<p>Whenever I have a problem with my roommate I tell her about it and she usually apologizes and tries to fix the problem. This time however, I found that a possession of mine has been broken to the point where I probably can't use it anymore, and a piece of it is completely missing. Wondering how this happened I asked her why it was broken and she claimed she hadn't touched it and had no idea how it broke. While I'd like to believe her, she's the only other person living in the room and obviously I didn't break it. It's worth about $30 and was a gift from a close friend so I'd like it replaced/money to replace it.
The only thing I can think of is that her boyfriend (who is always sleeping over) broke it when she wasn't there and he didn't tell her about it. Even if this is the case, she is still responsible for replacing it. </p>
<p>I'm not really sure what to do since she insists she didn't break it. Do I ask her again and tell her to ask her boyfriend?
What do I do if she refuses to pay to replace it?</p>
<p>You can ask her to ask her boyfriend if he might have broken it. It doesn’t have to come off as accusing. You can simply begin with, “Well, I didn’t break it, and I believe you when you say you didn’t break it. Maybe your boyfriend might have accidentally broken it when he was here? Do you think you can ask him?” You say your roommate is pretty cool when it comes to fixing problems, so I’m assuming she won’t take offence for your asking. </p>
<p>If the boyfriend turns out to be the one who broke the item then I think it’s fair of you to ask for monetary compensation. If the boyfriend says he didn’t, whether he did or not, then I’m afraid you can’t do anything beyond that.</p>
<p>I asked her if maybe her boyfriend broke it when she wasn’t there and could she ask him if that’s what happened. Her response was “no, he would have told me” and she again claimed she had nothing to do with it breaking.
It’s clear whoever broke it cleaned up the broken pieces afterwards because all but 2 small pieces are completely missing, so that person knows what they did.
Again, she is really the only likely/possible culprit unless someone snuck into the room just to break that one thing…</p>
<p>This is why I don’t want to room with other people. They don’t respect your personal property.</p>
<p>It’s pretty obvious she’s not going to payout. Maybe if you bothered her enough, she would, but that’d strain relations with someone you’re going to have to live with for a while. I’d just eat the $30 and in the future guard your stuff better if at all possible.</p>
<p>I agree with the advice above that you don’t want to come off as accusative. That will likely only make your roommate defensive. Then the chances of a productive outcome would be quite low. Just have a respectful conversation with her and work out together what might have happened.</p>