Do you think this is fair?

Alien Avatar

While you certainly make her sound unreasonable, and she possibly may be being so; You might want to consider the following.

From what I can glean from your story. Your brother broke into her home, damaging her property. He was caught, and she apparently did not call the police and press charges. She apparently made your family aware of this and has patiently waited two months for you to offer remuneration, after which point she justifiably would have became livid and made an unreasonable demand.

If I were your family. I would make a good faith effort to determine the real damage that you have inflicted on her and her home and at bare minimum offer her double that. Furthermore, I would apologize to her for not offering her something sooner, and for your brother's invasion of her and her property. Hopefully you can salvage the relationship between your family and hers.

I'm sorry that this is not the answer you were hoping to hear.

Addendum:
Just a note to some of you other responders; The woman has a right to choose the people who work on her home. She should not have to accept some unknown persons, that the people that broke into her home, tell her she should have her home fixed by. If somebody broke into your home, and then told you that you should have the damage repaired by somebody they know, would you accept that?

Heather

No. I think that is completely out of line. its seems sorta like black mail to keep your brother from getting arrested.

sforeveranded

i dont think its fair but what she is doing is blackmail...i would get proof that she is blackmailing you and report it.

Brad

$1800 for 2 windows ?? she must be crazy ... thats totaly not fair

Terri M

Why hasn't your mother asked her before now how much it would cost to replace the windows? No "reasonable damage fee" should be attached.

Your mother owes for the replacement windows and the labor to have them installed. Period.

Tell your mother to check with her homeowner's insurance to see if she is covered for this loss. Also, the woman could contact her insurance company and see if they would cover the cost and only charge your mother for the deductible.

At any rate, your mother should get 3 estimates and present them to this woman and tell her to pick one and then your mother can pay her for it.

rhino

tell her you will get the windows fixed with your own contractors and she will not need to worry about payment. you are just making good.

The Juice Box!

completely stupid...she is just lookin for an easy way to make money. completely unfair

Jan

I agree with Alien Avatar 100%. She isn't asking for anything she isn't entitled to. Windows are very expensive,especially if there was damage to the frames too. Labor to put them in isn't cheap either. She has the right to have whomever she wants to replace the windows. She doesn't have to accept someone you find or to claim it on her home owners insurance.
She is the victim in this situation,not your family. She is the one that had her home vandalized and broken into. If you have never been in this situation,you would never understand. It is a very frightening experience to know that someone has broken into your home,which is supposed to be your safe haven. It doesn't matter how long she waited to ask for payment,the damage was still done. Your brother should have contacted her to find out how to resolve this way before this time.
Pay the woman and be thankful she didn't have your brother arrested. He would be responsible for much more than that if she had.

MadGunner

Tell them you have a good friend that will fix it fot cheaper. Then find someone that will do it cheaper.

country girl

I think she's a *****. how old was ur bro anyhow? did he steal anything? and ur right, 1800 dollars pays for like 20 windows, not 2. so no, it's not fair. but it could be if he did steal something, and it costed that much.

PeanuTurd

I think she is being very unfair to your mom and brother. You guys should get a quote from a window installer, and pay her that amount, or just get the windows put in and pay him.

JB_Fan !

..I think she's being WAY too harsh. And STUPID.

hannah b

I think this is completely unfair! My elder brother got into the same kind of trouble but had nothing as harsh as that. The woman is obviously not very nice but unfortunately she has a right to charge that as the offense was against her.

The Techie

Taking two months to make this claim is unacceptable, in my opinion. Do what the 2nd answer says and gather evidence of Blackmail.

Although, he still committed a crime.

You might consider offering the apparent victim some compensation for the damage and trauma of this problem but after two months you shouldn't have to do too much. Perhaps offer her some money to her but her making these demands after 2 months shouldn't intimidate you.

Regarding the gathering of evidence for blackmail, ask her to provide a written request for the money and make sure she adds the date of when the crime happened and the date of the letter when she wrote it. This is then written proof that shes taken over two months to make this claim for the money.

Also, you might want to consider making a claim against her for harassment, and I'm sure your local Police department could help with this.

If she becomes uncooperative then just ignore her and forget about it!

Good luck!

Cheers,
The Techie.

Note: As a UK resident, you may need to research things I've said above. The laws where you are will differ from UK law. Still, I've answered this question as best as possible!

m l

It's a bit difficult just to go on what she says - you need to get some advice from a lawyer - they will know precisely the situation.

catsangel777

she's taking advantage of the situation. I would go to court and explain that while you're willing to pay for the windows, you think that the cost of what she's asking is unfair. the court will give you time payments anyhow.
If you let her do this, she will hold it over your head and demand something else later.

Kayla R

i wouldn't even give her the money take her to court for such short notice to pay the money.

Kristi and Matt

I think that yes, your brother was very wrong and he is very lucky she did not call the police and press criminal charges.

I would ask her for the estimate for the windows. Your parents should definitely let them know that they will take responsibility, and apologize, but ask them for an estimate because who knows how much damage was actually done and windows can be expensive. If the neighbors cannot show one it is hard to say if they are taking advantage of the situation or not, because again, windows are expensive to replace and if they need to replace the whole window then it will be costly.

If your parents think it is unfair the neighbors can always try to settle in small claims court. They will have to be able to show estimates and pictures to get the money that they are asking. Small claims will not be able to press criminal charges against your brother and it is way too late for them to try and make a report. Unfortunately there is no happy ending.

I hope everything works out!

Joanie

it sounds like to me she is black-maling your brother. i would just let your brother pay the price and it would be a whole lot easier! your brother would probably have to go to jail for a few days and pay the jail; charges and then do some community work. (if hes a teenager) if hes an adult just pay it. he might go to prison so if hes an adult just pay it.

Jessie

Tell her that your family will pay the cost of repair but only if there is a bill. I would ask for a couple estimates just in case she isn't having a friend or family member adding "extra" costs just to milk money from your family. If she can't produce a bill then tell her that you will see her in court.

"J"

being in situations like that before (not the breaking in)... your neighbor actually have to ask for that much. It doesn't only cover the windows, but also for the state they at. Example, they can ask for a stress pay if they want.. they can do that in court. It's one way of settling things out of the court, because having it in court will be too way expensive than just $1800.. but I do understand your remorse.. you can actually.. have someone you know to fix the window for a cheaper price and renegotiate for the rest of the payment.. it can be lower.. as what I can see here... your neighbor is in a tight budget.. they can fit in to a lesser price if you ask them... they wouldn't want it in a court because they don't have enough money too...
otherwise.. I'm wrong. :)

â™ªâ™¥â™£â™ â™¦â™« Bernice Invaded! â™ªâ™¥â™£â™ â™¦â™«

She is SO NOT FAIR!!! Just settle it in court... or settle with a deal, probably half or something, get a lawyer! Just don't let HER win!

Qjkjiqowe Q

i dont think that that is fair in any way if she weanted it fixed she should have asked for it earlier she has no right to do it now a court will probly say the same if she wants it that bad ushould go to court

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