property damage question

[Indiana Mike]

Long story short.

My 13 YO son spent the night at a friends house .

HE took his nexus tablet with him .

His friends little brother,who is 8 years old ,took it and ran around like a maniac before smashing it to pieces.

The mother said she would replace it . I had a hard time believing it and sure enough they have all but vanished . Won't answer phone calls or emails .

I am sure their homeowners would pay and it most likely wouldn't affect their rates or insurability.

Am I out of line asking for re-imbursement?

These are not poor people by any means,not ultra rich but middle class or higher.

 

[jrthebassguy]

Absolutely not. I'd take her ass to small claims court if she doesn't pony up.

 

[JimB52]

Their homeowners policy should cover the loss. They may not want to, but they will if you can get in touch with them.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

Eh, it's a toss up. Your son probably could have been more protective of his stuff (ie. left it at home, didn't let it leave his sight, kept it in a backpack, etc...), but even then stuff can happen to the most cautious of us. I'd pay them a visit in person sometime when you know they're home and would, at a minimum, ask for them to at least cover half of the costs. That, or if it's possible have the little kid do errands for you around the house for a week (help shovel snow, rake up any leaves still on your yard, help pick weeds when they start coming up, etc...) as a way for him to learn not to take what isn't his and then break it. Or you can go the insurance route. Either way, you have options.

 

[msact]

The cost of the tablet will likely be under the deductible, so insurance will probably not be much help in this case. My deductible is $1000, which I believe is standard for most HO policies. You are probably better off pursuing it in small claims court.

 

[Indiana Mike]

The cost of the tablet will likely be under the deductible, so insurance will probably not be much help in this case. My deductible is $1000, which I believe is standard for most HO policies. You are probably better off pursuing it in small claims court.

unless I'm mistaken in cases of liability the deductible does not apply . This comes from a family friend who ran into a car with his body while jogging . His homeowners paid the claim 100% no deductible

 

[1958Bassman]

Long story short.

My 13 YO son spent the night at a friends house .

HE took his nexus tablet with him .

His friends little brother,who is 8 years old ,took it and ran around like a maniac before smashing it to pieces.

The mother said she would replace it . I had a hard time believing it and sure enough they have all but vanished . Won't answer phone calls or emails .

I am sure their homeowners would pay and it most likely wouldn't affect their rates or insurability.

Am I out of line asking for re-imbursement?

These are not poor people by any means,not ultra rich but middle class or higher.

If she won't answer, I'd go there and camp out in front of the house, until she comes out. Your son may have been able to keep it out of the little turd's hands, but at 8 years old, he should know better.

 

[msact]

unless I'm mistaken in cases of liability the deductible does not apply . This comes from a family friend who ran into a car with his body while jogging . His homeowners paid the claim 100% no deductible

My bad. You are right on that. The next thing to do is to try to find out who is the insurance company and file a claim. I wouldn't count on the other party doing so.

 

[lowsideonacurve]

You may have to claim the loss through your home owners ins. I was told by my agent that if I had house guests and my house was robbed, my ins. wouldn't cover my guests property, their own ins. would have to take care of them.

 

[Eric Perry]

I'd do two things... I'd hold the family of the 8-year-old accountable, but I also wouldn't replace the tablet for your kid. He needs to learn responsibility. Not protecting the tablet had consequences.

Which leads to my next statement... A 13-year-old with a tablet???

 

[fourstringdrums]

I'd do two things... I'd hold the family of the 8-year-old accountable, but I also wouldn't replace the tablet for your kid. He needs to learn responsibility. Not protecting the tablet had consequences.

Which leads to my next statement... A 13-year-old with a tablet???

I don't know if I'd judge the 13 year old for having to learn responsibility since we don't have all the details. I know that my 8 year old nephew is responsible enough that I wouldn't expect that he would destroy a tablet if getting a chance to use one.

 

[i_got_a_mohawk]

I'd do two things... I'd hold the family of the 8-year-old accountable, but I also wouldn't replace the tablet for your kid. He needs to learn responsibility. Not protecting the tablet had consequences.

Which leads to my next statement... A 13-year-old with a tablet???

I agree with this.

Get them to replace it, boom, new tablet for you Mike!

 

[DwaynieAD]

your kid broke it. he doesn't want to get in trouble.

 

[MatticusMania]

I'd do two things... I'd hold the family of the 8-year-old accountable, but I also wouldn't replace the tablet for your kid. He needs to learn responsibility. Not protecting the tablet had consequences.

Which leads to my next statement... A 13-year-old with a tablet???

My 16 year old niece got one from her school. Theyre replacing textbooks with tablets apparently. She also has to complete and turn in her homework using the thing.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

I don't know if I'd judge the 13 year old for having to learn responsibility since we don't have all the details.

+1

But keep in mind, this is TB OT, where blaming the victim is often the M.O.

On a lighter note, I laughed with Bassman1958 called him a "little turd."

 

[Icey101]

small claims court you can usual represent yourself? and most judges will see your point so make sure you gather evidence of whats left of it, witness names etc

so go to the effort and do it

 

[Indiana Mike]

I'd do two things... I'd hold the family of the 8-year-old accountable, but I also wouldn't replace the tablet for your kid. He needs to learn responsibility. Not protecting the tablet had consequences.

Which leads to my next statement... A 13-year-old with a tablet???

yeah ,I know .

Im divorced and have him 3 days one week ,4 the next .

Mom took him out to buy it with his money that he saved

I told him not to take it to school or other events as I was sure it would end this way eventually.

I told him if they don't replace it I won't either as i had warned him about this type of event.

BTW ,they carry netbooks now instead of books ,they have a few books but not very many .

 

[hbarcat]

This is an easy one. The little brat broke your son's property and the brat's family owes you the fair market replacement cost. Period.

They originally said they'd pay but have apparently decided to brush you off hoping you'll go away.

Since repeated attempts to contact them further have been ignored it is time to go to your county courthouse and file a small claim. This will cost you about $30 in most places and you'll have to fill out a couple of forms. That's all there is to it.

You will be given a court date for you and your son to appear and the brat and his parent(s) will be summoned on the same day. NO lawyers are permitted by either party and the judge will simply ask the plaintiffs and defendents for their version of the story and then make a decision. Judges in these cases are usually very good at determining who is telling the truth and who is lying or being evasive.

The entire court session should only last 10 minutes, if even that. If the judge rules in your favor, the brat's parents will have to cough up the cash or else be in contempt of court.

 

[metron]

I may be wrong but for HO insurance, if its your damaged property your policy is responsible. My tree fell on my neighbors car in a wind storm and my insurance said its entirely their problem unless my tree is obviously dead and therefore a hazard, which it was not. So would have to prove they were negligent. Most likely they will not care that some kid took it and broke it. If thats the case then its about the deductible, likely $500 or more. Also 2 claims in 5ish years make most rates go up so if you have another issue you need to put a claim on in 5 years, it will get messy.