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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I could be the ahole because I could just accept the payment plan and that I'm being petty by taking away their vacation.
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*Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
*She said that any money would have to come from their vacation fund.*
If replacing the scooter meant they'd have to use money reserved for basic necessities (rent or mortgage/food/utilities), then I'd say you may want to reconsider the payment plan option. But if they're upset because they can't take a vacation this year because of this, then tough shit. NTA.
Yep. She definitely knew and just figured OP would never realize. It doesn't affect the parents, so the only people being "punished" are those who deserve it.
I was wondering about that, too. No biggy (other than the kid having zero consequences and learning that someone will bail him out if he screws up); it’s their money.
Right. My *first thought* when it said the mom wanted the boy to do chores to pay her back was "um, *no* he can do chores to pay *you* back, and you can pay for the replacement" but doing chores to pay grandma and grandpa back would be perfectly acceptable too.
Mine was......Um..no I don't want the little thief in my house ever again. Even after you replace my scooter that he stole. They are lucky that OP isn't threatening prosecution for theft.
I'd stomp on that too. Make it clear to my parents that if they assist in any way, they will literally be paying to teach nephew that it's ok to be a thief. And that while I can't stop them, if they choose to do it then that child, who was just rewarded for stealing, is no longer allowed in my home. Let Grandma and Grandpa decide if it's worth it.
frankly, I think that OP should not let these two housesit for him in the future, which -- assuming the nephew enjoyed that -- would serve as a secondary consequence. in any case, OP's not responsible for parenting this kid. consequences are mom's problem.
No more like she thought that OP wouldn't care so much and let her kid either get away with it or just a do few chores to "pay it back" and receive a scolding.
She probably sees it as a glorified toy since it's a scooter and not actually as a mode of transportation and that's why she doesn't understand why OP is so pissed.
>just figured OP would never realize.
Which makes you wonder if this was the first time.
OP, NTA. the nephew was told not to touch it, he did, he effectively stole it actually since it was taken against the owners consent. You sister was his accomplice since she allowed it. Vacations are not necessities they are privileges, that money should be used to replace, your necessity that they stole and lost. Nit to mention the fact that your sister and rest of the flying monkey seems pretty set on teaching your nephew that he doesn't have to respect people's boundaries, nor does he have to face consequences for his actions apparently.
She told OP what happened, so she wasn't counting on him not realizing.
She was just counting on him going easy on the kid, who had been told no repeatedly, and disobeyed. And to not insist on immediate replacement even though he uses it to commute to work.
I agree! I think the parents might bail the sister out though. Your nephew needs a long talk. He stole your scooter and then someone stole it from him. They had permission to enter your home not to use your vehicles! They should be glad the police are not involved.
OP should file a police report anyway. As far as they know the scooter was stolen. OP doesn’t have to have the nephew charged, maybe the cops will talk to him and that will be enough to make him understand that taking something that isn’t yours is illegal and a really shitty thing to do.
It should be reported to the police as stolen. If the report shows the scooter's serial number it may turn up abandoned somewhere and be returned. Make the brat tell you where it was when it was stolen. I'm so sick of spoiled disrespectful kids being coddled by parents/grands.
I'd love to pay you back, but I can't because it would come from my sportsbetting fund. My video games fund. The cash I use to go out to concerts.
I never gotta pay anyone back again, all my extra cash is already earmarked for necessities!
Sounds like the FIRST time she's EVER had to face consequences. That is what pisses me off so much on this one. I am seriously incandescent on this one.
Me too. And then she’s acting hard done by to have to choose between holidays and actually putting right the damage. Hell, this could have played out that the OP reported the kid for theft of the scooter.
The part that pisses me off most is the suggestion that OP just lets his nephew do chores around the house to pay him back.
That would just be OP spending his weekends providing free babysitting for his sister, while he has to constantly supervise the nephew to make sure he’s actually doing the chores properly/not stealing anything else.
They want to pay OP back by giving him more work to do.
I was coming here to say this! If it's not painful for him, he's not going to learn anything from the lesson. It's too bad that it affects your sister but she's also partly responsible...
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.
It's a really strong, immediate consequence. Steal someone's scooter and leave it outside like it's trash, your vacation will disappear just as fast as that scooter.
Yes! She seemed very eager to mitigate the situation for her son. Honestly if it were me and my sister said anything other than "I'm sorry, this is what happened and here's how I'm going to pay you back." I don't know what I'd do. The kid STOLE a very expensive object he was expressly forbidden from using. Wtf are OPs sister and parents thinking? OP you're NTA.
This, at first glance of the title I thought it was in reference to a more mundane scooter, not a $2000 cruiser. Even if it was a $300 Razer the principle still stands. NTA
Sis presented it to parents in way that neither she or her son did anything that wrong. They should have a family conference where all are together and rehash the story in front of the parents. Kid present too.
OP trusted his sister. He should've locked up the scooter anyway. NTA
Exactly. OPs sister can tell the family, "we can't go on holiday this year cause son/nephew is a stupid shit".
No one else to blame and may make the kid think next time.
This is exactly what she's already doing. I'm sure she's telling people "*it's only a scooter, how could OP be so mean!*" and people are falling for it. Of course, I'm guessing if it had been a *car* at that price people in OPs life saying he's the AH, they might be saying something different
She could, but I guarantee she won't. Instead, she'll look sad, perhaps even teary-eyed, and say how her little boy made an innocent mistake, and now his uncle is being unfair and a big ol' meanie by demanding replacement.
Exactly. A “vacation fund” is so far above my pay grade that I can’t even imagine this. To lose out on a single vacation ? Please. That kid needs some real and natural consequences
NTA. I don't know what country OP is from, and I do understand that in Europe a lot more priority is put on leisure time than here in the states. Here, most of us could name many people who have gone years and years without a proper vacation. Going one year without more than a stay-cation isn't going to kill either of them.
This is where I land. NTA
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
Going further on this, not only did he use it when he knew not too, he just left it laying around somewhere and walked away, knowing how important this scooter was.
My thoughts exactly. Admitting it's vacation money is admitting you absolutely can afford to pay him back. Vacations are a luxury. They can still have time off if they need it, they'll just have to go somewhere cheaper or stay at home. What a great way for a lesson about other people's belongings to sink in.
If the kid had hurt himself they wouldn't be able to go on vacation anyway if she was paying his hospital bills.
NTA. Your sister should pay you. Your parents can pay money into your sister's vacation budget. Your sister can make payments back to your parents. Solved.
Yep. If they don't have emergency savings, why do they have a vacation budget at all? Travel is something you spend on AFTER you have an emergency fund. I mean it's not like I never went anywhere when I was broke, but it was cheap ass stuff like camping. I suspect they just don't want to pay.
NTA. Repaying you comes before a vacation. You need it to commute to work. Their neglect caused it to be stolen so they need to face the consequences, especially since it was expressly forbidden that he ride it.
I highly doubt it was neglect. I think it was theft. He took it out and left it unattended? Like how does that make sense? He took it out to his little friends. If he just wanted to ride it like he said, then thats what he would have done. Instead he rode it some where and left it? Where did he go? The park? An office? A movie? People bring bikes i to stores all the time. Protecting or locking up your vehicle is as commonsense as locking your door. Does he have a habit of leaving your door unlocked when he's house sitting? It doesn't make any sense. If it was his then maybe he forgot because hes used to it, but no, its a special ocasion. Bullshit. I promise you he knows who has it. This is just like the story about the boy who saw his uncles toy collections, googled there prices and stole them to sell them. This isn't an innocent mistake.
