Real-life MMD: Should friend cough up for broken iPhone?

dimbo61

My son got a paper round at 13 and saved every week to buy a PS3 and then with his own hard work a Sony 26 inch LCD TV .
He did his paper round for 5 years until he left for university.
He is now at university and still has both items along with a £269 IPod so I would expect the child and his parents to pay for a new phone.

Mouseboy007

...so many of these posts seem to highlight society's fixation with the where-there's-blame-there's-a-claim culture.

Society bemoans children growing up too quickly these days with their sexualised clothing and hi-tech gadgetry in substitution of a football and jumpers for goalposts yet the second an accident happens we're talking about blaming, claiming and treating the incident like a legal case with aggressors, repercussions, responsibilities etc. Let the kids naively play without forethought for consequence as that's what childhood is all about.

The net outcome to this incident is the same as if the kid had been larking around and slipped with no aggressor in sight. The moral of the story is 'life sucks: get used to it'.

vimes04

As a parent of boys I know that push and shove is just a part of a normal friendship. Unfortunately a very expensive gadget got broken. But.....
A) why does a 13yr old carry such a phone when he's out messing around?
did the other lad actually know he had it with him? If it was in a pocket then he may not have been aware.
c) what about getting it repaired?

I have to admit if it was one of mine I'd probably only offer to pay for a cheap, basic phone to replace it if there was no malice aforethought!

onesixfive

If it cant be repaired/replaced with similar, check if other child/parents can actually afford to contribute to/repair a replacement?
If they cant - then a cheap replacement (paid for by the other lad)may be a hard lesson learned by your son for taking our insurance on his hard-earned goodies in future.
If they can afford it then a compromise on a reconditioned one, or maybe just the excess on your own insurance, to obtain a new replacement (with insurance this time), - thereafter its up to them how they deal with their sons behaviour towards his friends, which leads to large bills for them & how they recoup their costs.

slinkswell

Oh dear dilemma dilemma. Firstly why would a 13 year old even if he saved up for it have an iphone, just asking to be mugged. Secondly friends do not just push you into a river for no reason and thirdly it was most probably a case of shoving, which boys their age do. Now the way I see it is if you as a parent were silly enough to allow him to have this phone as a one upmanship, is he a broker or an entrepreneur that he needs such a device? He obviously bought the phone with money he received from you his parents plus birthday and christmas money he saved which means he was 11 years old when he lusted for it. Where as the other boy being a normal everyday little chappie spent his money as a 11-13 year old, buying a load of old junk as adolescence boys do. I cannot for the life of me see how you would expect this boy to pay for something that was clearly tomfoolery as you do not mention an assault charge against the other boy. Put it down to a lesson that was learned, You do not let a 13 year old have an expensive device like an iphone!whether he paid for it or not!!!

sultryabyss

I don't think you should go guns blazing into an arguement that will be awkward for you and the parents, and between your children who have to attend school together. That should be left as a last resort and you may end up paying out more in fee's taken doing the whole 'summons' thing. Explain the situation politely and that you would like her son to front up some towards a new phone. Play on the fact that your son saved for TWO years for this phone too. If she laughs in your face and refuses then take it to the next step.

onesixfive

bogwart wrote: »

Some people seem to be complaining that a 13-year old should not be carrying a mobile, but these days it seems par for the course. In any case that is irrelevant - what matters is that the other person caused damage, and that should be reimbursed. If this was a case of a bicycle or something more mundane I suspect a lot of the moaners would be keeping quiet about it.

I think they are pointing out that its a top of the range mobile - almost every 13 year old has (and should have - for safety reasons) a mobile. Most have basic - some, like him, had saved for better.
We are not saying Bicycles are mundane. But like most hi-tech items, there is a spiralling cost that is attached to them. Obviously whatever the cost, the 13 year old's life should not have been put at risk by him being pushed into the water. But that would not have rendered a bicycle unusable, whereas most IT items will be. Unfortunately without its own insurance, the excess on his parents policy, did not truly cover the cost of replacement.

Primrose

I'm not sure why any parent in their right senses would bow to the pressure to buy an iphone for a 13 year old, but I'd contact the parents, inform them this might be viewed by the police as assault if it were reported, but you will not do so if the offending child is disciplined and a cheque for a replacement identical phone is forthcoming within 48 hours. Then, if your child must have a phone, buy him the cheapest one available on the market.

milvusvestal

I appreciate your that son will have taken care of his 'phone, but these things happen and it might be a lesson to him not to get into such a situation again. That's difficult, I realise, as virtually all children carry a phone with them nowadays.

Likely as not, it was a stupid prank by his friend as he could have endangered your son's life, but the best you can hope for is that the relationship is sufficiently strong to persuade the lad in question, or his parents, that he should offer to go halves. Beyond that, there isn't much else you can do. As you rightly point out, an insurance claim is out of the question - quite apart from the fact that the excess is more than the cost of a new 'phone, your insurer takes claims into account, thus increasing the premium next year.

41_and_i_know_it

Hi there. I have a 24 year old step-daughter, 19 and a half year old stepson, 8 year old daughter and son who will be 6 in December.
I still don't know the answer even though I'm 41 and therefore I am trying to imagine what I would do if my son was in this situation.
If my 13 year old son had thrown his friend into a river, I don't think most boys would say 'have you any valuables on your possession?'. Same for the other boy, he may have fallen in too and they may have had their school bags, watch etc.
End result :- broken iphone, whose fault the boy who threw him into the river.
The parents must cough up to cover the cost of repair or new phone, the £50 from selling to go to them once them provide new phone.
Imagine if your son had thrown him in the river, would you be so willing to pay for the iphone. All children at some point face these things and it is important to learn that actions do have consequences good or bad. If his parents refuse to pay, they ask them why and if they have any alternative solutions. No point involving police or law as he will probably say they were both mucking about.
I feel so sorry for your son after 2 years of saving and then this happens but he probably values this friendship just as much or more. Hopefully the boy realises and is remorseful for his tomfoolery but nevertheless the phone needs replacing. Thank God no-one had a head injury or drowned, but the boy needs to know that he has to account for his actions.:(