An eighty-two year old Tampa Bay man has lost everything he owns, including pictures of his dead wife, after a clean-out crew hired by Bank of America mistook his house for the foreclosure next door.

The St. Petersburg Times reports that Benito Sr. came back from vacation to find that his house was padlocked and everything inside was gone. A sign outside taped to his window was for a company that cleans out foreclosed houses.

When he first called the number, an employee said it was probably their fault, saying, “It had to be us. We had a work order to go out to 4255.”

The mistake may have arose from Santiago’s mailbox and confusing history surrounding his his address. It says 4205 on one side but on the other the “0” is missing. The land next door referred to as 4255 W. Humphrey St. doesn’t exist in the property records and both packages and services have been delivered to his house in the past intended for his neighbor.

Benito Sr. is now suing the trash-out company and the loan servicer for damages.

According to a lawyer specializing in lockout cases like this, even if he wins, the man will never see his possessions again.

“We have never gotten one piece of property back,” the lawyer told the St. Petersburg Times.

Tampa retiree says he lost belongings in foreclosure blunder [St. Petersburg Times] (Thanks to overit!)

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