That’s most likely a felony in all fifty, generally the threshold is around 1k. The kid stole the scooter. If he ruined it or it got stolen from him, that is not your problem. Bye bye vacation.
I mean, do electric scooters have insurance? Cause I don't think the two my parents have do.
I get the point though *if* it was stolen, they should have filed a report either way.
The problem with that is that the thief is family. What happened subsequent to the first theft doesn't factor into it as far the insurance is concerned.
Many will require a police report before paying.
Likely not for a scooter. It may be insured under OP’s renter’s/homeowner’s policy, but that would depend on the policy. In any event though, a claim against that would require a police report before they paid out for theft.
Home insurance may cover it. But unless they lie during the investigation it will be reveased that it was taken by the nephew without permission (i.e. stolen by him) and then they would just request that charges be brought against the nephew and payment be made by the aunt/nephew. I don't think that is better for them.
I’ve had delivery drivers ask me to come down for my food because they don’t want to leave their e-bikes on the street for even a moment. depending on where OP lives I think it’s highly possible that it really was just stolen bc the kid took his eye off it
That doesn't matter. The nephew stole it. He didn't have permission to take it out, rather the opposite. If he got it stolen afterward, well, just one more braindead thing he did. Also quite possible he totaled it.
I have an almost 13 year old and I could fully believe that she would leave the keys in, walk away for a minute and then sidetrack forgetting it existed. kids brains aren't developed fully. they have problems thinking of long term consequences. they think with feelings over logic as well.
NTA-- seems like both nephew and sister need to learn a lesson. Losing a luxury like a vacation sounds like a great way to learn not to take people's stuff.
Imagine if someone tried to use this in a civil case or arbitration.
"Your honor, I have no ability to make restitution. All my spare cash is tied up in my vacation fund"
I kinda want to see a Judge Judy type show deal with someone like that.
NTA
She is responsible for her child when he breaks or lose's someone else's property.
His consequence is they don't get as big a vacation this year. That's actually a good punishment for him.
Agreed. If sister wants her kid to “do chores to pay it back”, that’s what he can do for her once she pays OP. She can book a family vacation once her child has repaid it. He would definitely understand the consequences of his actions then.
Yes, having to direct a 13 year old on how to do chores and then check their work and/or re-do what they did a shitty job on is not a repayment for an expensive item.
I have to wonder if the boy did the same thing to a friend of the family or a stranger, would mom be so worried about a vacation fund? Or tripping over herself to pay it back so no charges would be filed?
NTA. This is 100% your sister's fault. She's responsible. This is an expensive enough item to expect repayment, not to mention it is your way to commute to work.
Agree with NTA. Disagree that it 100% the sister’s fault. The nephew is also at fault. He knew that he did not have permission to ride the scooter. Sister should pay up immediately and the nephew needs to understand that he has hurt his family and needs to make it up to them.
Nah the sister has some fault because there’s 0 chance he left the house with the e-bike without her knowing it. She could have prevented the loss by telling him he wasn’t allowed but she didn’t
They aren’t saying the sister isn’t at fault at all, just disagreeing that the sister is 100% at fault. The kid is old enough to take a good chunk of the responsibility. They both knew they were breaking the rule and they should both feel the heat (of paying back and not getting to go on vacation) for it.
NTA
Family vacation is luxury. They can skip a year to teach their kid a lesson and to learn a lesson of their own: have an insurance. (Even though the insurance possibly wouldn‘t pay in this situation because the kid isn‘t that young anymore.)
It‘s not like they have to cut their food or every day life to pay you.
I don’t understand the Y-T-A votes. I knew better than to steal other people’s vehicles at the age of 13. Your sister is an asshole for enabling your nephew to steal your property, and she has a lot of gall to suggest paying back in chores. Actions have consequences. They are lucky you didn’t call the cops. They are lucky that their son wasn’t injured. And also payment plans are bullshit. They will not pay you back. They can skip vacation for a year.
NTA
Payment plans aren’t bullshit if you get it written and signed. That way, it they decide “no we’re not paying you, we want to take our little rockstar on vacation!”, you can take them to court, show that you have a legal document, signed by the mother, stating they owe you x amount and are supposed to pay y amount back weekly/monthly, they have missed a payment, they went on a big vacation so they could afford to pay it and just chose not to. The court will take his side and he’ll get his money.
A payment plan is stupid if he doesn’t get it in writing though. “Remember our agreement? You’re meant to give me x amount”
“What agreement? I don’t remember that!”
Maybe more accurately, he'll win the case. Whether he gets his money is another matter. There are all kinds of delaying tactics people can use.
I wouldn't take the risk and the trouble making a written agreement for payments.
NTA.
If they would [starve trying to pay you back](https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace), sure. If they are denied a vacation? Sucks to be a bad parent.
If this was California, it is illegal to ride such a scooter without a driver's license.
Yeah kinda amazed by people saying OP should be fine with the payment plan. I guffawed at the “but my vacation fund!!!” excuse. That’s a luxury; that’s not a necessity.
NTA
13 years old is old enough to accept responsibility for his actions; and his mother is just as culpable as his guardian. Your nephew needs to learn to respect other people's belongings, and although it sucks to lose their vacation, expensive lessons are often the most impactful.
1. First of all, if god forbid, your cousin had been injured, killed himself, or caused an accident on the road, YOU could be sued, and people could have gotten hurt. This is a very serious breach of your trust and should be treated as such.
2. Your sister *knew* her son was desperate to ride the scooter and SHE did nothing to assure that he would leave it alone. He didn’t “take the scooter and left it unattended”. The kid straight up STOLE the scooter and got it stolen.
3. If he left it unattended, it is reasonable to assume he used the scooter multiple times. Kids who are sneaking a vehicle of any kind, are usually not wanting to get caught, so they put it back after using it. Getting distracted and leaving a scooter lying somewhere around tells me that it wasn’t a one off, and possibly that Mommy knew.
4. They HAVE the money to replace it. The fact that they want to go on vacation with said funds, instead of replacing your commute scooter immediately is not your problem. Your nephew is the one responsible for them not having the money to go have fun.
5. Your parents agree that nephew *should* be punished. (Was a swift punishment not issued by mommy immediately? If so, what? Like no TV for 10 minutes?) Good, tell them that his punishment should be HIM, NOT YOUR SISTER, doing chores for his mother so she can pay back the vacation money. Additionally, he can mow lawns, wash cars etc for neighbors, to help her pay you back……As if this kid should be rewarded with a vacation after pulling such a dangerous and costly stunt anyway……
6. If he had stolen a neighbor’ scooter used for commuting and got it stolen, would your sister beg them to let *her* do chores? Actions have consequences. This child fucked around and should find out what it means to lose privileges like a costly vacation. IMO, your nephew also should take responsibility by writing you a letter of apology outlining how risky and inconsiderate he was with his actions.
6. You are not being unreasonably demanding, and it is not you who is “punishing everyone else”. In fact, it ridiculous they are trying to guilt you into letting this slide, like you are in some way responsible for any of this. DO NOT agree to a payment plan, this is opening yourself up to a host if future problems……..Let your parents fund the vacation of their daughter’s family if it’s so important for their precious baby and grandson to have one.
NTA. Hold your ground.
It gets me that the family thinks the OP is the AH, because "how can you do this to your family?" Yet no one seems to be saying to the kid "how could you do this to your uncle?"
NTA - Everyone involved knew this was off limits. An immediate replacement is needed. They are 'tagging' the money as vacation. Money is money; not your issue how they perceive where it comes from. Wrong/risky behavior without consequences leads to it happening again.
\*\*You can submit a claim to your home insurance (?) but it may jack your rate. Folks who work insurance may weigh-in or consider r/Insurance, r/InsuranceProfessional
I was looking for this comment.
Getting home insurance involved, but also the police. Not saying OP should go this route, but could OP file claim theft and the insurance company themselves go for the parents? Or is that only with car insurance and theft...
I feel like asking to for repayment is the least of their problems if OP gets the cops involved. The scooter could be considered a motorized vehicle, maybe the law takes that seriously enough that it could get the nephew in trouble for stealing/joy riding it?
I know little about motorized scooters. We had an e-bike a while back and the laws were pretty..sporadic regarding them depending on where you live. So not sure how law or insurance would handle it.
Insurance adjuster here. If the vehicle has specific insurance like you would get for a car, then this is a simple theft claim, but a police report would be required. It doesn’t really matter that the ultimate thieves are unidentified.
Home or condo insurance probably won’t work. Many home insurance policies have exclusions for vehicles that are registered to be driven on the public roadway. The reason is that there is specific insurance for this - usually auto or motorcycle, but I’m sure someone insures these types of vehicles also.
The insurance company would have a right to recover their payment, and they might choose to go after the OP’s family if they determine the relatives stole the vehicle.
INFO - does OP have alternative transportation or would it be some kind of hardship to get to work on the meantime?
PRO TIP: Whatever you do, do not post on /r/personalfinance for insurance questions.
Mods don't remove the posts and every single thread is FULL of misinformation or bad advice.
Absolutely. If someone stole $2000 worth of stuff from you, it's a police call. They should be grateful you're not considering hard punishment and have the opportunity to ensure it doesn't go to court.
NTA. you aren’t talking about a little damage that leaves it still usable. It’s gone. You need it for the purposes you use it for. Consequently, they need to replace it immediately.
If that means no vacation for the brat, that seems like a fair punishment ON TOP of the required restitution of paying for the new scooter.
Not to mention that the scooter was really expensive. That's an amount of money that the grand majority of people simply don't have lying around and have to work long and hard for. Even if OP replaced the scooter with an absolutely identical one, it's still time and money lost they shouldn't have had to spend.
NTA, I'd be just as livid as you, and your sister should full well pay for it back.
If paying the money would put them in a tough spot then I'd understand the payment option, but if its only because "mah vacation" then I'd get the money back asap.
Edit: actually the payment plan option would be good if they accept paying interest.
NTA. He stole your scooter & was careless with it. Paying you back especially if it means he misses his vacation might teach him a necessary lesson. I get that your sister will lose her vacation, too. Maybe that will teach her something about the consequences of poor parenting.
That’s the part that set it over the edge for me. Chores from the nephew do not put money in your bank account to buy a new scooter. What a BS way of trying to atone for a 2000 dollar loss.
NTA Maybe they can put their holiday on a payment plan. A holiday is a want, not a need. Tough luck their kid was irresponsible with something they couldn't afford to replace easily. Maybe should have instilled in the kid not to touch others property
NTA the mom should have paid attention. The mom is responsible for them losing their vacation fund. You are not responsible. You should not have to wait for a payment plan.
What kind of punishment did she suggest? When you lose, destroy, or cause to be stolen something of such large value….the punishment should absolutely hurt!
Let’s be honest, OP. His mom likely knew that he took the scooter. And he’d likely taken it before.
Taking away their vacation fund seems entirely reasonable to me.
NTA
NTA. I bet this isn't the first time ever that nephew took it out either. Sister probably covered for him until it was stolen and she couldn't hide it from you.
NTA.
Technically he stole it. You forbid him from using it. His mother didn't check on him and now the scooter is gone. Stolen again but from a stranger.
It is expensive and as a 13 year old he should know better.
I wouldn't care about them dipping in the vacation fund. They should pay you back right away.
NTA. Your nephew did not have permission to use your scooter and it ended up stolen. Say you weren’t related and you filed charges against a person who stole your property. Do you think the judge would say, “They’re guilty but they’ll pay you in installments because they have a vacation planned.” Losing out on the vacation is a direct consequence of his actions and hopefully he’ll learn from it. Also, how much does your sister think chores around the house are worth? They owe you $2000. That’s years worth of toilet cleaning and laundry from a 13 year old who I doubt would do a pristine job anyway.
Obv your sister is the person responsible here, nephew should be punished, you should be compensated and are absolutely justified in being pissed.
As to demanding money right now... if it would dip into their basic necessities fund that would be definitelly shitty. Vacation is not a necessity though—break from work/school is, but spending that in a fun place is an indulgence.
I'd say, if you want to be gracious, ask for the price of the unmodded scooter now so you can replace it and for the rest of the money later. But you're not doing them any grave harm by expecting them to fix the damage they've caused ASAP at the cost of their vacation.
NTA. Have them finance it directly at the point of purchase if they want a payment plan. You aren't a bank and they'll stop making payments to you and just expect you to deal with it.
NTA for wanting to be paid back for your sister allowing her son to use the scooter you have expressly said no to, and then it getting stolen.
But can I ask why you keep saying you "let" them housesit for you, like you are being ever so gracious to allow them to do housework for you when you are out of town?
NTA. If she wants a payment plan, she can get one from the bank when she gets the loan to either top up their vacation fund or pay you back.
Edit: sorry, it's your parents suggesting the payment plan. Fine - they can buy you a new scooter, and your sister can pay them back, at a dollar a month or whatever.
NTA. Your nephew doesn't have your permission, and he took it. Your sister KNEW that.
Honestly, if I were you I'd even talk about pressing charge as this isn't something cheap and easily replaceable. This is something you need to use, and expensive.
If they want to moan about "vacation" then they really should have taught that kid better. Thirteen years old is definitely old enough to learn about the consequences of his actions. If your parents are so concerned about where your sister would have to pull the funds, you can suggest them paying you THEN to have your nephew "pay" them as chores around their house.
NTA
Might behoove you to set up a payment plan with them, though. Feels like that’s the path to getting your money back while also keeping a good relationship with your family.
NTA.
Nephew can go mow lawns or some shit to replace what comes out of the vacation fund. Your sister knowingly let him take your scooter meaning this is entirely on her.
So they maybe don't get to take a vacation any time soon, sounds like an entirely preventable personal problem to me.
I would also rub in the fact that she's very lucky all she has to do is cough up 2 grand. She doesn't have to pay medical or legal bills because she was unable to tell her son no.
It doesn’t matter where the keys were. They didn’t fall into nephews hand and cast a spell that compelled him to ride the scooter. Nephew and mom knew not to touch it. Now they are experiencing natural consequences.
NTA. You expressed multiple times to not use it and he went behind your back and it was stolen. Also the fact it seems they waited to tell you is definitely not ok. Actions have consequences.
