There are a lot of logistics that come with a breakup. Even if you didn’t live together you have to figure out a way to retrieve your stuff while trying to avoid a massive argument.
It is awkward.
Redditor AITABIKETHEIF encountered this very issue with their friend. So they turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for moral judgment.
They asked:
AITA for stealing my friend’s bike back from his ex?
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“My friend went through a nasty break up with his ex, who he caught cheating on him.”
“Problem is, he left his bike and a few other expensive items over at her place. She refuses to give the bike back, as it costed like 10k and she put it for sale on Ebay.”
“I recently got a hair cut and have short hair (I used to have long hair) and lost weight, I haven’t met her that many times so I was hoping she wouldn’t recognize me.”
“I spoke to her on the phone with an Irish accent which I faked. I agreed to pay 12k for the bike. We agreed to meet in the park.”
“We met and I went on a test ride and I rode the bike back to my friend’s place. She was screaming and cursing at me threatening to call the police.”
“That b*tch had the audacity to complain about it on Facebook, but thankfully people called her out for it as others knew she stole it.”
“Now before I get a these comments:”
“He went to the police, 3 times. They didn’t want to get involved.”
“I know it’s his, he had it before he met her and I went mountain biking with him.”
Redditors gave their opinions on the situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors agreed OP was not the a**hole.
“NTA. It wasn’t hers. Also, this is f*cking hilarious.” ~ Solly8517
“I choose to believe OP also wore a fake mustache and had the benny hill theme playing on their phone.” ~ SparkAxolotl
“There needs to be a term for being the asshole when being the asshole was the right move.” ~ nuboots
“Nope. There are only two possibilities, which are all covered by available options:”
“1. They weren’t the asshole, because circumstances made it unavoidable as in this case – depriving a thief of something they stole is not an asshole move, even if you used deception as a tactic. Thieves don’t get to complain about having stolen property removed from their possession and given back to the owner!”
“2. They were enacting revenge, and this sub bans revenge stories because there’s already a sub for that. Also because they don’t want this sub to turn into a circle jerk for people wanting to be congratulated on their revenge plots.” ~ Normal-Height-8577
“It’s pretty dumb to meet someone you just spoke to on the phone in a park to sell a bike worth >$10k and just let them test ride it. Like if it wasn’t OP there’s a good chance someone else would have done the same.” ~ Cookyy2k
“NTA as well as it’s not stealing she’s the one that stole it You returned it back to the actual owner. So the title should actually be ‘AITA for returning my friend’s bike from his ex?'” ~ afk_scorpio66
“NTA. As a rule, self-help is a bad idea, but this seems like it was fairly low risk.” ~ Pinkie_Flamingo
“NTA. Depending on where you live he can ask the cops to simply escort him as he retrieves his belongings because he thinks she might retaliate. He should also start a paper trail with her of all of his items left at her place and use the Ebay site as proof of her thievery” ~ Icy_Perception_69
What would’ve happened if she had called the police?
“NTA. you would never be the asshole. it would have been humorous if she did call the police though.” ~ ihatemyselfalot-lol
“Lol, trying to explain to the cops who stole it first.”
“Agreed though NTA” ~ Imaginary_Being1949
“I mean ‘no of course I didn’t steal it, here’s the receipt from when I bought it, I don’t even know any Irish people’ is a fairly good defense.” ~ appleandwatermelonn
“The other kid definitely has papers to prove he bought a 10k bike, they all have their specific make numbers and corresponding papers, she’d never win that.” ~ ZippNex
“NTA. Legendary move! This only proves you care about your friend a lot. He is lucky to have a friend like you.” ~ FDV2610
“Man the police so lazy. I literally once pointed at the direction where some guys involved in a bar fight went and all five of them intentionally looked the other way. So I just saw those guys slowly ran off to the sunset… and then they had the audacity to say nothing really happened even though we showed him a video.”
“Also tried to trick my bf into ‘confessing’ that he fraud called the police even though it wasn’t him that called the police. Seriously they might just give their jobs to others.” ~ No_Enthusiasm_4real
“Because she didn’t steal it. Presumably OP’s friend took it over there, and she therefore had permission to be in possession of it. OP’s friend now wants it back, and it might be legally his, but since the ex hasn’t committed any crimes related to it, the police can’t really do much. They can nicely ask, but that’s about it.”
“She can also claim it was a gift, and since OP’s friend would have to claim he took it there and left it there and only wants it back now that they’re broken up, it would seem as legitimate a claim as anything else.”
“OP’s friend would have more luck in civil court, but that would be its own set of complications. This recovery was probably the best way to go, although OP wouldn’t necessarily be entirely immune to his own legal problems as a result of this activity.”
“Next time, don’t leave expensive stuff at your SO’s place without some means to retrieve it if/when things go sour.” ~ Restil
“NTA. You went to the police first, and when nothing was done, you went your own route. It technically wasn’t theft, because you were returning the bike to the person it was stolen from.” ~ TinyRascalSaurus
OP was just helping a friend out.