Bank Tried To Repossess Wrong House, Now Owner Wants her Property Back

Not sure if anyone posted this yet.

MCARTHUR, Ohio - An Vinton County woman is looking to get her belongings back after a bank incorrectly broke into her house and took them.

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

She presented him with an $18,000 estimate to replace the losses, but the president refused to pay. “He got very firm with me and said, ‘We’re not paying you retail here, that’s just the way it is,’” Barnett said. “I did not tell them to come in my house and make me an offer. They took my stuff and I want it back.” The shock of having her house broken into and belongings taken by mistake has now turned into anger.

woman wants possessions back after bank tried to repossess wrong house

Seems Banks are above the law, even at the city and county levels now. Should be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Is it just me, or shouldn't the bank and contractor be charges with breaking and entering, as well as theft?

It's not a criminal matter, dependng on exactly how all this happened. Most likely, it falls entirely into civil. That explains the cops dropping it.

It also means that by the end, I think this woman will have them really wishing they'd just paid her whatever she would have been happy with on first contact. I'll be it was even reasonable by normal people's standards. They had to get all scrooge on her and now she's going to get all Judge Judy on them. They'll lose this one, I safely predict.

How would this not be a crime?

That would mean this could be done to any house using the excuse of a mistake.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I can see where you are coming from here, but let's say a friend of mine moved away and had sold their house. They kindly ask me to get the remaining stuff out of the house and try and sell it, what ever I can't sell I am to just give away.

Knowing I had never been to the house he is selling, I write the address down and use GPS to find the house. I stop where the GPS tells me to stop and see a house with longer grass than the other, so I assume since no one lives there that that must be the house. I proceed to break into the house and take everything from the house and then sell or give it all away. But it was the wrong house, and instead of emptying out my friends house like I was asked, I emptied out the house of a bank manager who was on vacation at the time.

Now would it be considered a civil matter too. If not and it would be considered a criminal matter, then I don't quite understand the legal differences.

reply to post by tw0330


I hope that this woman sues and wins. I hope a lawyer represents her pro bono if she cannot afford one. She should get three times her losses in compensation, so if she had 18k worth of stuff damaged or taken from her, she should get 18k x 3 returned to her.

banks

Originally posted by tw0330
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

But it was the wrong house, and instead of emptying out my friends house like I was asked, I emptied out the house of a bank manager who was on vacation at the time.

Now would it be considered a civil matter too. If not and it would be considered a criminal matter, then I don't quite understand the legal differences.

Would It be considered a civil matter then

You know, I'm honestly not sure how that would tend to shake out for where you and/or your friend who sent you would get clobbered. Someone would clobber you, of course. Police, at first, I'd imagine, just like this case ..and then I think it may well get into discretion and whether people in your county have the capacity to use common sense. Seems a rare thing these days but a few have it, I think.

The same reason I think it's civil with the bank is why I'm not sure with your precise scenario. You made it real specific of course, and that matters. In both cases, no one had any criminal intent of any kind, or at any time believed they were doing anything wrong, let alone stealing someone else's stuff.

Of course, the long paper chain from the bank with employees to support it and the clearing out being done by a straight contract as business with nothing malicious or remotely personal involved by anyone make their story a WHOLE lot easier to sell to a District Attorney looking at one raging mad homeowner and who did the dirty deed.

In your case, it would be your word ..and after you've profited by selling too ...against that hopping mad homeowner. lol... I'd sure hope the homeowner doesn't know the D.A. for your scenario. I'd also hope that's a very credible and loyal friend.

** On second thought .. I think yours would be 100% about credibility and if you were believed, then get a very good civil Attorney. I just sat here thinking....if what you describe went criminal and to a Jury trail? Would you get convicted? Zero chance if you were credible. You'd just be liable to the moon.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Not a criminal matter. Agreed.

I don't know if the bank is actually legally responsible for this either. If they give an address and the contractor that goes out is such a dumbass that he can't verify the address... well that's on him. Now if the bank gave the wrong address, it is on them.

$18k is really nothing, especially for a bank, and especially in todays age where this kind of bull can reach millions overnight and have customers pulling funds, potential customers looking elsewhere, and lawyers getting payed insane fees to defend you.

It would seem to me that if the contractor was acting on the banks behalf that the bank would be responsible for her loses and then the bank would need to pursue the matter with the contractor to recoup their loses for making this woman "whole" again, which she is certainly entitled to....very foolish and short sided decision. I hope this bank regrets being so greedy, cause now she has every right to pursue them for more than the 18k she originally asked for to replace her belongings.

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

Not a criminal matter. Agreed.

