At least you did the right thing, most people would have walked away and pretended that they had no clue what happened... FYL for you having to pay for something that may or may not have been your fault

No good deed goes unpunished.

And that kind of bullshit is exactly why I'm one of those people who'd walk away and pretend I had no clue what happened.

tuition is allready hella expensive in america probably just best to walk away. . now i know i will

Going by this story there is no way it could be OP's fault. I once had a desk break on me and was told I would have to pay for it, until I proved that it had no screws in place and was held together by glue.

I remember that during drama class, we had to stand on the tables and "express ourselves"... Yeah that didnt end well, someone broke a table exactly by half and he was told to pay for the table. We all complained about it, and then the teacher had to pay the 75 euros. Guess which class got the lowest marks..

That's the politics of college for you! I'm sorry, OP, you should fight that. I know my college has ways to fight unjust fines. I'm sure yours does too.

Why bother disputing it? I would just pay the 400 just to get it over with. Fighting it will just waste time, energy and money.

Not the best policy, but it's good to reduce your stress as much as possible.

#34 Not everyone has $400 to just throw away to save a bit of time and effort

34, OP was assured that he wasn't at fault but got a fine/bill anyway. Definitely dispute it. That $400 could be spent on essentials instead of some BS bill.

YOU DID IT!!!! Hat trick on the comments ?

Plus 400 dollars to fix a bench leg ? What a joke !

Wow that's ridiculous. They punish you for doing the right thing?

I know right!? If it was me I'd say " Get fined for doing the right thing... Ok... If it happens to me again, I'm not saying a word"

That ain't right. You'd think a college would have the money to replace a bench. Guess the educational system really is outta funds.

oh they have the money... but why spend theirs when they can spend yours?

The dirty rat bastards

They are really trying to push people towards not saying anything at all.

Just grab some duct tape and fix that shit, then Bill them for contractor services to the tune of 400 bucks

Contact your school's bursar office about it. Hopefully you've documented your interactions with the administration. I'd also check up on your school's policies on dealing with damages not caused by malicious intent or carelessness, as they may work in your favor. It may even be worth contacting a lawyer and getting them to hassle the school. Typically, they'll gladly give up a $400 bill (which is pocket change to them) to not have to deal with legal issues.

but you'd waste more than 400 on the lawyer..

Most lawyers will look into a case before charging you. Which would involve contacting the schoo

Take them to all claims court

They sure love encouraging people to be honest -_-

Fight it! There has to be a way to avoid paying and being punished. Accidents happen.