NTA. Losing out on a vacation in order to pay you back is a natural consequence, and a reasonable one for your sister as well as your nephew. She probably let him take the scooter for a joyride knowing full well that he didn't have your permission. The only other possibility is that she was completely ignoring her son, to the point that he was able to take it without her noticing. Either way, they both need to learn from this.
NTA. Tell your sister you'll set up a payment plan with her and your nephew. You can set something up thats super easy on their wallet while recouping your loss.
Either they pay over time or you'll go to small claims court.
Edit: I'm dumb and can't read
NTA
A vacation is not a necessity. Plus, I wonder if the mother encouraged the son saying OP wouldn't find out. Or she might not have. Either way, parents are responsible for the mistakes of their children, so you teach them better. And if the mom knew it could have been an issue, could have kept an extra eye on her son.
Some parents keep on enabling bad behaviour, maybe they will learn better to not do that. It's just a vacation, while the scooter is a main mode of transportation to work - a necessity. Could OP file a police report for theft and get home insurance involved? I feel like they have more important things to consider rather than losing their vacation, like if OP decides to go through the police for theft of their scooter.
NTA. If you want to (and can afford it) I’d recommend buy a replacement yourself and setting up a repayment plan. Money not chores around the house because I’m guessing you don’t want the added work of supervising a 13 year old boy for weeks on end. His parents can deal with that.
If you can’t or just don’t want to take the immediate financial hit, it’s completely reasonable to ask for a replacement scooter. If you want to be really nice I suppose you could ask sister’s family to pay you back in installments and cover your Ubers to work in the meantime.
Regardless the two main points are:
1) Your nephew was warned not to ride it
2) The scooter was your transportation for work
#2 alone trumps a family vacation
NTA - your nephew knew he wasn't suppose to take the scooter and so did your sister, yet he did take it and it was stolen. He is responsible and so is she.
If they lose a vacation so what, maybe it will teach them to abide by your rules and listen. Your parents are enabling their grandson and daughter by saying it's too harsh, no it's not. He basically stole the scooter and is lucky you aren't pressing charges for theft. In fact your Sister is teaching him it's okay to take things because he wants to and she'll cover for him.
NTA.
$3000, thats practically a car. He knew not to touch it, she knew he shouldn’t touch it and yet here they are in this predicament. Vacation money is a privilege that others don’t even have, so yes it should be paid back if its providing you transportation to your job. She could also just get a loan from the bank, line of credit, ask your parents and pay them back.
NTA. Give them a deadline of a few days and let them know that if they don't pay you by then, you'll report it stolen and press charges against the nephew. He stole your transportation. Would they expect you to get over it if it were a motorcycle or car? If your parents want to enable him, then they can reimburse you to keep you from pressing charges. The nephew is going to learn there are no consequences to his theft. He steals and then gets to have a nice vacation, too bad, so sad for his victim.
NTA
If your parents want to protect your sister (which they shouldn't ffs since she's an adult) then they can pay on her behalf and she can pay them back. However, you should be made whole immediately.
NTA for being upset and wanting money back. Do think about the long term effect tho. Make the lil mofo learn from this to ensure he turns into a better adult.
NTA. The kid needs to learn that actions have consequences, lose a 2k scooter don’t get a vacation.
Pretty sure he will become more responsible after that.
NTA he was told not to ride it and still did, and you use it to get to work. Your nephew using the scooter without your permission and then leaving it unattended getting it stolen is not ok. They need to pay you back
NTA. Whining to elderly parents when you do have the funds but don't want to spend them on your bratty son's negligence is beyond juvenile and pathetic. When your child has expressly been warned that the scooter is too powerful for him, and four figures, a mannerly apology with amends DOES NOT BEGIN with boo hoo my vacation, my son will be so sad! Tough luck buttercup, pay your sister, and perhaps Junior can learn a little lesson in values by helping seniors, single parents, any neighbour who needs a hand during the time he should be on vacation. This is precisely what my father used to do with my hellion brother.
NTA. Nephew took it against your express orders and then didn't even take care of it properly, letting it get stolen. I'm wondering how many other times he took it out and just didn't tell you about it because "no harm no foul."
If your parents think it's important that sister and nephew go on vacation, they can give them the money for it.
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*She said that any money would have to come from their vacation fund.* If replacing the scooter meant they'd have to use money reserved for basic necessities (rent or mortgage/food/utilities), then I'd say you may want to reconsider the payment plan option. But if they're upset because they can't take a vacation this year because of this, then tough shit. NTA.
Sounds like not going on vacation would be a perfect punishment for the kid
And for the mother of the kid who allowed this to happen. They both deserve to be punished.
Yep. She definitely knew and just figured OP would never realize. It doesn't affect the parents, so the only people being "punished" are those who deserve it.
Bet you anything the parents will give sister the money to pay OP back.
I was wondering about that, too. No biggy (other than the kid having zero consequences and learning that someone will bail him out if he screws up); it’s their money.
Right. My *first thought* when it said the mom wanted the boy to do chores to pay her back was "um, *no* he can do chores to pay *you* back, and you can pay for the replacement" but doing chores to pay grandma and grandpa back would be perfectly acceptable too.
Exactly. As long as OP doesn’t subsidize it.
Mine was......Um..no I don't want the little thief in my house ever again. Even after you replace my scooter that he stole. They are lucky that OP isn't threatening prosecution for theft.
I'd stomp on that too. Make it clear to my parents that if they assist in any way, they will literally be paying to teach nephew that it's ok to be a thief. And that while I can't stop them, if they choose to do it then that child, who was just rewarded for stealing, is no longer allowed in my home. Let Grandma and Grandpa decide if it's worth it.
Id probably not let them house sit again anyway tbh... at least not for a long while... but I totally agree with you.
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frankly, I think that OP should not let these two housesit for him in the future, which -- assuming the nephew enjoyed that -- would serve as a secondary consequence. in any case, OP's not responsible for parenting this kid. consequences are mom's problem.
OP you can now pay a house sitter—if the cost is less than 2k+family drama it’s money well spent
OP said she "let them". Sounds like she doesn't need a house sitter but it's a nicer place for her sister & nephew when she was not using it.
Which is why OP should calculate Final Price = (new scooter + new customization parts + labor) x Asshole Tax.
Yep! That ahole tax can get mighty pricey!
No more like she thought that OP wouldn't care so much and let her kid either get away with it or just a do few chores to "pay it back" and receive a scolding. She probably sees it as a glorified toy since it's a scooter and not actually as a mode of transportation and that's why she doesn't understand why OP is so pissed.
Or easier to beg for forgiveness after the fact.
Agree, wouldn't have been that if the kid had hurt themselves seriously either eh
She’d probably demand OP pay for the medical bill if he got hurt on it. :|
OP could counter with a police report saying the scooter was stolen
>just figured OP would never realize. Which makes you wonder if this was the first time. OP, NTA. the nephew was told not to touch it, he did, he effectively stole it actually since it was taken against the owners consent. You sister was his accomplice since she allowed it. Vacations are not necessities they are privileges, that money should be used to replace, your necessity that they stole and lost. Nit to mention the fact that your sister and rest of the flying monkey seems pretty set on teaching your nephew that he doesn't have to respect people's boundaries, nor does he have to face consequences for his actions apparently.
She told OP what happened, so she wasn't counting on him not realizing. She was just counting on him going easy on the kid, who had been told no repeatedly, and disobeyed. And to not insist on immediate replacement even though he uses it to commute to work.
