Bank repossess wrong house, takes homeowner's belongings

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

Katie Barnett says that the First National Bank in Wellston foreclosed on her house, even though it was not her bank.

“They repossessed my house on accident, thinking it was the house across the street,” Barnett said.

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.

Barnett said that according to the bank president, this was the first time something like this has happened.

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.

“Now, I’m just angry,” Barnett said. “It wouldn’t be a big deal if they would step up and say ‘I’m sorry, we will replace your stuff.’ Instead, I’m getting attitude from them. They’re sarcastic when they talk to me. They make it sound like I’m trying to rip the bank off. All I want is my stuff back.”

No one from the bank would go on camera with 10TV about the incident. The bank president told 10TV News that the bank is trying to come to terms with Barnett.

[Josh]

"We're not paying retail"?

Fuck y'all, this ain't like you have a leg to stand on here.

What bugs me far more than the mistake is the casual brutality of it. You're already at a low point in your life when you go underwater, and then a bunch of assholes come in and just trash your shit. I've dealt with people in dire financial straits, used to have to repo their dumpsters, and I fucking never did anything but be very respectful and deferential about it because I know what the fuck it feels like to be running on fumes.

[frigidmagi]

What the past couple years have taught me is never get into debt with a bank. Which frankly is likely to be difficult the way things work.

[LadyTevar]

Oh yeah, this bank is up the creek without a paddle, until they get their Lawyers into it. They're probably hoping to drag it out for 4-5yrs until she just gives up.

[Norseman]

Oh yeah, this bank is up the creek without a paddle, until they get their Lawyers into it. They're probably hoping to drag it out for 4-5yrs until she just gives up.

If I were a lawyer I'd cheerfully stay in the fight for 4-5 years pro-bono, thinking of the delicious, delicious reperations at the end of that period.

[Comrade Tortoise]

They... committed burglary and grand theft. Flat out. Intent follows the bullet, so to speak. They are on the hook criminally as well as civilly.

Were I a lawyer, yeah. I would take the case on contingency or pro bono and just hang in there for several years.

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They... committed burglary and grand theft. Flat out. Intent follows the bullet, so to speak. They are on the hook criminally as well as civilly.

Were I a lawyer, yeah. I would take the case on contingency or pro bono and just hang in there for several years.

Others have suggested the whole criminal charges angle. Breaking and entering, destruction of property, theft, etc. But apparently the problem lies in that there was no criminal intent and the bank was acting in 'good faith'.They sent someone to repossess their property and due an accidental mixup of address this happens. To a court and the police this doesn't equate to criminal intent apparently as they have not pressed charges despite the rather overwhelming plethora of evidence. Not even sure her insurance would cover this since there was technically no 'crime.' Of course we all know that there was a crime, but apparently it's a legal crime that banks get to commit these days.

[frigidmagi]

To be fair, if you fall behind on your payments and assuming everyone as been acting in good faith expect you... The bank does have every right to foreclose on your house. I mean you did make an agreement with the bank for money in exchange for regular payments, with the stipulation that if you fail to make those payments the bank becomes the owner of your house.

[Josh]

Still, it's fascinating that it can't be charged under a form of criminal negligence. I mean, the average drunk driver doesn't set out with the intent to have an accident and kill people, they just go out and do it and then we try them for the irresponsible nature of their behavior. Likewise, the thug squad they dispatched made no confirmation before trashing this woman's house.

Of course that would still only roll up the crew that did the deed and not the bank itself.

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Well then you could argue that Thugs R' Us were acting under the authority of the bank and were contracted/employed by them and thus the bank is ultimately responsible. Same thing happens with my job. LG is ultimately responsible if the people we hire screw something up.

[Josh]

Interesting. I'm not used to seeing it explicitly laid out like that. In truckdriving, the companies went with 'driver responsibility' for decades and got away with it. Now they occasionally will nail a company if the driver was coerced into operating illegally.

