give her the code. pay the bill, see if you can claim the repair and call out from your insurers or the alarm company, move on. Really, life's too short.Val.0 -
Your MIL should defo fit the bill, not your fault, why should you! Shocking that she has presented it to you!!! My Mother and my SIL both have keys to our house in case of emergencies BUT they would never enter unless they had asked us or if we were away and have given them permission to go in. Even if it had been my own Mother and she had entered without asking, I would still expect her to offer to pay for the call out!0
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Your mother-in-law breaks into your house and you are expected to pay fifty quid for the damage she causes? She's lucky not to be arrested.
Realistically, if you can't get the money out of the burglar alarm company for their faulty equipment, you should ask her for half the money, and tell her to be more careful in future.0 -
This just doesn't make sense! You say your mother in law came to the house to "collect something" which you must have known she would be doing, and then say you didn't invite her, but surely giving her a key and the alarm code almost amounts to an open invitation? How many times has she used key and code before? If said m-in-l is doing you a favour it would be churlish to expect her to pay for a repair to what may well have been a faulty alarm, and if you can afford an alarm system I would suggest you can well afford the repair bill.
Personally, my mother in law would have been the last person to whom I would have given unfettered access! As a mother in law myself I would never feel I had the right to walk unannounced into my daughter's house unless by arrangement and to help her out.0 -
Seriously??!! It's your M.I.L, why would you want to even begin to rub her the wrong way - you should pay for sure. How do you think your OH would feel that you even suggest it. If she started chargin you for all the baby-sitting hours & everything else you would soon get to know!DEBT FREE AND LOVING LIFE0
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There should be no bill. The button is faulty and the alarm company should fix it.0
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What? You'd actually make your mother in law pay? The button was obviously faulty so was an accident waiting to happen. If she was collecting something it sounds like she helps you out, too. I don't think you should even think of asking her to pay.0
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