25-year-old man refuses to pay €59 replacement after they broke friend's €400 electric skateboard

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jul 19, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

If you break it, you should buy it. That's a pretty good rule to abide by, no matter what. 

If you've borrowed an item from a friend, and then it breaks while under your care, it would probably behoove you to offer to pay for it. This is a pretty basic tenet of life. You don't want your friends to think that you're cheaping out on them and sticking them with a bill that you caused. It's not even always about the money. It's about the gesture. You have to treat your friends with respect, or else why would you expect them to be friends with you? Relationships are built on trust, and if you can't have that, you can't have anything. That sense of trust eroded in this friendship, and they weren't quite sure what to do in the aftermath. 

When you reach a certain age, it's time to start taking responsibility. When you're under a certain age, you can get away with some less-than-perfect behavior. It's how you learn. If you don't make mistakes, then you will never grow as a person. But once you hit a certain level of maturity, you should probably look in the mirror and realize that the choices you're making aren't always the best ones. Maybe it takes a certain canon event for you to truly realize it, or maybe it's small things coming together over the course of time. 

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  • A person holds a skateboard to their side
    via Roman Malik

    A person holds a skateboard to their side

  • AITAH for asking my friend to pay €59 after crashing my new electric skateboard?

    Pre Context: I am 29M and he is 25M, so we are no teenagers or kids. My younger brother recently gifted me a brand-new electric skateboard worth around €600. A close friend of mine (we've been friends for 5-6 years) wanted to try it, so I let him.
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • One thing that's relevant is that he has a history of being very overconfident. He's a great friend, but this has always been one of his flaws. He ego lifts at the gym despite getting shoulder injuries from it. Last year, he decided to run a 10K despite never having trained before. He actually finished faster than me (and I'm someone who runs
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • marathons), but he injured his foot badly enough that he hasn't run since. He can be inflexible and doesn't always acknowledge when he's wrong. I've always ignored these things because nobody is perfect and I make fun of him about it to annoy him that he never says NO to anything despite not knowing where to begin and ends up arguing for no reason, but this pattern is relevant here.
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • When he first rode the skateboard, he was wearing a helmet and everything went fine. Later, after we'd been sitting for a while, he got back on without the helmet. I don't think he intentionally chose not to wear it, he just forgot, and honestly, I didn't notice either. He then accelerated too much, lost control, and crashed. He got some scrapes and a small cut on his face, but thankfully nothing serious.
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • The skateboard itself survived, but the remote's screen cracked in the crash. I was pretty upset because it was a brand-new gift from my younger brother, but since the remote still worked, I didn't bring up money or ask him for anything.
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • A couple of days later, the remote completely stopped working. Before giving up, I spent several hours trying to repair it and re- pair it with the board, but nothing worked. I eventually had to order a replacement remote for €59. This is the message I sent him:
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • "Bro, today my remote completely stopped working! I got ready to go for a ride, but when I got downstairs nothing worked. I was already supposed to meet a friend, and I spent several hours trying to pair the remote with the board, but
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • it just doesn't work anymore. I ordered a new remote, and it cost €59. I hope you won't mind paying for it. I really tried to make it work, but I lost my patience today. Sorry, and I hope you understand."
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • We both have jobs, so it's not really about the €59. It's about taking responsibility when you damage someone else's property. The bigger issue is that I sent that message on Sunday, and it's now Thursday. He hasn't replied at all which has never happened. The silence honestly annoys me more than the money as he keeps writing in our friend group.
    via Ok-Understanding2412
  • A person in white sneakers rides an electric skateboard
    via FitNish Media

    A person in white sneakers rides an electric skateboard

  • This pair of friends found themselves in a pretty common situation. One of them borrowed the other's property- in this situation, it happened to be a skateboard- and while it was under the friend's care, it broke. But instead of doing the normal thing and offering to pay for it, he took a different road. A road that probably led to some trouble and strife. So the friend reached out to the internet to get some second and third opinions on this story, which it readily provided. Keep scrolling to read them. 

  • Commenters agreed that this could be a friendship-ender.

    SleeplessPilot NTA But your "friend" is showing you exactly who they are. Consider the price of repair cheap to realise that truth.
    via SleeplessPilot
  • Tall-Poem-6808 As the saying goes, it cost. you 59 EUR to find out that your friend is not such a great guy after all. Take it as a cheap lesson and move on. NTA
    via Tall-Poem-6808
  • arifaix NTA, but, I wouldn't hold my breath for the money. His lack of communication with you speaks volumes - he doesn't accept responsibility.
    via arifaix
  • I so I know at I'm a petty b this point I'd have screenshot the lack of response and put this into the groupchat by now and asked why I'm being ignored privately, however, this is generally an AH move and I'm not recommending it.
    via arifaix
  • Potential_Web_4092 probably should have asked him how much he would contribute without the meeting friend composition and loss of patience drama. Without your last sentence as well. Then there is your opinion of him composition. Anyway, hope you get some recourse.
    via Potential_Web_4092
  • Neo1881 Consider the €59 as the cost of finding out that your friendship is worth less than that to him. And that if you value something, you don't lend it to someone who is irresponsible. He's old enough to be an adult but his lack of response shows he's still a child. Pick better friends and move on.
    via Neo1881
  • Classic-Wafer-7838 NTA. He's the one who damaged it, and it's not even an unreasonable amount of money to ask for. It doesn't sound like you're going to get it, though, unfortunately.
    via Classic-Wafer-7838
  • PurpleEmotional1401 €59 is a small price to pay to prove conclusively that someone can't be relied upon. NTA
    via PurpleEmotional1401
  • Single_Evidence_867 NTA, a real friend would of said after crashing it that he'd pay for any damage. Guess this is a lesson as to what kind of friend he really is!
    via Single_Evidence_867
  • JJQuantum NTA. Follow up. "Hey just checking to make sure you received my text and when I might expect the money." If he still doesn't respond then send him a Venmo request. If he doesn't respond after that then end the friendship.
    via JJQuantum

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