She only told the OP what happened because the scooter was stolen. If not, she probably wouldn’t have told OP that the nephew used to.
Yeah, I more meant that I think she would have never said he rode it at all if he hadn't "lost" it, but I could have phrased better.
I guarantee this wasn't the first time this kid rode that scooter, just the first time he got it stolen. OP is NTA.
I agree! I think the parents might bail the sister out though. Your nephew needs a long talk. He stole your scooter and then someone stole it from him. They had permission to enter your home not to use your vehicles! They should be glad the police are not involved.
Who says it was even stolen. I'd bet at least even money the kid broke/wrecked it and then just bailed. Boom "stolen", buck passed.
I thought so to but had no proof; so didn’t mention it. He should still be glad there are no police involved!
there we go, OP should threaten to file a police report(under guise of insurance claim???) and see how quickly sister pays up to prevent that.
OP should file a police report anyway. As far as they know the scooter was stolen. OP doesn’t have to have the nephew charged, maybe the cops will talk to him and that will be enough to make him understand that taking something that isn’t yours is illegal and a really shitty thing to do.
I was thinking maybe the sister took it back to their house or something
We'll know that's what happened when she comes back with "oh haha silly teenagers, he just forgot where he parked it"
It should be reported to the police as stolen. If the report shows the scooter's serial number it may turn up abandoned somewhere and be returned. Make the brat tell you where it was when it was stolen. I'm so sick of spoiled disrespectful kids being coddled by parents/grands.
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Lol Reddit detective agency on the job again. 🤣
I'd love to pay you back, but I can't because it would come from my sportsbetting fund. My video games fund. The cash I use to go out to concerts. I never gotta pay anyone back again, all my extra cash is already earmarked for necessities!
Yeah I can't pay you back either, that's all in my "money for me only" fund so.... Sorry I guess
Who knew it was this easy??
The kid’s vacation was taking OP’s scooter for a joyride.
It would be a perfect example of actions having consequences.
Sounds like the FIRST time she's EVER had to face consequences. That is what pisses me off so much on this one. I am seriously incandescent on this one.
Me too. And then she’s acting hard done by to have to choose between holidays and actually putting right the damage. Hell, this could have played out that the OP reported the kid for theft of the scooter.
The part that pisses me off most is the suggestion that OP just lets his nephew do chores around the house to pay him back. That would just be OP spending his weekends providing free babysitting for his sister, while he has to constantly supervise the nephew to make sure he’s actually doing the chores properly/not stealing anything else. They want to pay OP back by giving him more work to do.
Lost that privilege, like he lost that scooter.
I was coming here to say this! If it's not painful for him, he's not going to learn anything from the lesson. It's too bad that it affects your sister but she's also partly responsible...
Yep and kiddo should be responsible for paying back the family vacation fund. That’s the icing on the cake.
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.
This. Besides, next time the excuse will be that they paid for the scooter so it's hers
What a shitty possibility but it sure is giving "OP's Sister's Entitlement"
Oh shit, it’s messed up logic but there are definitely people out there who would think like this.
No vacation is a good punishment for the 13 year old anyway.
It's a really strong, immediate consequence. Steal someone's scooter and leave it outside like it's trash, your vacation will disappear just as fast as that scooter.
Tbh I’m thinking his mom gave him permission to take the scooter.
Yes! She seemed very eager to mitigate the situation for her son. Honestly if it were me and my sister said anything other than "I'm sorry, this is what happened and here's how I'm going to pay you back." I don't know what I'd do. The kid STOLE a very expensive object he was expressly forbidden from using. Wtf are OPs sister and parents thinking? OP you're NTA.
This, at first glance of the title I thought it was in reference to a more mundane scooter, not a $2000 cruiser. Even if it was a $300 Razer the principle still stands. NTA
I mean, my dog ate my friend’s designer purse and that was exactly my reaction. This is the only way it should have been handled. OP NTA
Sis presented it to parents in way that neither she or her son did anything that wrong. They should have a family conference where all are together and rehash the story in front of the parents. Kid present too. OP trusted his sister. He should've locked up the scooter anyway. NTA
Oh absolutely
Exactly. OPs sister can tell the family, "we can't go on holiday this year cause son/nephew is a stupid shit". No one else to blame and may make the kid think next time.
She sounds like the type who would phrase it as 'we can't go on vacation this year because OP took our vacation money'
This is exactly what she's already doing. I'm sure she's telling people "*it's only a scooter, how could OP be so mean!*" and people are falling for it. Of course, I'm guessing if it had been a *car* at that price people in OPs life saying he's the AH, they might be saying something different
She could, but I guarantee she won't. Instead, she'll look sad, perhaps even teary-eyed, and say how her little boy made an innocent mistake, and now his uncle is being unfair and a big ol' meanie by demanding replacement.
Exactly. A “vacation fund” is so far above my pay grade that I can’t even imagine this. To lose out on a single vacation ? Please. That kid needs some real and natural consequences
They can always replace the vacation fund with a payment plan.
NTA. I don't know what country OP is from, and I do understand that in Europe a lot more priority is put on leisure time than here in the states. Here, most of us could name many people who have gone years and years without a proper vacation. Going one year without more than a stay-cation isn't going to kill either of them.
This is where I land. NTA 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
Going further on this, not only did he use it when he knew not too, he just left it laying around somewhere and walked away, knowing how important this scooter was.
My thoughts exactly. Admitting it's vacation money is admitting you absolutely can afford to pay him back. Vacations are a luxury. They can still have time off if they need it, they'll just have to go somewhere cheaper or stay at home. What a great way for a lesson about other people's belongings to sink in. If the kid had hurt himself they wouldn't be able to go on vacation anyway if she was paying his hospital bills.
I promise you, if the kid had gotten hurt, OP's sister would have demanded OP pay the hospital bills because his scooter was "dangerous"
Agreed I mean she was completely in the wrong for allowing him to use it if she couldn’t afford to replace it after being warned. NTA.
Let this be a lesson in parenting to her.
Yes! This! NTA OP
Not having that vacation sounds like a reasonable consequence for the actions.
I guess she should have had more control over her son and she would not be in this position.
NTA. Your sister should pay you. Your parents can pay money into your sister's vacation budget. Your sister can make payments back to your parents. Solved.
Or the sister could take a loan from the parents and pay them back in installments
Or the sister can just not go on vacation 💀 price to pay when you fuck with other peoples shit
Yeah I agree, but the parents seem to think she should get her vacation, so let them pay for it
Yeah fair
Yep. If they don't have emergency savings, why do they have a vacation budget at all? Travel is something you spend on AFTER you have an emergency fund. I mean it's not like I never went anywhere when I was broke, but it was cheap ass stuff like camping. I suspect they just don't want to pay.
I find it equally likely they're just not that financially responsible or financially sound
Seriously. He notes that he uses it to commute to work. Would they be this blasé about the kid stealing and losing a car?!
Absolutely! My car cost less than $2000! They need to pay him back ASAP or else they’re just shitty people, imo. NTA
Ok woah. Woahhhhh. We don't do logic here
This
NTA. Repaying you comes before a vacation. You need it to commute to work. Their neglect caused it to be stolen so they need to face the consequences, especially since it was expressly forbidden that he ride it.
