Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The families have an established procedure. They have a separate shed we’re families member place things that shouldn’t be shared. There is nothing rude or problematic about this.

Everyone respected this rule except the cousin who was tempted by the expensive board. Who knows maybe this cousin is a big jerk and just helps himself to the stuff he isn’t supposed to use all the time. He got caught and destroyed something that he shouldn’t have had anyway.

Not to mention, f my kid or guests kid destroyed something that was in the communal living area I would replace that item. This is a family home not an Airbnb with a security deposit.

.

+1 Cousin has been brought up by his mother to think he doesn’t have to play by the rules and is entitled to use other people’s property. Shameful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leave it to DCUM to remind us yet again how entitled and disrespectful people are. What about basic respect for someone else’s property? If my child or my guest broke something, I would replace it, and I wouldn’t start out with some BS depreciation offer that I pulled outta my butt. Instead, the DCUM apologists go off on the cost of the boogie board, who owns the house, whether or not OP should leave something there, etc. That’s not the point. It’s not like these are random family members. Have the same respect for OP and her possessions that you’re demanding she have for the cousin. They’re both permitted to use the place and leave things there, per house rules. Or do you people all just assume the rules aren’t ever meant for you?

100% this. the entitlement on this thread is disgusting. OP has every right to have the boogie board replaced.
and for those questioning the cost. my son has a $300 boogie board. Night and day compared to a $30 version.

It’s a boogie board FFS. People who pay that much for a GD boogie board, regardless of its alleged “performance “, and then complain about the cost to replace it are assholes.

OK. So if someone steals a Porsche, they should only pay the replacement value of a Toyota, because people who buy Porsches are assholes. Makes PERFECT sense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Leave it to DCUM to remind us yet again how entitled and disrespectful people are. What about basic respect for someone else’s property? If my child or my guest broke something, I would replace it, and I wouldn’t start out with some BS depreciation offer that I pulled outta my butt. Instead, the DCUM apologists go off on the cost of the boogie board, who owns the house, whether or not OP should leave something there, etc. That’s not the point. It’s not like these are random family members. Have the same respect for OP and her possessions that you’re demanding she have for the cousin. They’re both permitted to use the place and leave things there, per house rules. Or do you people all just assume the rules aren’t ever meant for you?

100% this. the entitlement on this thread is disgusting. OP has every right to have the boogie board replaced.
and for those questioning the cost. my son has a $300 boogie board. Night and day compared to a $30 version.

It’s a boogie board FFS. People who pay that much for a GD boogie board, regardless of its alleged “performance “, and then complain about the cost to replace it are assholes.

Anonymous wrote:So much to unpack here!

First, who knew $275 boogie boards exist!

Second, for that price, I assume it is fiberglass not styrofoam, so how the heck did a little
kid break it?

Third, if I were that kid’s parent, I’d be racing over checkbook in hand to replace it, where is that parent in this story? I admit I’d be shocked at the cost of the boogie board, but man that must have been some rough play by the kid so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯!

Fourth, in the cousin’s shoes I’d have offered to fully replace the board. The fact that he offered half makes me think he knew what an expensive board this was (otherwise, wouldn’t he just have picked up a new one for $30 when checking out at harris teeter?!). The “house rules” were clear and I bet there is lots of history with the cousin stepping on toes.

Fifth, aunt should myob!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cousins and parents of the brat who broke it should split the full replacement cost.

Here’s what: replacement cost of a USED item is not a NEW item.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They couldn’t have possibly guessed that the boogie board was THAT expensive. So when it broke, I’m sure they had every intention of replacing it. But after finding out it costs a ridiculous amount of money, they offered to pay half. Don’t make them pay $275 for an accident, it will sow resentment. It’s really not worth it- just take the half and be grateful they offered at all.

I don’t know how much a nice bike costs these days so I take yours for a spin without asking permission and end up totalling it. My bad. So you tell me how much it costs and I had NO idea, so will you please accept half and be grateful?

