Ohio Nurses's home mistakenly cleared out by bank.

[aceplace57]

I’m amazed at the stupidity of banks. They go to the wrong house, break in, and throw out a family’s stuff? Then expect receipts before they pay the woman restitution? They should have paid the $18,000. I suspect that a good lawyer can get a lot more. It took weeks of uncertainty to even discover who did this. Imagine all the personal items that a family of 5 has, kids toys, crayon drawings, photos, clothes and memories wiped out. The pain and suffering alone has to be worth a penalty.

Could criminal charges be brought? GPS is no excuse. GPS locates a street and maybe a specific block. You can’t expect GPS to tell you the exact driveway. You got to check house numbers yourself. The story isn’t clear. Were the police the ones that made the mistake or the bank? Who actually broke into the home?

Ohio Family's Home Mistaken for Foreclosed Property Across the Street

Katie Barnett, 36, a nurse, said her family had left for about two weeks last month and returned to find the locks on their home had changed and many of their belongings had been taken.

“We called the cops and they said they thought it was a squatter,” she said.

Two dressers and clothing for her five children were taken, as well as items from outside their home, including pool cleaning supplies and patio furniture, she said.

Weeks later, she said, police told her that a bank representative had contacted them, saying someone was living in a foreclosed home: the Barnett’s one-story, three-bedroom home.

“Obviously I wanted to find out what bank it was. I was mad about the whole situation,” said Barnett.

She later learned First National Bank in Wellston, of which she is not a customer, had mistaken her home for a bank-owned property across the street.

A bank employee told 10TV News that the bank is trying to come to an agreement with Barnett.

[Bricker]

I find this point, raised by the homeowner, particularly compelling:

“He told me that I would probably need receipts for everything that they took and they were not paying retail,” she said. “I told him I wasn’t running a yard sale and asking them to make me an offer. I told him I don’t keep receipts around for everything I have just in case a bank comes by and steals my stuff. And if I did, where do you think it would be? With the stuff that you threw away.”

[aceplace57]

There was still some furniture left in the house. I would have been terrified that they’d come back while I was at work. The locks had been changed and “the thieves” had the keys.

I’m surprised that the bank’s clean out crew didn’t completely empty the house and get it ready for resale. I’m not sure why they’d just throw out half the stuff. But in this case it’s a good thing they didn’t.

At least the woman’s 5 kids had beds to sleep in.

[Snowboarder_Bo]

I hope she manages to record all of her conversations with the bank, so she can show in court what utter dickheads they’ve been.

[miss_elizabeth]

@Bricker

I find this point, raised by the homeowner, particularly compelling:

As do I. I think a jury would find it compelling as well.

In your professional opinion, what are her odds on getting money for this? Looking at this as a layman, I would think the bank is going to end up paying quite a bit, but obviously the bank doesn’t think so, or they wouldn’t act like such assholes. What am I missing?

[alphaboi867]

I think it’s particularly appalling (though not surprising) that nobody from the bank has been charged with a felony yet. Those bank reps deserve to be locked up.

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Thread on this: Excuse me, but when did GPS become a valid legal identifier of a property? - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board

[aceplace57]

Doesn’t sound like the cops are interested in doing anything.
http://www.10tv.com/content/stories/2013/07/22/athens-county-woman-wants-possessions-back-after-bank-tried-to-repossess-wrong-house.html

No one seems interested in helping this lady. This seems like a crime to me. Excuses don’t matter. They broke in and took this lady’s property.

Barnett, who had been away from the house for about two weeks, said she had to crawl through the window of her own house in order to get in after she used her own key that did not work.

Some of the items in her house had been hauled away, others were sold, given away and trashed.

It turns out the bank sent someone to repossess the house located across the street from Barnett’s house, but by mistake broke into hers instead.

“They told me that the GPS led them to my house,” Barnett said. “My grass hadn’t been mowed and they just assumed.”

She called the McArthur Police about the incident, but weeks later, the chief announced the case was closed.

[aceplace57]

In fairness, here is the bank’s statement. PDF
http://www.10tv.com/content/downloads/2013/07/Statement_From_First_National_Bank_of_Wellston.pdf

Basically they claim the utilities were off, door was unlocked, and the house was mostly empty except for a couple dressers. They talked with neighbors who said the house had been vacant for some time.

