Have you ever had someone take advantage of your trust? Have you fallen victim to a complicated scam? It’s a terrible feeling, and sometimes it can be hard to know what to do about it.
In the following story, Melissa finds herself in such a situation when a home seller reneges on a deal that was already made. What would you do if you were in her shoes?
House Hunting
Melissa’s family had been on the lookout for a spacious and beautiful house to move into, and finally, they found the perfect one in the early 2000s. The house needed a lot of repairs and renovations, including fixing plumbing issues, cleaning the pool, and landscaping. However, the family was undaunted and determined to turn the house into a cozy haven for themselves.
The owners agreed to do the necessary plumbing repairs before the family moved in, provided the family moved all their stuff into the 2-car garage, making it easier for the owners to move out.
The Got to Work
Melissa’s dad, being an army veteran, was no stranger to hard work and immediately set to work. He enlisted the help of his children to fix the plumbing and do all the landscaping and pool work that needed doing. Everyone pitched in, and the house began to look incredible compared to its previous state. They were a week away from moving in when things took a sudden turn.
Melissa’s dad had paid a cash deposit to secure the house, and there was no paper trail. The owners saw this as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Just a few days before the family was supposed to move in, the owners informed Melissa’s dad that they had changed their minds about the agreement. They refused to move their stuff out of the garage, and they wouldn’t do any of the plumbing repairs.
They’d “Changed Their Mind”
Melissa’s dad was left with two options, deal with no garage and pay for the plumbing fixes or walk away with no refund of his deposit. The owners even threatened to rent the house to someone else since they had already made all the necessary repairs and improvements, increasing the house’s value.
Melissa’s dad was furious at the injustice of it all, and he decided that he wouldn’t let the owners get away with their scam. He asked to return the keys they’d given him the next morning and started thinking of a plan. It was a desperate move, but he had no choice.
There was no paperwork, nothing to tie her dad to the house, no cameras or security system. So Melissa’s dad and his kids began their plan to take revenge on the owners. They decided to throw a little party and invited all of Melissa’s siblings over to the house.
A Plan to Get Even
Her dad gave the kids specific tasks of destruction, and they carried them out with great energy and creativity! One was shoveling sand into the pool while their parents told Melissa’s brother, with anger issues, to punch out every hole they had patched up in the walls! They told the younger kids to rock the banister on the stairs until it broke and instructed Melissa to rip out all the landscaping they had done and make a path out of it all over the stairs.
It was a wild and cathartic experience for Melissa and her siblings as they took back everything they had fixed or improved, undoing all their hard work. Meanwhile, Melissa’s dad and stepmom went through everything in the garage, taking anything they could give to family, pawn, or sell. There were high-value collectibles, jewelry, and even a computer that Melissa’s dad gave to them as a Christmas gift.
Vengeance Was Delivered!
The next day, Melissa’s dad put the keys in the garage with its door open for the owners to find. He then unplugged the phone and never heard from those people again. It wasn’t legal on either end, but the family had an amazing Christmas that year. They were all grateful for the chance to take revenge on the owners who had tried to scam them. Melissa even managed to create a tastefully done carpet of hedge branches, torn-out flowers, and sand and pool gravel on the actual carpet of the house.
In the end, Melissa and her family had the last laugh. They had taken revenge on the owners who had tried to take advantage of them, and they had a fun and memorable Christmas. While they had broken the law, they had also stood up for themselves and refused to be taken advantage of. It was a lesson that Melissa never forgot.
They Stood Up for Themselves
Melissa’s father’s revenge on the deceitful homeowners may not have been the most legally sound approach, but it was certainly effective in righting the wrong the homeowners had done to Melissa’s family.
This story serves as a reminder that in situations where people feel helpless, they can still take action and fight for themselves. It also highlights the importance of having a paper trail and ensuring that all agreements are in writing to avoid falling victim to scams or deceitful behavior.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone reneged on a deal? How did you handle it?
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The post They Showed Their Scammers That They’d Chosen the Wrong Victims This Time first appeared on Wealthy Living!
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / George Rudy. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit