I need outside perspectives because I’m actually so HEATED right now and might be missing something.
Just shy of a year ago, my grandmother passed away. She was the main decision maker between the two of them. Getting ready to sell their house for my grandpa to downsize has been A LOT of work. I mean, there’s 40+ years of stuff in this house – some of it being antique and/or valuable. My grandfather decided to signed a clean-out contract with a local estate/antique company that was referred to him by his realtor.
The man who owns the business initially came across as super kind and trustworthy—he was respectful toward my mom and me, and his website advertises compassion and integrity when dealing with families going through transitions. My grandfather felt comfortable signing a contract that allowed them to do a clean-out for $3,000, with the understanding that items would be donated or resold if possible, and that personal items should get owner discretion. There was a labeling system in place for what was to keep and what was to sell or donate that was visible on larger furniture.
Less than 30 minutes after signing, the guy took a few boxes of comic books and went straight to his car and started posting photos of stuff item by item on Instagram for people to come by and pick up—while my grandfather still lives in the home. It felt off, but it got worse the next day.
According to my grandpa, the guy and some workers showed up and immediately began tossing items in a dumpster. We hired them to do a clean out, I know, but they tossed (and prioritized tossing) items that were either clearly personal or should have been donated to a good cause: good furniture, glassware, FAMILY PHOTOS??, framed awards from the wall with my grandpas name, nice dishes, etc.
Thankfully, we caught it early enough to salvage a lot, but it was horrifying to me. A lot of the bigger furniture was unfortunately destroyed before even getting to the dumpster.
The part making me absolutely sick? A 100+ year-old Victrola record player that belonged to my grandfather’s grandmother—something that was emotionally priceless to him—completely disappeared. It wasn’t in the dumpster. I went diving a couple times to be sure. It wasn’t marked for removal. It was just gone. All the other furniture in that room went untouched. When we asked the owner about it, he said he “wasn’t sure” and offered to “just find another one.” The fuck does he think this is??? These players seem to be worth $700-1200 from looking online. We think he had someone come to the house to buy it during a time my grandpa wasn’t supervising, assuming no one would notice.
We’re now trying to track it down, and I am going to leave him a voicemail in the morning asking for the item back or at least the contact info for any worker or buyer who came by during the partial clean-out. I’m still trying to be civil, but I’m FURIOUS. He’s not on good terms with my grandpa or the realtor, so I’m hoping to come through as an olive branch for him to grab before I ruin his fucking life. Lol.
My family is obviously frustrated, but I feel like I’m the most upset and feeling the most violated in defense of my grandpa. Am I overreacting? I am not going to let up on the guy if he doesn’t get back to me but we might not even have a leg to stand on in court. What do we do if we aren’t able to find it? I’m disgusted bro. Help. :/
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Backup of the post’s body: I need outside perspectives because I’m actually so HEATED right now and might be missing something.
Just shy of a year ago, my grandmother passed away. She was the main decision maker between the two of them. Getting ready to sell their house for my grandpa to downsize has been A LOT of work. I mean, there’s 40+ years of stuff in this house – some of it being antique and/or valuable. My grandfather decided to signed a clean-out contract with a local estate/antique company that was referred to him by his realtor.
The man who owns the business initially came across as super kind and trustworthy—he was respectful toward my mom and me, and his website advertises compassion and integrity when dealing with families going through transitions. My grandfather felt comfortable signing a contract that allowed them to do a clean-out for $3,000, with the understanding that items would be donated or resold if possible, and that personal items should get owner discretion. There was a labeling system in place for what was to keep and what was to sell or donate that was visible on larger furniture.
Less than 30 minutes after signing, the guy took a few boxes of comic books and went straight to his car and started posting photos of stuff item by item on Instagram for people to come by and pick up—while my grandfather still lives in the home. It felt off, but it got worse the next day.
According to my grandpa, the guy and some workers showed up and immediately began tossing items in a dumpster. We hired them to do a clean out, I know, but they tossed (and prioritized tossing) items that were either clearly personal or should have been donated to a good cause: good furniture, glassware, FAMILY PHOTOS??, framed awards from the wall with my grandpas name, nice dishes, etc.
Thankfully, we caught it early enough to salvage a lot, but it was horrifying to me. A lot of the bigger furniture was unfortunately destroyed before even getting to the dumpster.
The part making me absolutely sick? A 100+ year-old Victrola record player that belonged to my grandfather’s grandmother—something that was emotionally priceless to him—completely disappeared. It wasn’t in the dumpster. I went diving a couple times to be sure. It wasn’t marked for removal. It was just gone. All the other furniture in that room went untouched. When we asked the owner about it, he said he “wasn’t sure” and offered to “just find another one.” The fuck does he think this is??? These players seem to be worth $700-1200 from looking online. We think he had someone come to the house to buy it during a time my grandpa wasn’t supervising, assuming no one would notice.
We’re now trying to track it down, and I am going to leave him a voicemail in the morning asking for the item back or at least the contact info for any worker or buyer who came by during the partial clean-out. I’m still trying to be civil, but I’m FURIOUS. He’s not on good terms with my grandpa or the realtor, so I’m hoping to come through as an olive branch for him to grab before I ruin his fucking life. Lol.
My family is obviously frustrated, but I feel like I’m the most upset and feeling the most violated in defense of my grandpa. Am I overreacting? I am not going to let up on the guy if he doesn’t get back to me but we might not even have a leg to stand on in court. What do we do if we aren’t able to find it? I’m disgusted bro. Help. :/
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
Talk to a lawyer.
Call the police. Report the item as stolen. Give the police a written report of the room being untouched except for that item missing and the circumstances/contact of the clean out person.