He woke and up checked his bank account, but still nothing. It had been over a year since these tenants had moved in, and he had not received a single rental payment. Promise after idle promise had been made, and this was the last straw. Little did he know, he was about to walk into a landlord’s worst nightmare. And he was going to make them pay.
Thomas Ravaux
Thomas Ravaux was an optimistic man, and when he met the couple with three well-mannered children who had inquired about renting an apartment from him, they had seemed nice enough. After filling out the requisite paperwork they had passed all the financial and security checks with flying colors. There were no red flags and Thomas was confident that he had made the right decision.
Immaculate Apartment
Thomas spent a week making sure the French apartment was ready for his new tenants. He repainted the home from top to bottom with a new coat of white paint, checked the fittings, cornices, door handles and plumbing to make sure all was in working order. He hired a wood polishing machine and buffed the hardwood floors until they gleamed.
Perfect Family
With everything in order, the seemingly-perfect family began to move in, bringing with them boxes of their belongings, which they stacked neatly in the hallway. Thomas presented them with the keys and went on his merry way. Two months flew by, and then four, but he had still not received his first rental payment. At first, he thought nothing of it and chalked it down to a banking error. Surely there had been some kind of mistake?
A Mistake?
Thomas made a call to his bank. Perhaps the payments were not reflecting in his bank account for some reason. With a family of his own, he was starting to feel the pinch without this steady stream of income. But what the woman on the customer care line said made him see red.
Suspicions Grow
There had been no rental payments from his new tenants at all. He angrily dialed their number, but there was no answer. He called again and again, reasoning that the father of three must be busy. Suddenly, his call was dropped and he began to suspect the worst. They were avoiding him. This continued for an entire fourteen months. Thomas was a patient man, but enough was enough.
Paying Them A Visit
Thomas pulled up to the pristine apartment block and walked down the drive. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He had suspected as much, so he whipped out his spare key. He was going to give these tenants a piece of his mind. When he creaked the unoiled door open, the sight in the hallway left him reeling.
Trashed
The entire apartment was stacked from floor to ceiling with trash. Broken furniture lay in heaps of splintered wood, children’s toys littered the once immaculate hardwood floor. Dishes piled up high on every surface, and the stench was unbearable, and the smell of rotten food hung in the air like a thick fog.
Damage And Dissaray
Thomas held his head in disbelief. How could anybody live in such filth? His eyes took it all in as he stood with his mouth turned up in disgust. There were holes punched in the drywall, and there was evidence that there had been dogs living here, too. He took a minute to calm himself, and then he started to hatch a plan.
Inconsiderate
There was such a wanton disregard for his property that Thomas almost cried. This apartment had belonged to his grandfather, and when he had passed Thomas had inherited it, making the tough decision to rent it out. He needed the money–and with a family of his own to feed it had been a Godsend. And now this. Ruined. Well, he would show them.
Seeing Red
Thomas pulled out his phone and called his lawyer, who gave him the go-ahead. Then, Thomas knocked on his neighbor’s door. He asked the neighbor if his tenants had been at the apartment recently, but he said it had been empty for weeks. Furious, Thomas made another call. These rude tenants were going to pay.
Plans For Revenge
Luckily, his tenants were listed. He quickly searched a directory and found their new address. He was incredulous as he walked from room to room, inspecting the damages. They had left a mountain of trash for him to clean up and had moved on without a word. His hands fisted into balls and sweat dripped from his forehead. Something inside mild-mannered Thomas had finally snapped.
Payback
The truck pulled up to the drive noisily, and men started to stream into the building. They too were aghast at what was inside and immediately got to work loading the entire foul mess onto the dump truck. When they heard Thomas’ plan, they applauded him. Everyone wanted to see these people get their comeuppance. They were going to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Loading It All Up
Broken furniture, garbage, paper, dog feces, rotten food, and dirty dishes, it was all piled onto the truck in a stinking heap. Thomas had never seen so much filth. Finally, the apartment was cleared of trash, and Thomas followed the truck to its destination–outside the tenants’ newly rented apartment, just a few blocks away.
Special Delivery
The truck backed up with a beep-beep and tipped the heap of trash right onto the rude tenants’ driveway. Onlookers gathered and couldn’t help but gawk at such a ghastly delivery, but Thomas smiled when he thought of the rude people’s reaction when they saw what surprise he had left for them.
Drastic Measures
Thomas uploaded the video of his revenge onto Facebook and Youtube, and it quickly gained traction around the world. Local news stations picked up the story, and the original video has garnered over a million views. Most commenters praised Thomas for teaching his nightmare tenants a lesson in common decency. One commenter wrote: “Love it!! This needs to be done in the United States! I’ve seen some disgusting tenants in my neighborhood!” But not all who saw Thomas’ revenge video have praised him.
Mixed Reactions
Some viewers have voiced their concerns: “Not a bad idea but if these tenants can’t pay rent moved to new place which is not their place you just made a big mess for a new landlord who now can sue you for jumping on his property. Think man. I know you’re upset but you put a new landlord in the middle and he did nothing to you.” But Thomas stands firmly by his decision.
The Law On His Side
“It was carnage inside. Everything was totally destroyed. The carpet is messed up, there are holes in the walls, all the paintwork needs re-doing, and we will need to disinfect it all. The smell is unbearable. I had a legal representative witness the damage before we emptied the place,” Thomas says in his defense. And he has a message for his tenants.
“Shame On You!”
“This is how this flat was returned to me. Living like that with three kids, bravo. Not to mention the food that has gone bad in the fridge. Food offered to you by restaurant owners from their heart! Shame on you. Good luck to your new landlord.” Thomas also had to pay for all the damages to his once immaculate property.
Learning The Hard Way
He added: “…I loaded everything into a dumpster and brought them back home…I met the authorities and we talked… For now, I’m not worried… The old tenants had to clear the sidewalk and bring everything to the dump Tuesday night. Everything is cleaned.” But do you think the unbelievably inconsiderate tenants learned their lesson?