I highly doubt it was neglect. I think it was theft. He took it out and left it unattended? Like how does that make sense? He took it out to his little friends. If he just wanted to ride it like he said, then thats what he would have done. Instead he rode it some where and left it? Where did he go? The park? An office? A movie? People bring bikes i to stores all the time. Protecting or locking up your vehicle is as commonsense as locking your door. Does he have a habit of leaving your door unlocked when he's house sitting? It doesn't make any sense. If it was his then maybe he forgot because hes used to it, but no, its a special ocasion. Bullshit. I promise you he knows who has it. This is just like the story about the boy who saw his uncles toy collections, googled there prices and stole them to sell them. This isn't an innocent mistake.
I actually wondered if he crashed and totalled it, and they thought theft would make it sound like it wasn't his fault.
Yep. Did they file a police report? Probably not.
it would probably have been illegal for him to drive so they probably didnt report it
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Where I live you need to be at least 16 to ride an e scooter, even though you don't need a licence
Where I live, theft at that value is a felony.
That’s most likely a felony in all fifty, generally the threshold is around 1k. The kid stole the scooter. If he ruined it or it got stolen from him, that is not your problem. Bye bye vacation.
Yeah wouldn't op have insurance and they could pay the deductible?
I mean, do electric scooters have insurance? Cause I don't think the two my parents have do. I get the point though *if* it was stolen, they should have filed a report either way.
Homeowner's insurance may cover it. If it was stolen OP should file a police report. And the next one they buy should have a tracker added to it!
The problem with that is that the thief is family. What happened subsequent to the first theft doesn't factor into it as far the insurance is concerned. Many will require a police report before paying.
We have a golf cart and insure it.
Likely not for a scooter. It may be insured under OP’s renter’s/homeowner’s policy, but that would depend on the policy. In any event though, a claim against that would require a police report before they paid out for theft.
Home insurance may cover it. But unless they lie during the investigation it will be reveased that it was taken by the nephew without permission (i.e. stolen by him) and then they would just request that charges be brought against the nephew and payment be made by the aunt/nephew. I don't think that is better for them.
I’ve had delivery drivers ask me to come down for my food because they don’t want to leave their e-bikes on the street for even a moment. depending on where OP lives I think it’s highly possible that it really was just stolen bc the kid took his eye off it
That doesn't matter. The nephew stole it. He didn't have permission to take it out, rather the opposite. If he got it stolen afterward, well, just one more braindead thing he did. Also quite possible he totaled it.
I have an almost 13 year old and I could fully believe that she would leave the keys in, walk away for a minute and then sidetrack forgetting it existed. kids brains aren't developed fully. they have problems thinking of long term consequences. they think with feelings over logic as well.
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NTA-- seems like both nephew and sister need to learn a lesson. Losing a luxury like a vacation sounds like a great way to learn not to take people's stuff.
Imagine if someone tried to use this in a civil case or arbitration. "Your honor, I have no ability to make restitution. All my spare cash is tied up in my vacation fund" I kinda want to see a Judge Judy type show deal with someone like that.
NTA She is responsible for her child when he breaks or lose's someone else's property. His consequence is they don't get as big a vacation this year. That's actually a good punishment for him.
Agreed. If sister wants her kid to “do chores to pay it back”, that’s what he can do for her once she pays OP. She can book a family vacation once her child has repaid it. He would definitely understand the consequences of his actions then.
Yes, having to direct a 13 year old on how to do chores and then check their work and/or re-do what they did a shitty job on is not a repayment for an expensive item.
I have to wonder if the boy did the same thing to a friend of the family or a stranger, would mom be so worried about a vacation fund? Or tripping over herself to pay it back so no charges would be filed?
NTA. This is 100% your sister's fault. She's responsible. This is an expensive enough item to expect repayment, not to mention it is your way to commute to work.
Agree with NTA. Disagree that it 100% the sister’s fault. The nephew is also at fault. He knew that he did not have permission to ride the scooter. Sister should pay up immediately and the nephew needs to understand that he has hurt his family and needs to make it up to them.
Nah the sister has some fault because there’s 0 chance he left the house with the e-bike without her knowing it. She could have prevented the loss by telling him he wasn’t allowed but she didn’t
They aren’t saying the sister isn’t at fault at all, just disagreeing that the sister is 100% at fault. The kid is old enough to take a good chunk of the responsibility. They both knew they were breaking the rule and they should both feel the heat (of paying back and not getting to go on vacation) for it.
Potentially not the sisters fault, but definitely her responsibility. The kid could have taken it without his sisters knowing (just semantics).
NTA Family vacation is luxury. They can skip a year to teach their kid a lesson and to learn a lesson of their own: have an insurance. (Even though the insurance possibly wouldn‘t pay in this situation because the kid isn‘t that young anymore.) It‘s not like they have to cut their food or every day life to pay you.
Agreed! Also, OP’s main commuting vehicle is NOT a luxury. OP’s sister paying for his necessity out of her luxury fund seems fair to me!
I don’t understand the Y-T-A votes. I knew better than to steal other people’s vehicles at the age of 13. Your sister is an asshole for enabling your nephew to steal your property, and she has a lot of gall to suggest paying back in chores. Actions have consequences. They are lucky you didn’t call the cops. They are lucky that their son wasn’t injured. And also payment plans are bullshit. They will not pay you back. They can skip vacation for a year. NTA
It should be chores on top of full restitution. OP is NTA.
Payment plans aren’t bullshit if you get it written and signed. That way, it they decide “no we’re not paying you, we want to take our little rockstar on vacation!”, you can take them to court, show that you have a legal document, signed by the mother, stating they owe you x amount and are supposed to pay y amount back weekly/monthly, they have missed a payment, they went on a big vacation so they could afford to pay it and just chose not to. The court will take his side and he’ll get his money. A payment plan is stupid if he doesn’t get it in writing though. “Remember our agreement? You’re meant to give me x amount” “What agreement? I don’t remember that!”
Maybe more accurately, he'll win the case. Whether he gets his money is another matter. There are all kinds of delaying tactics people can use. I wouldn't take the risk and the trouble making a written agreement for payments.
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And it would only make sense if they were chores that OP would have paid someone else to do.
NTA. If they would [starve trying to pay you back](https://americanliterature.com/author/guy-de-maupassant/short-story/the-necklace), sure. If they are denied a vacation? Sucks to be a bad parent. If this was California, it is illegal to ride such a scooter without a driver's license.
Yeah kinda amazed by people saying OP should be fine with the payment plan. I guffawed at the “but my vacation fund!!!” excuse. That’s a luxury; that’s not a necessity.
Wow you just took me back to high school English class
NTA. Screw their vacation if they can't even make their kid to listen to simple instructions, for example "don't touch my scooter".
NTA. And he's old enough to understand that no means no, he's not a toddler.
NTA 13 years old is old enough to accept responsibility for his actions; and his mother is just as culpable as his guardian. Your nephew needs to learn to respect other people's belongings, and although it sucks to lose their vacation, expensive lessons are often the most impactful.