For one, a bike is on a whole different cost bracket. The cheapest one might cost $300, and they can cost up to $10k. It’s not something you just “borrow” without asking especially of it’s clearly a nice one. Most boogie boards are $30. I had no idea they even made ones that are over $200. So if you want to make an equal comparison- it would be like accidentally staining someone’s throw pillow, and then the family member asking you to give them $300 to replace it. It’s bad such bad form.

But I didn’t know that because I’ve never paid for one but I know how to ride one. You’re my cousin and left it in a communal place so, surely, it can’t mean that much to you. I rode it a bit and then my kids’ friends rode it and one of them crashed because he was fooling around. Sorry! Could you accept half because it was used?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They couldn’t have possibly guessed that the boogie board was THAT expensive. So when it broke, I’m sure they had every intention of replacing it. But after finding out it costs a ridiculous amount of money, they offered to pay half. Don’t make them pay $275 for an accident, it will sow resentment. It’s really not worth it- just take the half and be grateful they offered at all.

I don’t know how much a nice bike costs these days so I take yours for a spin without asking permission and end up totalling it. My bad. So you tell me how much it costs and I had NO idea, so will you please accept half and be grateful?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So the cousin broke something he was not supposed to touch and only offered to pay 1/2. After reluctantly agreeing to pay up, ran off to his mommy complaining to get you in trouble because he did not get his own way.

Cousin didn’t break anything. Cousin’s friend’s kid broke it and cousin conveyed what the friend was willing to pay. Then OP is a jerk to cousin who did nothing wrong. I can see why cousin complained to mom.

Anonymous wrote:Since there isn't a question here, I'm guessing that OP wanted to suss out how others viewed this situation.

My two cents:

All three parties are in the wrong here, with decreasing degrees of transgression.

Cousin is the biggest transgressor. Cousin CLEARLY should not have taken the boogie board out of the shed. The expectations seem pretty clear on that front. Given the resulting damage, Cousin absolutely should have offered to pay the full cost for replacement. That he only offered 50% is bad form. That he subsequently complained about the argument to his mom (the aunt) makes it even worse. Given how all of this went down, I'd be cordial but distant moving forward with Cousin.

OP's husband (OPH) is the wronged party, but he's similarly guilty of bad behavior. Nobody likes having their belongings broken. Nobody likes feeling like they are being taken advantage of (the 50% reimbursement offer). That said, for 12 years, there were no problems. The cousin made two poor choices, but OPH should have graciously accepted the 50% (while privately venting to OP). This graciousness would allow DH to be the bigger person, but ALSO, help keep the peace, which is critical in a shared ownership situation like this one. That OPH chose to make his stand, when he is a BENEFICIARY of the co-owner's collective generosity of free beach rentals, indicates he is both completely clueless and also suffering from a profound sense of entitlement. My advice moving forward is for OPH to reflect, regroup, practice being gracious, and for heaven's sake, DO NOT store anything that isn't replaceable at the rental anymore.

Finally, the aunt. She should have stayed out of the issue altogether. That said, her transgression is the most minor, and in balance with her overall generosity, I'd give her a pass. My hunch is, when cousin called her to complain about the fight with OPH, she told cousin to buck up, pay the full cost, and for goodness sakes, stop complaining when they had a free vacation rental. Being a generation older, she may have felt the need to pass similar guidance to OPH. I recommend being especially kind to aunt moving forward. Goodness knows she can decide at any time she's sick of the whole lot of you.

Sorry about the boogie board. This can be a good lesson for your kids, or a poor one. You can teach them to be angry, entitled, and bitter about what happened, or explain that sometimes people make poor choices, but since nobody is perfect, we can be gracious when people make mistakes. (It might not be bad to let them know that another color boogie board isn't the end of the world either.) These are the moments that help shape character. Please think carefully on what kind of person you'd like your children to be.

Anonymous wrote:I’d bet $20 bucks that the cousin not the friends kid broke it or even stole it.