Well, if all else fails, i will gladly repair the jacket for you! Maybe you could suggest that, dont worry, i wont charge you Chf390!

Thank you very much - I'll get back to you if we end up agreeing to make a repair.

for a 13/14 guy ?

Guess parents are bankers......

You did very good in communicating with them.

Now obviously you've done your side of it.

Ignore them or make report to the school master.

But make sure you don't pay a penny. You've been very reasonnable, now they can go to hell.

Especially 400chf jacket, my ass.

Anyway if the retard mother's not capable of speaking to you on the phone,what she can do?

Actually act like a swiss:
Report to the police their son's blackmailing you, and physically abused your son.

Make sure not to talk to them, report also to school master, and their agency/landlord.


They should get 4-5 fines for that.

I think you mean "after he tore it himself accidentally later in the day, and needed to blame it on someone".

My response to this family would be: "Prove it".

I know I shouldn't make judgements, but looking at the clothes the boy was wearing yesterday and the house they live in ... I don't think the parents are bankers. They may have bought him a very expensive jacket for some reason but I doubt it.

Thanks. For the time being, I shall ignore it depending on what happens at school today, if anything.

Keep us updated. Maybe the kid just feels like 400CHF pocket money. You said you could hear the mother in the backround. What was she saying? Maybe she wanted to teach her son that he cannot get whatever he wants?
Maybe she didnt want to involve herself but teaching her son that he has to stand by his decisions?

well, seeing it from another point of view: you have a not so well off family who got a nice jacket for their son and at school somebody else damaged this. it doesn't sound unreasonable that whoever damaged it should pay for the repair.

Inform the boys' parents in writing, registered post plus signature, that you need a copy of the bill of the jacket in order that you can submit it to your insurance company for reimbursement (Responsibilité Civile). That should do the trick! You could also mention in your letter that the insurance company might need the jacket too!

By the same logic, if you ran into me because I pulled out of a junction too late, it would be your fault. Nice one! I'll keep an eye for you around town - I need a scratch repairing in the passenger door.

Ah, so now we should teach him the lesson that he can act like a d!ck and get a nice new jacket...?

Phil, I think you missed this point:

Based on this (assuming it is true of course, yady yady ya) the boy was the victim of his own stupidity. We can all say the OP's son should have risen above it, but come on, we are talking about 13-14 year old boys.

Somebody damaged his jacket because he threw an unprovoked punch. Isn't there a lesson in there somewhere that's lost if he gets away with a new jacket?

Correct, in America law suits for $10mio would have already been issued

i suggest you take the boy in question shopping to the local caritas there they have value for money

A party cannot unilaterally go and replace an item and then come claiming the cost - whatever happens. So these bozos are in the wrong.

The school, as it happened on their property, has a responsibility.

You cannot and must not deal with the child. He is not an adult. You can therefore ignore everything he says. The parent(s) are the only ones you should be dealing with.

If the kid calls up, tell him that clearly. And add that, if he's not mature enough to behave correctly in the school yard then how can he be responsible enough to handle this situation.

For anything to be done, the jacket cannot simply be replaced but should be assessed, the age considered and then any next steps can be taken; if the new jacket has been purchased already then they are absolutely in the wrong.

It sounds like his mother does not like confrontation.

Now get your husband on the case

I have just read all of this thread with sheer amazement... how do things ever escelate to this level? All this messing around when all that should have been done by now is:

• Physically checked jacket for actual damage to see if it was really minor (zip) or a critical rip.
• Checked brand and insisted on receipt for proof of purchase amount. Once you have brand name and model you can google price... obvious no?

The moment I realised that a mother was in the background making her kid talk to me in that fashion yet too cowardly to pick up the phone I would have asked for their address and being round there like a shot to speak to the parents, politely yet firmly, to resolve this.

That it has even got the point where a kid is repeatedly calling your house almost beggars belief, but personally I wouln't give them a single rappen for what was clearly childsplay in response to your kid taking a punch. They have insurance, they can chuffing use it.

What bizzarre behaviour.

That's a good line .. why didn't I think of that?

Yes, I know you are right. The kid isn't repeatedly calling the house. This was the second time. After his first call we sent a note to his parents with our numbers and said they could call us to discuss. We heard nothing more from any of them (kid as well) until last night.

Perhaps I am being rather pedantic, but we've made it clear that we will only deal with the parents and I think they should initiate the contact.

Bizzarly, if the mother had rung me on the first occasion (before I knew the whole story), I would have been full of apology, probably would have applied the logic that the kids were equally to blame and offered to do something - if not replace the whole jacket.

As it is now, they are annoying me to the extent that I feel more intractable on the matter.

get them arrested and put in jail

... if only ...