That could be a problem in Wellston, Ohio.
Why?
But there is evidence. It’s been established that the house numbers of both the correct house and the incorrect house were clearly and prominently displayed, and that the crew’s orders had the correct house number listed. The only way it could have been any clearer would be if Obi Wan had been there saying “This isn’t the house you’re looking for.”
Because The First National Bank of Wellston has demonstrated they are too stupid to continue doing business.
Then again, the cost of replacing everything is bound to be far, far higher than its resale value. The value may not be so much on the items themselves, seeing as most of them would probably be worth little if anything at resale, but on the the comforts and conveniences those items provide. I don’t think $18K is enough.
I think criminal prosecution would be counterproductive. If I were the victim, I wouldn’t want the responsible party thrown in jail nearly as much as I’d want to be compensated.
So you think that, despite the statements of the bank, that the people who did this knew they were entering a house the bank didn’t own and knowingly took the property of someone else and destroyed it?
Why, in your scenario, do you think they did this? Merry prank? They really liked destroying other people’s property? Grand conspiracy against nurses?
Suffice it to say, I think the evidence is pretty overwhelming that the people thought they were entering bank property and cleaning it out, and I have a really hard time believing they actually meant to take and destroy this woman’s property.
I have 10 pairs of pants. New, they cost me about $700. Now, they are worn to various degrees, and yes, they are worth less. Let’s say they’re now worth only $200.
So, if a company destroys my pants, they can either pay me $700 to replace them with new ones, or they can pay me the actual value ($200), plus they can pay me my cost of going all over town for the next two weeks and looking for suitable used replacements. My time is not free. That will cost them $600, or $800 in total.
I think they did not follow normal business practices that a reasonable person in the business of foreclosure would have done.
At a civil trial, a parade of foreclosure experts testifying that using a GPS as the sole instrument to identify a property for the purposes of foreclosure is the single stupidest thing they have ever heard of would go a long way to convince a judge to find in favor of the plaintif. It’s just a step above heading down the street and picking a house at random. No reasonable person would consider this method reliable.
There is an expectation that a bank will follow normal business practices when seizing a foreclosed house. Essentially taking houses at random is not a normal business practice, and cannot be allowed to continue without a penalty of some sort.
If the bank is not penalized, they can continue to use idiotic methods to identify houses, and then just say “whoops, my bad” , when they screw up again and again and again. Stupidity is really not a great defense here.
Again, her house is clearly marked 514. The house they were supposed to clean out was 509, which is also clearly marked. That leaves two choices: either they saw the address was wrong and went in anyway, or they knowingly entered a house without bothering to check the number. Either way, it doesn’t support their claim that they honestly thought they had the right house.
Why, because two low level contractors made a mistake?
For hiring idiots, yes. And for not training them properly in how to do business. And for not settling right away for what was a VERY reasonable amount.
It is this third one that indicates how very, very stupid they are.
It was the bank’s response that turned everyone against them. (the bank)
Besides the GPS they also:
Interviewed a neighbor who confirmed the house was unlived in,
Verified the power was off
Found the front door was unlocked
And confirmed the house appeared abandoned.
Why was her power off? Why was he door unlocked? Why hadn’t she been living there recently?
The amount appears outrageous to me. She had for all practical purposes abandoned the property. Hell, hobos could have been looting her shit for a month.
Yes, those horrible, horrible people. How dare they admit their mistake, apologize profusely, and make a good faith offer of restitution ?
:rolleyes:
Look, the only reason anyone cares about this or that we even heard of it was that some dudes think all banks are teh EVIL!!
Too bad they didn’t read the freaking house number.
Again, we just have to look at what is a standard business practice for a (real) bank when they foreclose. This is what would be looked at in a lawsuit. “Ask a neighbor”… Seriously? You’d seriously go in front of a judge and say “well, they asked a neighbor if the random house was OK to walk into.”?
Really? You think this is standard business practice for a foreclosure?
No, however some businesses (even banks) can be “teh STUPID”, and they need to have the proper financial penalties levied against them to convince them to get smarter or go out of business.
I would ask 18K if a random bunch of strangers from a bank came in and took my hall runner.
It does not matter if she was there or not. It matters not if the door was unlocked or not. She did not give them permission to remove her stuff without permission.