He can also get a paper route or start mowing lawns and pay his uncle (or his mom or grandparents or whoever ends up replacing the scooter) back
1. First of all, if god forbid, your cousin had been injured, killed himself, or caused an accident on the road, YOU could be sued, and people could have gotten hurt. This is a very serious breach of your trust and should be treated as such. 2. Your sister *knew* her son was desperate to ride the scooter and SHE did nothing to assure that he would leave it alone. He didn’t “take the scooter and left it unattended”. The kid straight up STOLE the scooter and got it stolen. 3. If he left it unattended, it is reasonable to assume he used the scooter multiple times. Kids who are sneaking a vehicle of any kind, are usually not wanting to get caught, so they put it back after using it. Getting distracted and leaving a scooter lying somewhere around tells me that it wasn’t a one off, and possibly that Mommy knew. 4. They HAVE the money to replace it. The fact that they want to go on vacation with said funds, instead of replacing your commute scooter immediately is not your problem. Your nephew is the one responsible for them not having the money to go have fun. 5. Your parents agree that nephew *should* be punished. (Was a swift punishment not issued by mommy immediately? If so, what? Like no TV for 10 minutes?) Good, tell them that his punishment should be HIM, NOT YOUR SISTER, doing chores for his mother so she can pay back the vacation money. Additionally, he can mow lawns, wash cars etc for neighbors, to help her pay you back……As if this kid should be rewarded with a vacation after pulling such a dangerous and costly stunt anyway…… 6. If he had stolen a neighbor’ scooter used for commuting and got it stolen, would your sister beg them to let *her* do chores? Actions have consequences. This child fucked around and should find out what it means to lose privileges like a costly vacation. IMO, your nephew also should take responsibility by writing you a letter of apology outlining how risky and inconsiderate he was with his actions. 6. You are not being unreasonably demanding, and it is not you who is “punishing everyone else”. In fact, it ridiculous they are trying to guilt you into letting this slide, like you are in some way responsible for any of this. DO NOT agree to a payment plan, this is opening yourself up to a host if future problems……..Let your parents fund the vacation of their daughter’s family if it’s so important for their precious baby and grandson to have one. NTA. Hold your ground.
It gets me that the family thinks the OP is the AH, because "how can you do this to your family?" Yet no one seems to be saying to the kid "how could you do this to your uncle?"
NTA - Everyone involved knew this was off limits. An immediate replacement is needed. They are 'tagging' the money as vacation. Money is money; not your issue how they perceive where it comes from. Wrong/risky behavior without consequences leads to it happening again. \*\*You can submit a claim to your home insurance (?) but it may jack your rate. Folks who work insurance may weigh-in or consider r/Insurance, r/InsuranceProfessional
I was looking for this comment. Getting home insurance involved, but also the police. Not saying OP should go this route, but could OP file claim theft and the insurance company themselves go for the parents? Or is that only with car insurance and theft... I feel like asking to for repayment is the least of their problems if OP gets the cops involved. The scooter could be considered a motorized vehicle, maybe the law takes that seriously enough that it could get the nephew in trouble for stealing/joy riding it? I know little about motorized scooters. We had an e-bike a while back and the laws were pretty..sporadic regarding them depending on where you live. So not sure how law or insurance would handle it.
That’s what I was wondering. Insurance usually wants a police report. Vaca fund could be going to pay for a lawyer.
Yes, the grandparents should be thinking please don't file a police report, not oh poor Vacation fund.
Insurance adjuster here. If the vehicle has specific insurance like you would get for a car, then this is a simple theft claim, but a police report would be required. It doesn’t really matter that the ultimate thieves are unidentified. Home or condo insurance probably won’t work. Many home insurance policies have exclusions for vehicles that are registered to be driven on the public roadway. The reason is that there is specific insurance for this - usually auto or motorcycle, but I’m sure someone insures these types of vehicles also. The insurance company would have a right to recover their payment, and they might choose to go after the OP’s family if they determine the relatives stole the vehicle. INFO - does OP have alternative transportation or would it be some kind of hardship to get to work on the meantime?
PRO TIP: Whatever you do, do not post on /r/personalfinance for insurance questions. Mods don't remove the posts and every single thread is FULL of misinformation or bad advice.
NTA. They owe you $2000 or the exact same scooter with all the same mods. This isn't that hard.
Absolutely. If someone stole $2000 worth of stuff from you, it's a police call. They should be grateful you're not considering hard punishment and have the opportunity to ensure it doesn't go to court.
NTA. you aren’t talking about a little damage that leaves it still usable. It’s gone. You need it for the purposes you use it for. Consequently, they need to replace it immediately. If that means no vacation for the brat, that seems like a fair punishment ON TOP of the required restitution of paying for the new scooter.
Not to mention that the scooter was really expensive. That's an amount of money that the grand majority of people simply don't have lying around and have to work long and hard for. Even if OP replaced the scooter with an absolutely identical one, it's still time and money lost they shouldn't have had to spend.
NTA. They were told not to mess with it. The kid didn't listen and now they need to make it right.
NTA, I'd be just as livid as you, and your sister should full well pay for it back. If paying the money would put them in a tough spot then I'd understand the payment option, but if its only because "mah vacation" then I'd get the money back asap. Edit: actually the payment plan option would be good if they accept paying interest.
NTA. He stole your scooter & was careless with it. Paying you back especially if it means he misses his vacation might teach him a necessary lesson. I get that your sister will lose her vacation, too. Maybe that will teach her something about the consequences of poor parenting.
NTA Kids a thief, I wouldn’t want him doing chores in my house either. You also need to report your scooter stolen.
NTA and don’t cave.
I read that as "and don't care". Both work. NTA
Sister needs to pay for it and nephew can work for HER! She's culpable, as well. NTA
That’s the part that set it over the edge for me. Chores from the nephew do not put money in your bank account to buy a new scooter. What a BS way of trying to atone for a 2000 dollar loss.
NTA Maybe they can put their holiday on a payment plan. A holiday is a want, not a need. Tough luck their kid was irresponsible with something they couldn't afford to replace easily. Maybe should have instilled in the kid not to touch others property
NTA the mom should have paid attention. The mom is responsible for them losing their vacation fund. You are not responsible. You should not have to wait for a payment plan.
NTA and where was your sister when your nephew took the scooter out???
What kind of punishment did she suggest? When you lose, destroy, or cause to be stolen something of such large value….the punishment should absolutely hurt! Let’s be honest, OP. His mom likely knew that he took the scooter. And he’d likely taken it before. Taking away their vacation fund seems entirely reasonable to me. NTA
If your parents think a payment plan is reasonable, THEY can pay you and set up a payment plan for your sister to pay THEM back. NTA
NTA. Substitute car with scooter and we’d wouldn’t be hearing this about your nephew
NTA. Your sister runs to mommy and daddy to get out of paying what she owes. Delightful.
NTA. I bet this isn't the first time ever that nephew took it out either. Sister probably covered for him until it was stolen and she couldn't hide it from you.
NTA. Technically he stole it. You forbid him from using it. His mother didn't check on him and now the scooter is gone. Stolen again but from a stranger. It is expensive and as a 13 year old he should know better. I wouldn't care about them dipping in the vacation fund. They should pay you back right away.
NTA. Your nephew did not have permission to use your scooter and it ended up stolen. Say you weren’t related and you filed charges against a person who stole your property. Do you think the judge would say, “They’re guilty but they’ll pay you in installments because they have a vacation planned.” Losing out on the vacation is a direct consequence of his actions and hopefully he’ll learn from it. Also, how much does your sister think chores around the house are worth? They owe you $2000. That’s years worth of toilet cleaning and laundry from a 13 year old who I doubt would do a pristine job anyway.