(Which exists in most companies, though they're a lot less blatant about it than they were even back in the nineties when they actively trained the drivers on how to commit logbook fraud and made it pretty clear they wouldn't be getting a lot of work if they didn't cheat the system.)

The companies still fight it tooth and nail, though, and usually when you see a company take a hit for a driver fuckup it's a small-to-midsize and not one of the big kids.

[Comrade Tortoise]

To be fair, if you fall behind on your payments and assuming everyone as been acting in good faith expect you... The bank does have every right to foreclose on your house. I mean you did make an agreement with the bank for money in exchange for regular payments, with the stipulation that if you fail to make those payments the bank becomes the owner of your house.

Sure, but that is not what happened here. They repossessed the wrong house and stole the belongings inside. One which they had no right to, because the woman involved did not have a mortgage with them.

[Josh]

And even if it was the right house, there's no call to come stomping in and trash the place. That's just power-tripping assholes enjoying the free license to thug it up.

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An update on the story if anyone is still interested.

WELLSTON, Ohio - A Jackson County bank is defending itself after a Consumer 10 report that it repossessed the wrong house.

Consumer 10 reported on July 22 that the First National Bank of Wellston wrongfully foreclosed upon a woman’s Vinton County home.

Homeowner Katie Barnett, who said that she had been away from her home for about two weeks, said that she has yet to receive a dime from the bank that mistakenly emptied all of her belongings from her house.

She said she was forced to climb through a window to get inside the home that she shares with her children.

“They came in and took all of my stuff,” Barnett said. “They locked me and my children out of the house. I think there should be more than just an apology.”
Consumer 10 asked the bank for an on-camera interview since reporting the story earlier in July.

Instead, the bank released a statement on its website, apologizing for what happened but disputing the amount of money it should repay.

In the bank’s statement, officials said they wanted to compensate Barnett fairly and equitably for inconvenience and loss.

But the bank has balked at paying the $18,000 Barnett is asking for.

“(They) demanded that I had receipts for all my stuff that they threw away,” Barnett said. “And I said, ‘Well, you know first of all, I don’t have receipts for all of my stuff. I wasn’t expected a bank to come and to accidently repossess my house and throw it all away. And second, if I did, where do you think it would be? In my house with all my belongings?’”

She said that everything from clothes to patio furniture to pool supplies was disposed of.

“This is the basketball hoop. They actually gave it to one of our neighbors, and the neighbors ended up giving it back to us. That is the only thing we’ve gotten back.

The bank has tried, though, Barnett said.

The homeowner said that one of the most expensive items she lost was a Bowflex home gym.

“And then they called me saying they found a Bowflex on the side of the road if I wanted it. I said no. You know my Bowflex was a Bowflex Ultimate. We paid, like, $2,300 for it; had all the attachments and the feet pieces and stuff. You know I said ‘no, I want it replaced. I don’t’ want – you know – trash found on the side of the road,” Barnett said.

The bank insists that it acted in good faith.

The grass at the home was overgrown, the door was unlocked and the utilities were turned off. Officials said they simply discarded what was assumed to be trash and abandoned items.

“I have years and years of my belongings of me and my kids’ memories just thrown away because somebody assumed, and I’m very angry about it,” Barnett said.

Barnett said that she has tried to resolve the issue herself for a few weeks before contacting Consumer 10. She has now retained an attorney.

[Josh]

At this point the bleeding PR is going to hurt them more than ponying up the payout. Sounds like somebody in management just has a burr up his ass about not paying off what'd be chump change to them.

[Norseman]

At this point the bleeding PR is going to hurt them more than ponying up the payout. Sounds like somebody in management just has a burr up his ass about not paying off what'd be chump change to them.

Sounds like somebody high up feels like he'd look like a fool if he backs down.

[Josh]

Sounds like somebody high up feels like he'd look like a fool if he backs down.

And as usual ends up looking like even more of a fool for sticking to his guns.