'Take them to court': Internet sides with man who asked sister to pay for his lost scooter
The internet is supporting a man for asking his sister to pay him back because his 13-year-old nephew lost his scooter. The scenario was posted by u/ImpossibleAd6003 in the popular Reddit group 'Am I The A**hole?', where it received close to 8,000 upvotes and almost 2,000 comments.
In the Reddit post titled "AITA for wanting my sister to pay me back because my nephew lost my electric scooter?" a man started off by talking about his scooter. "Last year I bought an EMOVE Cruiser electric scooter which I’ve since modified to add more speed, a new handlebar, and some other mods. The scooter itself was not cheap, at $1500, plus mods puts it over $2000," he said.
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The Original Poster (OP) next introduces his sister and nephew, saying, "I have a sister(43f) and a nephew(13m) who I always let housesit for me while I’m out of town on business. I have pets and plants that I need taken care of and they always welcome a change of scenery." OP continued, "So I had to go on a business trip last month for a week and let them house sit. My nephew has always asked me about my scooter and I told him that it isn’t for kids because it’s extremely fast and I’ve expressly forbidden him from riding it multiple times. His mother knows about this as well."
'I was f**king pissed and asked them to leave'
OP was furious when he got back home. He said, "I come back from my trip and my sister tells me that I’m going to be mad, but my nephew took my scooter out, left it unattended and had it stolen. I was f**king pissed and asked them to leave."
He added, "I told them they’d have to replace it and my sister pleaded with me, they couldn’t afford it, it was a mistake and that he could do just do chores around my house to pay me back. I told her that it doesn’t replace my scooter. She said that any money would have to come from their vacation fund. I said, tough sh*t. Our parents have gotten involved and said that I’m taking it too far. They agree that my nephew should be punished and I should be paid back, but to take away their family vacation is just cruel and petty. They suggested a payment plan. I told them, hell no, that I use my scooter to commute to work often and that I wanted it back immediately. Furthermore, he was warned not to ride it since it’s dangerous."
OP concluded the post, saying, "Now that I’ve started to calm down here a little, I wonder if I’m being an Ahole here by being so demanding and potentially punishing everyone else for my nephew’s mistake?"
'Take them to court'
Almost 2,000 people left comments on the post, with everyone supporting the OP. A user said, "Sounds like not going on vacation would be a perfect punishment for the kid," while another agreed, saying, "OP I implore you to find new house sitters for when you go on trips like that in the future. This is such a blatant overstep, disregard, and utter disrespect of your boundaries. Your sister and your nephew knew the rules - they didn't care. Demand your scooter replaced, full mods like the one you had, and give them a date to pay it by, or you take them to court. NTA in the slightest."
'He actually committed a crime'
A third expressed, "The fact is he was told to leave it alone. He didn't. It is his fault. If it meant eating or replacing that is one thing. Vacation is an extra. And he actually committed a crime. Technically if you took to small claims court, they would be forced to replace. You do not touch things that do not belong to you. He knew this and did it anyway. He is a kid yes, but lessons are only learned the hard way."
'Actions have consequences'
A frustrated user commented, "For Christ’s sake parents need to understand that when they allow their kids to use someone else’s things, they’re liable for what happens. In this case that means when you tell your kid they can break the rules regarding a $3500 scooter, then that means you just put $3500 out of your own pocket on the line, especially since you’re going behind the owner’s back. Simple as that. Actions have consequences."
This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.