Teen Contacts Aunt's Ex When She Wouldn't Pay Him for the Damages Their Son Caused

A teenager sought the verdict of Reddit users after contacting an aunt's ex to recover the amount spent on damages caused by their son.

Reddit users seemed to agree in one voice after a 16-year-old threw the AITA question to clarify if recovering money for damages from a cousin's dad was appropriate.

The poster began by establishing that their aunt was a recent divorcee, who shared a 9-year-old son with her ex-husband. The said aunt visited the poster's parent's house, alongside her son, for a short break to ease off the post-divorce stress.

While the grownups were having a conversation, the teenager let the cousin play on their laptop since they had nothing in common. The said cousin suddenly slammed the keyboard forcefully before knocking the laptop off the desk to the 16-year-old's dismay.

The original poster, whose gender was undisclosed, yelled at the kid for the act. However, the teen's parents and aunt scolded the poster, while trying to pacify the 9-year-old.

The teenager tried fixing the broken laptop, but the warranty covered just the keyboard, with the screen requiring an additional $400.

The poster's parents offered only $100 for the laptop repairs, which was not enough. They also bluntly refused to add more, while scolding the teenager for being insensitive.

Eventually, the 16-year-old gathered the extra $300 required and fixed the laptop. In a bid to make up for the extra dollars spent, the OP contacted the boy's dad and managed to secure the $400 bill for the damages.

However, the teenager's parents flared up upon finding out how the bills came about. The said aunt also felt humiliated that the teen requested money from her ex.

Everyone believed the move was both humiliating and unhealthy for the 9-year-old, who was supposedly facing a hard time over his parent's divorce.

After recounting the situation, the original poster requested Reddit users to give their verdict on whether or not the action was justified.

Reddit platform users gave their takes on the issue, with most justifying the poster's actions. Some went on to commend the 16-year-old for being resourceful and persistent. One wrote:

"NTA. Parents need to learn to take responsibility for anything their underage kids do, especially when family's involved."

Another opined that the parents had more fault in the situation for attempting to blame OP for a child's mistake. The aunt also got tagged as "TA" for not taking responsibility for the damage, driving the teenager to approach the kid's dad.

One Reddit user pointed out that despite being on the right, the teenager should have been more compassionate towards the 9-year-old's plight. The comment further explained how going through a divorce was never easy on anyone, much less, a 9-year-old child.

Read another story about a teenager who wore a swimsuit, going against her mom's wishes.