That still doesn’t excuse the idiots for not confirming the house number. There may be more to the story than we know. It doesn’t sound like the family just went on vacation for 2 weeks. it does sound like they had or were moving out.

[aceplace57]

The comments on yelp are hilarious. The bank is getting a lot of bad press from this snafu.

First National Bank of Wellston - Wellston, OH

[Ethilrist]

@aceplace57

I’m surprised that the bank’s clean out crew didn’t completely empty the house and get it ready for resale. I’m not sure why they’d just throw out half the stuff. But in this case it’s a good thing they didn’t.

From the PDF linked above:

Unfortunately, we did not discover our error until the clean-up process was nearly complete.

Our Heroes return with their big truck for the last load.

Driver: 525 Newton? But… this is 528 Newton!
Lackey: Let’s get outta here.

[Tom_Tildrum]

Presumably the family has a rock-solid civil case against the bank, but I guess I find myself wondering why they are pursuing this directly. Why not make a claim against their home insurance and then having the insurer, which has the resources to pound a local bank flat, handle the ensuing legal action?

[Little_Nemo]

@Bricker

I find this point, raised by the homeowner, particularly compelling:

“He told me that I would probably need receipts for everything that they took and they were not paying retail,” she said. “I told him I wasn’t running a yard sale and asking them to make me an offer. I told him I don’t keep receipts around for everything I have just in case a bank comes by and steals my stuff. And if I did, where do you think it would be? With the stuff that you threw away.”

Well, they could have just made arrangments to keep their receipts someplace outside of their home that was trustworthy. Like a safety depost box in a local ba-

Oh right.

[TriPolar]

@Tom_Tildrum

Presumably the family has a rock-solid civil case against the bank, but I guess I find myself wondering why they are pursuing this directly. Why not make a claim against their home insurance and then having the insurer, which has the resources to pound a local bank flat, handle the ensuing legal action?

That’s a good point. In addition the state may multiply damages against the insurance company if they don’t pay off. But I’d still prefer to see the bank get screwed by this. The bank’s own insurance may cover this anyway.

[aceplace57]

Would insurance pay replacement cost or the depreciated cost? A $550 sofa bought ten years ago might barely be worth $100. It couldn’t be replaced for much less than the original cost at $550.

The lady probably wants replacement value from the bank. They entered her home and made the mistake, by throwing out the old one. So it seems reasonable they would have to buy a new one of comparable value.

[Lord_Feldon]

How much cash would a two-branch bank have on hand in its vaults, tills, etc.? She should get at least that. They took all her stuff, she takes all theirs. Maybe there’s some furniture she’d like too. (Yes, I realize this is unrealistic. But it feels good.)

[cardinal_fang]

@Lord_Feldon

How much cash would a two-branch bank have on hand in its vaults, tills, etc.? She should get at least that. They took all her stuff, she takes all theirs. Maybe there’s some furniture she’d like too. (Yes, I realize this is unrealistic. But it feels good.)

Not so unrealistic. And I’m sure it felt great.

[LurkMeister]

@Lord_Feldon

How much cash would a two-branch bank have on hand in its vaults, tills, etc.? She should get at least that. They took all her stuff, she takes all theirs. Maybe there’s some furniture she’d like too. (Yes, I realize this is unrealistic. But it feels good.)

You mean like this couple did? (caution: auto-plays video)

[smiling_bandit]

@aceplace57

Doesn’t sound like the cops are interested in doing anything.

It’s not really a police matter at this point. No crime is being committed at this moment, so the decision to arrest would usually come from the local DA.

[Dewey_Finn]

@cardinal_fang

@Lord_Feldon

How much cash would a two-branch bank have on hand in its vaults, tills, etc.? She should get at least that. They took all her stuff, she takes all theirs. Maybe there’s some furniture she’d like too. (Yes, I realize this is unrealistic. But it feels good.)

Not so unrealistic. And I’m sure it felt great.

The big difference is that the Naples, Florida couple had a judgment against the bank.