From the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Files.

[Midlodemocrat]

Some of you might remember that I was helping a family in my neighborhood during the time that their child was battling cancer.

I paid their mortgage for a while, utilities, got their van out of repossession, not once, but twice.

When Mr.Midlo took ill in June, I told her that I couldn't help her anymore. Mind you this was a full two years after the child took sick.

So, yesterday, I get a phone call in my office from 'Inspector Jackson'. At first I thought he said Inspector Gadget, but I digress.

Seems because I paid to have their van removed from repossession, CapitalOne, who is the lien holder on their van thought I was hiding said van in my garage. Apparently, it is back in repossession and the repo dude came a'calling.

He was AT MY HOUSE at 1AM on Thursday morning snooping around my garage to make sure that the van in the garage wasn't the car he was looking for.

Obviously, it wasn't, and he was actually rather nice about the whole thing, but if I had seen a strange man walking around my yard with a flashlight at 1AM, I think I would have dropped dead. Mind you, Mr.Midlo is out of town, which is par for the course.

So, I guess he determined by looking through my garage window that it wasn't the same car. (No shit, sherlock, 1999 Voyager versus 2007 Town and Country) and went on his way.

But he did call me yesterday to ask about it.

And, now I'm fucking pissed off. I'm mortified at the thought that my neighbors saw the truck and hoping against hope that it didn't say "Repossessions R Us" on the side.

Gawd.

They only owe about $5000 on the van. Suck it up, pay for it and leave me the fuck alone.

So, my advice to any and all kind DUers who might find themselves helping someone keep their car out of repossession.

Give them the money. DON'T call and make the payments for them because the lien holder then has a record of you.

Never again.

[NMMNG]

1. Aye

You think you're just doing a good deed and you get bit on the rear end. x(

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Oh wow...

We spent forever trying to prove that a family member was not financially dependent on us; making his bills our problem.

I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

[taterguy]

3. Just buy them some good bicycles

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[NC_Nurse]

4. Good advice.

I've had similar blowback from tenants I tried to help. I don't take on tenants with issues anymore, they'll suck you dry and be
miffed when you finally have to stop giving and forgiving.

I'm sorry that happened to you. :hug:

[raccoon]

5. Sorry this happened to you, Midlo. nt

[underpants]

6. On the southside???

Hell it's payday and the longnecks is on sale down at Lucky's, your neighborfolk will forget all about tomorrow morning.

[Wcross]

7. I made the mistake of talking to a collector.

They were trying to reach the person who had the phone number before I had it. I was trying to be polite and to get them to stop calling me about a strangers debt. All it got me was MORE phone calls in which they tried to get ME to pay the strangers debt off. They finally stopped when I stated blowing a whistle into the phone every time they called.

Debt collectors are the lowest form of life I can think of.

[asthmaticeog]

8. I can almost top that.

I inherited a phone number from someone who not only had a debt in collections, but who had the same first name as me. I was going nuts trying to figure out why on earth someone thought I might have bought something at an upscale linens boutique, let alone burned 'em on the purchase, and I was trying to hash the whole thing out until the collections person said "Well, Mr. (whatever the deadbeat's last name was)," and I said "Wait, WHAT?" It had been all first name until that point. It got weirder from there, me trying to explain that the first name was a coincidence, and if the nice collection person would just CRACK A PHONE BOOK they'd see that this was in fact my phone and no longer the phone of Mr. Myname Whatever.