It’s always frustrating when you know someone caused damage but won’t take responsibility for making it right.
So, what would you do if your neighbor’s kid scratched your car and the parents refused to pay for professional repairs?
Would you handle it on your own? Or would you find another way to get the issue resolved, even if it upset them?
In today’s story, one man finds himself in this exact predicament and opts for the latter.
Here’s what happened.
A month ago, I saw a scratch in my car’s paint that was deep enough to see the metal through it. That worried me because I didn’t want it to rust.
I took the car to four shops and asked for quotes for repairs. The lowest quote was $1400.
I have a dash cam that also records when the car is parked and sees motion. I saw that it was from a kid I’d seen around before riding his bike into the car. The kid was maybe 8 or so.
He paid a visit to the kid’s parents.
I went to one of the houses where I’d seen the kid and asked the family there if they knew him. They said he was one of their kids’ friends and told me who their parents were.
I went to that house and told the parents about the accident and asked if they’d write me a check to cover the repairs. They said that they wouldn’t because the price I was saying was ridiculous.
They said they were sorry, but the most they’d do was buy the paint and have the dad, who apparently would know how to fix it, do it himself. I asked if he had a job in a body shop or any experience that wasn’t DIY, and they said no. I said that I wanted professional repairs done.
After some research, he found the perfect solution.
I went home and did some reading and found out that homeowners insurance should cover accidents with people riding bikes into things and causing damage. So I saw a way to get reimbursed without having to argue with the parents.
I decided to come back the next day and met the grandmother there. I said that her grandkid had hit my car and asked if she could give me the family homeowners insurance info so I could get in touch with them and sort it out. She did, and she was really nice and apologetic.
I went to the insurance company and filed a claim and sent the pictures and info about my car and from my dash cam, and it seemed like they would reimburse me for the repair.
Apparently, the parents didn’t like his idea.
But I got contacted by the mom of the family who was mad that I went behind her and her husband’s back to talk to the grandma and went behind their backs to file a homeowner insurance claim which is making their premium go way up when they are not doing good financially right now anyway.
She sent it to my business email because that was the only publicly available way to contact me and I haven’t replied yet.
AITA?
Yikes! What an awkward situation.
Let’s see what advice the folks over at Reddit had to offer.
This person is proud of his dash cam.
Here’s someone who puts it on the grandma.
According to this person, the story is made up.
This person thinks he’s wrong for doing this during a pandemic and the holidays.
A little understanding goes a long way.
Sure, his car was damaged, but seeing as how the family is not doing well, he could’ve handled this better.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.
