May 1, 2025 at 8:21 pm

His Neighbor’s Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

by Ashley Ashbee

Broken laptop screen

Pexels/Reddit

Kids have a habit of being impulsive and not considering what could go wrong.

Unfortunately other people usually pay the price.

See why the neighbor in this story is trying to change that.

AITA for sending my neighbor venmo requests every day until he pays for the laptop his kid broke?

I am a high school student and live with my family.

I was doing some homework on the patio table outside and I was the only one home.

I went inside to refill my water bottle and came back out to see my laptop on the ground and my neighbors kid running around the deck.

The damage was done.

The neighbor lives next door in a different house.

We don’t have a shared yard, so I was not expecting his kid coming around.

I tried to catch her and ask what had happened to the laptop and she ran away to her own house and wouldn’t talk to me.

I went home and checked on the ring camera and saw a video of my neighbors kid running into the yard, running under the table, pushing up on the underside of the table causing everything on it to tilt and slide to the ground, and running away, in the under a minute I’d been inside.

I downloaded the video to my phone and went to the neighbor’s house to ask him for money to replace the laptop.

I decided to ask for $1700 for the laptop and $159 for the lost time that I spent doing the homework that I’d have to redo.

I valued my lost time at the amount I’m paid at work since I’d likely have to skip a couple shifts at work to redo the assignment.

I went to the neighbor’s house and he said he wasn’t gonna pay because I shouldn’t have left the laptop out and anything could have happened like rain or something.

I said it was a clear day and I only went inside for a minute.

Anyway “anything” didn’t happen, I had a video of his kid ‘happening’ to my laptop and since she was too little to pay for it herself he had to as her dad.

He said no.

So, he’s trying a different route.

Now this might be petty but I have his Venmo because my family and his family did a barbecue block party thing and I had to pay him for a share of the shopping.

So every day I’ve sent a $1859 request to him and he keeps declining it.

I told my family and they think I shouldn’t of left out the laptop and that I was harassing him doing that and they will replace it for me.

They would use some of my college fund money.

But I feel like they shouldn’t have to pay.

Plus I’ll need that college fund for college!

So I’ve kept Venmo requesting him and also posted the video from the camera on the community Facebook saying this:

“Hey, Any advice here? I had a neighbor’s kid come to my house and break something expensive on camera. Are they supposed to pay and how can I do that?

The parents have been refusing to pay a bunch of times. Is there some home owner insurance to help? Sorry for dumb questions, I’m a high schooler and have never dealt with something like this before!”

Anyway my parents found the post and got upset at me for stirring the drama and for continuing to Venmo request him

AITA for being so stubborn about getting paid for the broken laptop?

Here is what people are saying.

Good answer.

Screenshot 2025 04 14 at 12.36.41 AM His Neighbors Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

No idea why annoying someone would work.

Screenshot 2025 04 14 at 12.37.18 AM His Neighbors Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

Exactly!

Screenshot 2025 04 14 at 12.37.45 AM His Neighbors Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

I doubt it.

Screenshot 2025 04 14 at 12.38.53 AM His Neighbors Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

It really sounds like a case for Judge Judy.

Screenshot 2025 04 14 at 12.39.07 AM His Neighbors Kid Broke His Laptop, So He Wants The Dad To Pay For A New One

He might be young, but he’s mad.

I’m not sure either of those things is going to work in his favor here, though.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.