Do we have a case to sue?

flubdub

Annisele wrote: »

I think this is one of the situations that may end up more hassle than it's worth.

Do you have power of attorney/guardianship for your grandfather? If you don't, the problem will be that it's his watch - and so if anybody is able to sue over it, it'll be him. He's presumably not in a position to sue himself, so somebody with PoA would have to do it for him. If you don't already have PoA/guardianship, getting it will likely cost you more than £250.

I agree with McKneff over the 'take it to another jeweller'. I am however wondering whether the first jeweller thought it was impossible to repair, and so gave you an eye-watering quote so you wouldn't bother asking him to fix it?

Hi, thanks, no we dont have PoA but my auntie (my dads youngest sister) does, and she would be happy to do this for him. Tbh, it was my dad that told me the £250 estimate, and he may very well be exagerating! But I would be sure to get all of these figures correct if we were to pursue it.

McKneff

To be honest, i would wrap it in some tissue paper, keep it till Grandad does what comes naturally and let him take it with him.

No offence is meant.

flubdub

McKneff wrote: »

To be honest, i would wrap it in some tissue paper, keep it till Grandad does what comes naturally and let him take it with him.

No offence is meant.

No offence taken - I probably would too. However my dad wants it to be fixed and to keep it, not because it has value, but because of the care my grandad has shown towards it - he wants to do the same.

lincroft1710

flubdub wrote: »

However my dad wants it to be fixed and to keep it, not because it has value, but because of the care my grandad has shown towards it - he wants to do the same.

So your father wants the watch repaired so that he can keep it, rather than it be returned to your grandfather. No criticism of your father's intentions, I fully understand he wants to preserve an object treasured by his father and maintain a family connection.

What did the care home actually say when they were told about the watch being broken? Did they admit any liability or did they say it was not their fault?

If you decide to pursue the matter via MoneyClaimOnLine, I think the judge's attitude to the situation will be paramount. In effect you would be suing for sentimental value and whether a judge would be sympathetic, I just don't know. It's clearly a case where cost of repair greatly exceeds the value of the item and if you won't be awarded the repair cost, there is no point in pursuing it.

flubdub

Just a bit of an update. We have now had another estimate done at a separate jewellers (in fact, a totally different town) and they quoted £300.

Bangton

flubdub wrote: »

No offence taken - I probably would too. However my dad wants it to be fixed and to keep it, not because it has value, but because of the care my grandad has shown towards it - he wants to do the same.

- I sympathise on this one, I really do. Although I think the care home should pay I doubt I would take it down the route of suing because of the hassle. It is alot to repair but if it means so much I think you should and just accept, whilst unfair, there is not alot you can do. Do you know the actual value of the watch? Could you ask something towards the value? (forgive me if I'm being an idiot but I have no idea on the value of Timex watches).

This thread makes me sad..unfortunately holding onto items of sentiment often causes upset when they are lost or damaged but nothing does last forever.