hotpoint aq9d69u controll ribbon broke

i have the above machine and the cable / flex / ribbon from the touch sensitive fascia to the front display PCB has broken.

Has anyone come across this as a common fault.

we originally attended the call to resolve the F1 fault,

This was resolved with a replacement PCB as the old was damaged by a damp motor.

On fitting the PCB we found that we could not use some of the touch buttons on the display needed to set the language.

On further inspection we found the the ribbon from the touch fascia to the display PCB was ripped / snapped / damaged. As the buttons affected are not buttons that the customer has to use to set the wash cycle this fault may have been nu-noticed for a while.

Our customer is adamant that this “must have” been broken by the engineer slipping with the screw driver when he was removing the front PCB to inspect. There is no signs of any evidence such as scratches near the ribbon as the screwdriver ran off the ribbon into the plastic on the door.

if anyone has any advice on this it would be greatly appreciated i have images if anyone wants to see.

thanks