It’s every parent’s worst nightmare: No sooner had a mum and dad settled into their flight with their two young kids when the plane encountered turbulence and the younger child began vomiting.
In a scene that will be all too familiar to anyone with children, the resulting liquids spread far and wide. Once the little boy began to feel better, the parents cleared up the mess and settle back into their seats.
Then things began to get tricky.
Sharing her story on Mumsnet under the user name ‘incognitoforonenight’, the mum explained a dilemma that has divided opinion all over the world:
“Hour later, lady behind my seat speaks to my DH [Dear Husband], saying, “hope your son is ok, but he was sick and it’s on my handbag”. We apologise and she says, “no, it’s on my handbag, it’s very expensive and you need to get your insurance to pay for it to be repaired / cleaned”.
‘It was a Louis Vuitton bag and it’s worth £900!! We took photos of the bag and there was nothing on it. She said she’d cleaned off what she could after the vomit had pooled down the floor to her bag.
‘I said I couldn’t see any damage to the bag at all – and she said it was the smell that was now “ingrained”.’
Later that week, the family received an email from the woman, explaining that she had visited the Louis Vuitton store and their cleaners were unable to remove the smell of vomit from her bag. She reaffirmed her position that the bag would need to be replaced at the family’s expense.
Some readers felt the parents should pay up. RestlessTraveller said: ‘I think you’re liable. It’s no-one’s fault really but at the end of the day your child has ruined her bag.’
Madbengalmum agreed, saying: ‘Sooo, why does the value matter? Your kid puked on it, so its only fair that you sort it out.’
Other commenters disagreed: ‘she shouldn’t have put such an expensive bag on the floor’ said one.
What do you think, should the family have to pay for the other passenger’s ruined bag? Let us know on Twitter @HerFamilydotie.
