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The old saying goes, “God save me from my friends, but I can handle my enemies myself!” And indeed, sometimes even the closest people around us, judging by their actions, turn out to be far worse than our enemies. At least we know exactly what to expect from our foes – but not from our friends…
Well, the user u/jessibook, the narrator of our story today, was completely unprepared for her friend to blatantly overuse her trust when she agreed to house-sit for her while she was in the hospital. However, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and just take everything in order.
Another unpleasant surprise awaited the author with the car, since the “friend” had apparently driven about 1K miles during her absence
Text excerpt from story about woman letting friend stay during surgery recovery, dealing with filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
Alt text: Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns to filthy house and car driven over 1,100 miles.
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Text saying for now Alvin will be well taken care of, related to woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery incident
Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns to messy house and car driven long distance, 1,100 miles.
Text on screen showing apology for not being able to help beyond encouraging use of emergency services and local resources.
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Text excerpt about woman recovering from surgery stating she cannot provide crisis support or housing while focusing on health and children.
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Message showing a woman setting boundaries after a friend stayed during surgery recovery, causing a filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
Text on a sign reading If you show up here, I will call the police, illustrating boundaries during surgery recovery.
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Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns to filthy house and car driven long distance.
Text image showing the quote I wish you safety but I can’t be involved beyond this related to surgery recovery conflict.
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Text conversation showing a woman asking if she can get back her stuff and cat after letting friend stay during surgery recovery.
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Text showing a person asking for a list of personal items to be returned and an address for shipment due to no in-person pickup.
Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns home to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns home to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
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Alt text: Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returns to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles, causing distress.
Text excerpt describing a woman planning to ask a friend for help during surgery recovery, highlighting issues with a filthy house and excessive car use.
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Text about a woman’s friend helping with cooking and cleaning after surgery recovery in a messy house and car.
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Text image showing the quote about wanting to recover in peace during surgery recovery.
Text image with an edit note addressing recurring questions about a woman’s friend staying during surgery recovery.
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Woman lets friend stay during surgery recovery, returning to a filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
Text excerpt from woman letting friend stay during surgery recovery, describing exhaustion and plans to change locks after friend drove 1,100 miles.
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Text discussing credit monitoring subscription and exhaustion during recovery from major surgery.
Text excerpt showing a woman refusing to keep a friend’s pet to avoid inviting a problematic person back into her home during surgery recovery.
The author demanded that the “friend” pay her at least for the car’s extra mileage, since it was still on a lease, but she said that their friendship is now over
The Original poster (OP) says she recently returned from the hospital, where she underwent a quite serious surgery. Initially, the author arranged for a pet sitter to look after her cats and the house as well, but the pet sitter’s plans suddenly changed, so she had to adapt quickly.
The author finally made arrangements with a friend, who agreed to stay at her house for about a month. The OP left her some money and gave her the keys to her car. However, our heroine stipulated that she could only use the car for urgent trips, as it was still on a lease. It would seem that nothing could go wrong.
As it turned out, literally everything could. Returning home, weak and tired after surgery, the author discovered a real mess at home. It turned out that her “friend” had brought her useless boyfriend there, and throughout the OP’s hospital stay, they hadn’t cleaned the house at all, only littered. And it also turned out that the couple had put over 1K miles on the author’s car that month!
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Our heroine kicked them both out and, having invited other friends, with great difficulty, got the house back in order. God only knows how much effort it took. As for the car, the original poster sent a message to her now apparently ex-friend, demanding reimbursement for the excess mileage. The author also asked netizens if she was right to do so.
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Person with tattoos wearing a gray tank top sitting in a chair holding a relaxed tabby cat in their lap.
According to experts, housesitting actually requires a great deal of trust between the homeowner and the housesitter, because we are essentially entrusting the fate of our home to another person. So it’s no surprise that our heroine chose her friend to carry out this task. And, as we can see, she had seriously miscalculated.
Most likely, the OP should’ve drawn up a written agreement with the housesitter, so that in case of an unpleasant outcome, there would be grounds for legal claims. “A written housesitting agreement is even better and doesn’t have to involve a legal housesitting contract – just a list of what is expected during and at the end of the housesitting job that you have all agreed on,” this dedicated post at Housesitting Magazine says.
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In an update to her post, the author notes that her friend also left her cat at her house, which she later asked to be returned to her. As for our heroine’s reasonable complaints, the lady stated that now, after everything that had happened, their friendship was definitely over. However, unlike the cat’s fate, this apparently didn’t bother her too much.
People in the comments were simply shocked by this outcome, although they sadly noted that such cases, alas, are not all that rare. “Honestly, the number of people in this world who use others is off the charts,” someone wrote sadly, yet reasonably. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this story? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
Most commenters unanimously supported the author, and also noted that such stories are, alas, not that rare nowadays
Reddit conversation about woman letting friend stay during surgery recovery, returning to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
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Woman upset after friend stays during surgery recovery, leaves house filthy and drives car 1,100 miles without permission
Reddit conversation screenshot showing a woman discussing letting friend stay during surgery recovery.
Reddit conversation about woman letting friend stay during surgery recovery, returning to filthy house and car driven 1,100 miles.
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After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"
After many years of working as sports journalist and trivia game author and host in Ukraine I joined Bored Panda as a content creator. I do love writing stories and I sincerely believe - there's no dull plots at all. Like a great Italian composer Joaquino Rossini once told: "Give me a police protocol - and I'll make an opera out of it!"
I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.
I am a visual editor here. In my free time I enjoy the vibrant worlds of art galleries, exhibitions, and soulful concerts. Yet, amidst life's hustle and bustle, I find solace in nature's embrace, cherishing tranquil moments with beloved friends. Deep within, I hold a dream close - to embark on a global journey in an RV, accompanied by my faithful canine companion. Together, we'll wander through diverse cultures, weaving precious memories under the starry night sky, fulfilling the wanderlust that stirs my soul.
I guess there are two types of people in this situation. One lot who sees free food, free house, free car, no consequences, and another (like my wife) who would ensure that the house was left absolutely spotless, to the point of paranoia. Only one sort succeeds in life, and it's not the first category. The only time we rented was for 7 months when our house was being built, and we made absolutely sure that there wasn't the slightest opportunity for anyone to have any criticism of the place when we left.
I guess there are two types of people in this situation. One lot who sees free food, free house, free car, no consequences, and another (like my wife) who would ensure that the house was left absolutely spotless, to the point of paranoia. Only one sort succeeds in life, and it's not the first category. The only time we rented was for 7 months when our house was being built, and we made absolutely sure that there wasn't the slightest opportunity for anyone to have any criticism of the place when we left.
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