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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Charlotte Roszko

Mum 'annoyed' by friend's £12K gift to her son

A mum is 'annoyed' at her friend for lending her son an expensive guitar without saying how much it was worth.

After her son started guitar lessons, the mum took to her friends' group chat to ask if someone had an instrument he could borrow for a few months, before she and her husband buy him one for Christmas. One of her friends kindly dropped off a guitar at the house that night, which the boy went on to use in his music lessons.

However, after the music teacher kept complimenting the quality of the guitar, the mum took to the Internet and discovered it was worth £12,000. The mum is now 'annoyed' at her friend for not sharing the value of the gift, as she is worried about her 'clumsy' son damaging it.

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Taking to Mumsnet's popular Am I Being Unreasonable (AIBU) thread, the mum expressed her opinions. In a post titled 'To be annoyed at my friend being overly generous', she wrote: "My DS (darling son) started guitar lessons at school but after four weeks needed to supply his own guitar.

"We planned to get him one for Xmas, so I asked in my friends' group chat if anyone had one we could borrow for a couple of months. One of my friends instantly said yes and dropped it off that night. The next few weeks my son would come out and say that his tutor had said what a great guitar he had.

"I assumed he was just being nice and encouraging. We were at parents evening last night and the note from the tutor (who wasn't there) said my son was progressing extremely quickly and had he been geting extra lessons from the owner of the 'fantastic guitar'. My husband and I were a bit puzzled and we moved on.

"This morning I Googled the guitar and it's worth £12,000! It's in a soft case my friend brought it in and I've been putting it in the boot with shopping bags etc all rattling around. I'm mortified!

"I'd never have let my son take it, he has dyspraxia and can be clumsy (as can I!). I'm actually annoyed she didn't tell me! My friend is well off but has kids of her own so knows what they can be like. Aibu to be annoyed at her for not telling me the value?"

The woman's post was met with a flurry of comments from fellow Mumsnet users, many of whom believed that the friend was unaware of the guitar's value. One wrote: "I'd be a bit nervous and maybe ask her if she realises the value? She may have inherited it and just not realise? I'd tell her the story of how impressed the teacher is etc and say you were shocked but keep it light.

"On the other hand, if your friend is very wealthy, she may just not be that worried about it and just wanted to help your son." Someone else said: "Obviously give it back! No way you can risk damaging that."

Another Mumsnet user commented: "Please don't return it, that's a real slap in the face. Just take care of it." Someone else added: "She sounds lovely. Yes, you are unreasonable to be annoyed at having a kind friend. I'm sure your child won't be let down by having their own guitar bought for them."

Someone else wrote: "I understand why you might be uncomfortable being responsible for it, but why annoyed? It's incredibly generous of your friend."

Another person said: "I think you need to thank the friend for her generosity but tell her that you are concerned for being a caretaker for such a valuable instrument. Ask her what her expectations are if it were to be damaged or stolen, and if it's insured. Then at least you know what the terms of the loan are and can decide if you want to keep taking this risk."

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