My neighbour Mr Thompson came over and shook his head. ‘I’ve seen it all, Victoria. I’ve got pictures. Tried to call you, but the call didn’t go through. Called the police, but the painters had an active warrant for the work. There was nothing they could do.’
‘What do you mean by a valid warrant?’ I asked, my voice shaking with anger.
Mr Thompson nodded apologetically. ‘They showed the police the paperwork. Apparently, the Davises claim you hired them to repaint the house while you were away.’
I felt my blood boil. ‘They forged my name on the work order?’
Mr Thompson nodded. ‘It would appear so. I’m so sorry, Victoria. I tried to stop them, but they wouldn’t listen.’
‘Show me those pictures,’ I said, narrowing my eyes.
He showed me pictures of a painting company installing and working on my property. They had a work order in the name of ‘Mr and Mrs Davis’, paid for in cash,’ he added.
I clenched my fists. ‘Of course they did.’
I checked the security footage. And guess what? The Davises never set foot on my property. Smart. No trespassing. No charges. I called the police again, but there was nothing they could do because the painters were acting in good faith.
I was furious. How could these two oafs do this to my house?
I needed a plan. I broke into the house and only then did I see it. The paint job was shoddy – traces of old yellow paint peeked through.
As an interior designer, I knew the old paint had to be scraped off first.
I burst into the painting company’s office with my ID and house papers.
‘You painted my house without my consent and did a shoddy job. It could ruin the exterior of the house. Tell you what… I’m going to sue you,’ I bellowed.
Gary’s manager was shocked and trembled, apologising before stammering, ‘But…but…but we thought it was your house.’
I furrowed my eyebrows and shouted: ‘Of course it’s MY HOUSE, but I didn’t ask for it to be painted.’
At this point I was beyond furious and asked for a copy of the work order. Sure enough, it was in the Davises’ name. The manager was shocked when I told him what had happened.
‘Mr and Mrs Davis claimed it was their house and declined the services of a scraper to save money…said they would be out of town and wanted it done while they were away,’ Gary explained.
I could feel my blood boiling. ‘And it didn’t occur to you to check all this with the real owner of the house? It didn’t occur to you to check the address or the title deeds?’
Gary looked genuinely apologetic. ‘We usually do, but they were so convincing. They even showed us pictures of your house, claiming it was their house. I’m very sorry, ma’am.’
‘And you didn’t check around anyone? You just sent your men to paint my damn house?’ snapped at me.
Gary looked flustered. ‘I’m sorry, ma’am. We had no reason to doubt them.’
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my composure. ‘Well, now you know. And you’re going to help me make it right. This is unacceptable, and someone needs to be held accountable for it.’
Beads of sweat protruded on the manager’s temples. ‘Absolutely. We’ll co-operate fully. We had no idea. This shouldn’t have happened.’
Asentí con la cabeza. «Quiero que sus trabajadores testifiquen ante el tribunal».
Cuando presenté la demanda, los Davis se pusieron gallitos y presentaron una contrademanda, diciendo que yo debía pagar por la pintura. Irreal. Patético.
En el juicio, los empleados de la empresa de pintura testificaron contra ellos. Mi abogado explicó cómo los Davis habían dañado mi casa y cometido fraude haciéndose pasar por mí.
El juez escuchó atentamente y luego se volvió hacia los Davis. «Ustedes robaron su identidad y dañaron su propiedad. Esto no es sólo un caso civil, sino un caso penal».
Los Davis parecían haberse tragado un limón. Fueron declarados culpables de fraude y vandalismo. Fueron condenados a servicios comunitarios y a repintar mi casa de amarillo, pagando todos los gastos, incluidas las tasas judiciales.
Outside the courthouse, Mrs Davis hissed: ‘I hope you’re happy.’
I smiled sweetly. ‘I’ll be happy when my house is YELLOW again!’
That’s the story of how I got my revenge. Sometimes being able to stand your ground pays off. What do you think?