Compliments of Atlanta-based company “You Call It – We Haul It”, Susan Hodgson returned from her vacation only to find a family possession completely destroyed. She had gotten wind of the destruction from a neighbor who called her with news of a demolition crew destroying the house.
When the crew didn’t want to speak to the neighbor regarding the project, Susan sent a family member over to the property to demand the display of a permit. Feeling smug, the foreman produced a permit instantly, but in doing so discovered that he’d arrived at the wrong house.
Surely feeling embarrassed by the incident, the foreman fled the scene with his crew in tow, leaving only a mountain of questions, and what previously was a house, in his wake.
“It’s just hard to believe somebody thinks they can just come and tear something up and walk away from it and leave it.” said Susan who was astonished at the lack of professionalism and apology.
Thankfully, no one was in the home at the time of demolition. The house had been vacant and boarded up for the last 15 years, reports Susan. Though the property was vacant, she highlights the fact that it was maintained the entire time and taxes had been continually paid. This was no abandoned lot.
FOX 5 Atlanta has since reached out to the company involved for a statement, who has reported told them that the demolition is “under investigation”. This is a bold move for the company to say that negligence of this magnitude needs to be thoroughly investigated when there is a massive pile of junk where there should have stood a house.
Apparently, the company is “working towards a resolution” according to the reporters of FOX 5 Atlanta. In English, this means that they are stalling for time to figure out a way to cover their butts.
At the time of reporting, the family has not gotten any communication from “You Call It – We Haul It”. At this rate, the Hodgson family will have to end up hauling the company to court, as calling them out on the news has not put enough heat on them to make things right.
Comments on the YouTube video with this story urge Susan and her family to collect all the information and evidence needed to bring a case against the company for this egregious destruction of their property. It’s unlikely that any fair-minded judge or jury would find the company innocent of wrongdoing.
Even if the house is vacant, destroying it when it has been owned and taken care of for a decade and a half is downright awful. Hopefully, the family is compensated fairly for their loss and is given more than just lip service on the local news.
There are a few important lessons from this story that everyone can take advantage of, thankfully. First, it is good to have a working relationship with those in your community. Without the call that Susan got from her neighbor, she would not have known what was going on until she got back from her vacation and the crew had been long gone.
Second, having family close by can be an important asset. Though Susan’s neighbor was turned away by the demolition crew, the were willing to speak once a family member arrived on the property. Third, if you happen to be in the business of demolition, have the common decency to double check the address on your permit or have a few resumes handy.