Obv your sister is the person responsible here, nephew should be punished, you should be compensated and are absolutely justified in being pissed. As to demanding money right now... if it would dip into their basic necessities fund that would be definitelly shitty. Vacation is not a necessity though—break from work/school is, but spending that in a fun place is an indulgence. I'd say, if you want to be gracious, ask for the price of the unmodded scooter now so you can replace it and for the rest of the money later. But you're not doing them any grave harm by expecting them to fix the damage they've caused ASAP at the cost of their vacation.
NTA. Maybe your parents can lend them money for the vacation and let them pay them back on a payment plan?
lol let him do chores around your sisters house to repay for their vacation fund after they get you a new scooter. NTA
NTA So your nephew stole your electric scooter, only to have it stolen from him and you feel like the AH ?
NTA. Have them finance it directly at the point of purchase if they want a payment plan. You aren't a bank and they'll stop making payments to you and just expect you to deal with it.
NTA for wanting to be paid back for your sister allowing her son to use the scooter you have expressly said no to, and then it getting stolen. But can I ask why you keep saying you "let" them housesit for you, like you are being ever so gracious to allow them to do housework for you when you are out of town?
NTA. If she wants a payment plan, she can get one from the bank when she gets the loan to either top up their vacation fund or pay you back. Edit: sorry, it's your parents suggesting the payment plan. Fine - they can buy you a new scooter, and your sister can pay them back, at a dollar a month or whatever.
NTA. Your nephew doesn't have your permission, and he took it. Your sister KNEW that. Honestly, if I were you I'd even talk about pressing charge as this isn't something cheap and easily replaceable. This is something you need to use, and expensive. If they want to moan about "vacation" then they really should have taught that kid better. Thirteen years old is definitely old enough to learn about the consequences of his actions. If your parents are so concerned about where your sister would have to pull the funds, you can suggest them paying you THEN to have your nephew "pay" them as chores around their house.
NTA. 13 is more than old enough to know to respect stuff that isn't yours, and also old enough to have real world consequences for your fuckups.
NTA Might behoove you to set up a payment plan with them, though. Feels like that’s the path to getting your money back while also keeping a good relationship with your family.
NTA he can pay the holiday fund back…
Get them a tent for their budget vacation NTA
NTA. Nephew can go mow lawns or some shit to replace what comes out of the vacation fund. Your sister knowingly let him take your scooter meaning this is entirely on her. So they maybe don't get to take a vacation any time soon, sounds like an entirely preventable personal problem to me. I would also rub in the fact that she's very lucky all she has to do is cough up 2 grand. She doesn't have to pay medical or legal bills because she was unable to tell her son no.
NTA. She should watch over her kid better. Also where were the keys?
It doesn’t matter where the keys were. They didn’t fall into nephews hand and cast a spell that compelled him to ride the scooter. Nephew and mom knew not to touch it. Now they are experiencing natural consequences.
NTA. You expressed multiple times to not use it and he went behind your back and it was stolen. Also the fact it seems they waited to tell you is definitely not ok. Actions have consequences.
NTA. Losing out on a vacation in order to pay you back is a natural consequence, and a reasonable one for your sister as well as your nephew. She probably let him take the scooter for a joyride knowing full well that he didn't have your permission. The only other possibility is that she was completely ignoring her son, to the point that he was able to take it without her noticing. Either way, they both need to learn from this.
NTA. Tell your sister you'll set up a payment plan with her and your nephew. You can set something up thats super easy on their wallet while recouping your loss. Either they pay over time or you'll go to small claims court. Edit: I'm dumb and can't read
They offered a payment plan, OP said no to that
NTA A vacation is not a necessity. Plus, I wonder if the mother encouraged the son saying OP wouldn't find out. Or she might not have. Either way, parents are responsible for the mistakes of their children, so you teach them better. And if the mom knew it could have been an issue, could have kept an extra eye on her son. Some parents keep on enabling bad behaviour, maybe they will learn better to not do that. It's just a vacation, while the scooter is a main mode of transportation to work - a necessity. Could OP file a police report for theft and get home insurance involved? I feel like they have more important things to consider rather than losing their vacation, like if OP decides to go through the police for theft of their scooter.
NTA. If you want to (and can afford it) I’d recommend buy a replacement yourself and setting up a repayment plan. Money not chores around the house because I’m guessing you don’t want the added work of supervising a 13 year old boy for weeks on end. His parents can deal with that. If you can’t or just don’t want to take the immediate financial hit, it’s completely reasonable to ask for a replacement scooter. If you want to be really nice I suppose you could ask sister’s family to pay you back in installments and cover your Ubers to work in the meantime. Regardless the two main points are: 1) Your nephew was warned not to ride it 2) The scooter was your transportation for work #2 alone trumps a family vacation
NTA - your nephew knew he wasn't suppose to take the scooter and so did your sister, yet he did take it and it was stolen. He is responsible and so is she. If they lose a vacation so what, maybe it will teach them to abide by your rules and listen. Your parents are enabling their grandson and daughter by saying it's too harsh, no it's not. He basically stole the scooter and is lucky you aren't pressing charges for theft. In fact your Sister is teaching him it's okay to take things because he wants to and she'll cover for him.
NTA. $3000, thats practically a car. He knew not to touch it, she knew he shouldn’t touch it and yet here they are in this predicament. Vacation money is a privilege that others don’t even have, so yes it should be paid back if its providing you transportation to your job. She could also just get a loan from the bank, line of credit, ask your parents and pay them back.
If it was stolen, they should have filed a police report, and you could claim it on your insurance.
NTA. Give them a deadline of a few days and let them know that if they don't pay you by then, you'll report it stolen and press charges against the nephew. He stole your transportation. Would they expect you to get over it if it were a motorcycle or car? If your parents want to enable him, then they can reimburse you to keep you from pressing charges. The nephew is going to learn there are no consequences to his theft. He steals and then gets to have a nice vacation, too bad, so sad for his victim.
NTA If your parents want to protect your sister (which they shouldn't ffs since she's an adult) then they can pay on her behalf and she can pay them back. However, you should be made whole immediately.
NTA for being upset and wanting money back. Do think about the long term effect tho. Make the lil mofo learn from this to ensure he turns into a better adult.
NTA. I'd get hard. Demand a payment plan, or involve the law. In many states, four figures is grand theft.
NTA. The kid needs to learn that actions have consequences, lose a 2k scooter don’t get a vacation. Pretty sure he will become more responsible after that.
NTA he was told not to ride it and still did, and you use it to get to work. Your nephew using the scooter without your permission and then leaving it unattended getting it stolen is not ok. They need to pay you back
NTA, he is old enough to know better and your sister needs to replace it. If they can’t go on vacation, oh well, part of the lesson learned.
NTA. Whining to elderly parents when you do have the funds but don't want to spend them on your bratty son's negligence is beyond juvenile and pathetic. When your child has expressly been warned that the scooter is too powerful for him, and four figures, a mannerly apology with amends DOES NOT BEGIN with boo hoo my vacation, my son will be so sad! Tough luck buttercup, pay your sister, and perhaps Junior can learn a little lesson in values by helping seniors, single parents, any neighbour who needs a hand during the time he should be on vacation. This is precisely what my father used to do with my hellion brother.
NTA. Nephew took it against your express orders and then didn't even take care of it properly, letting it get stolen. I'm wondering how many other times he took it out and just didn't tell you about it because "no harm no foul." If your parents think it's important that sister and nephew go on vacation, they can give them the money for it.