I don't know if the bank is actually legally responsible for this either. If they give an address and the contractor that goes out is such a dumbass that he can't verify the address... well that's on him. Now if the bank gave the wrong address, it is on them.

$18k is really nothing, especially for a bank, and especially in todays age where this kind of bull can reach millions overnight and have customers pulling funds, potential customers looking elsewhere, and lawyers getting payed insane fees to defend you.

Isn't the contractor working as an agent for the bank? that should make them responsible should it not?

However all this pans out, an illegal entry was made, that in itself should be criminal.

reply to post by Domo1

I don't know if the bank is actually legally responsible for this either. If they give an address and the contractor that goes out is such a dumbass that he can't verify the address... well that's on him. Now if the bank gave the wrong address, it is on them.

$18k is really nothing, especially for a bank, and especially in todays age where this kind of bull can reach millions overnight and have customers pulling funds, potential customers looking elsewhere, and lawyers getting payed insane fees to defend you.

I agree, seems like sheer incompetence, with a little bit of - tough luck - all the way around. The new normal thanks to the stellar American education system failure, only to be improved upon by reality TV.

It seems foreclosure agents and police have trouble reading house numbers.

It's pretty universal to have odd and even numbers on opposite sides of the street and for the numbers to change in a sequential order. Even if the house has no number, it is not hard to figure out which house would have that number.

reply to post by Domo1


The contractor is working as the bank's "agent". As such they are responsible, and can be sued.

reply to post by tw0330
Seems to me like we need some modern-day Robin Hoods.Banks and loan companies have for the longest time been taking advantage of people, especially the 'poorer classes' that live from paycheck to paycheck, or live on a 'fixed' income. In your case, i would say make enough 'noise' and be persistent.Good luck, and seek out a possible legal course of action.

reply to post by tw0330


Those are unusual circumstances.

If the bank had picked the correct house to empty out it could easily be argued as a tenant / landlord issue. In which case they would be civilly liable, depending on the local/state laws. Most states require that a landlord gives a 24 hour notice before stepping on the property. So that is the first issue.

The next issue is that personal property was removed. Though it borderlines on breaking and entering it is only a civil matter and financial compensation would have to be settled in court.

BUT,

This case is None of that.

Interesting enough, although this is still a civil issue, and because of the mortgage crises in the past, states have adopted laws to protect victims when things like this happen.

In this case, if the woman sues, she will more than likely be awarded the amount she is asking. In addition, because they removed her personal property, the awarded amount is TRIPLED Automatically.

Believe it or not there has been allot of this going on. This particular case just happened to be one that made the news. Go look it up on Google and you will choke on the number of times this has happened.

And

Wrabbit,. .. . You Right. .. .. . . Again. . .. . .

If they would have just paid that woman the $18000 they would have circumvented the wraith that is about to happen on their vault.

reply to post by ShadellacZumbrum


Is there info some where on the net that explains why it is a civil issue?

reply to post by roadgravel


Bank Took Wrong House - Google

There are about 143,000,000 entries there but you should find it within a could of pages.

ETA:
It will also explain about the personal property as well.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
It's [color=gold] not a criminal matter, dependng on exactly how all this happened. Most likely, it falls entirely into civil. That explains the cops dropping it.

It also means that by the end, I think this woman will have them really wishing they'd just paid her whatever she would have been happy with on first contact. I'll be it was even reasonable by normal people's standards. They had to get all scrooge on her and now she's going to get all Judge Judy on them. They'll lose this one, I safely predict.

It IS A FREAKING CRIMINAL matter.

This is what the whole conspiracy thing is all about.

Who has the moral authority to issue a credit rating.

Is it the Banks.
The banks that went default.
The banks that had to steal trillions from the public to pay their bills.
are THEY the ones' who have the moral authority to issue credit ratings.

Or is it the omg-they-have-too-many-guns conspiracy thinkers.

Now this, belligerent strong arming of a citizen.
A violation of the 4th amendment, seizure of property without due process,
has blown up in their face,
and the morally bankrupt banker,
a member of a fiscally bankrupt industry
has the chutzpah to say "we're not gonna pay retail?!?"


Mike

It's just one more step in a long pattern
of overt criminal behavior.

It's just one more piece of a classic conspiracy.

4. To cheat and defraud any person of any property, by any means which are in themselves criminal;

legal dictionary / conspiracy

Mike

The google articles show it is happening. I checked a few and none gave any reference to the law.

Everyone at that bank should go to jail.

And not tomorrow, but yesterday.

Any person who joins any conspiracy, even if they are unaware of the actual act committed by others, or why, become equally liable with the others. Title 18 U.S.C. § 3.

www.defraudingamerica.com...

Mike