Nobody wants to come home to find strange men loading their belongings onto a trailer.
But that is the scene Joy Ojo found when she came home to her Treybrooke Village apartment on Dec. 5. Treybrooke Village is owned by The Carroll Companies, which also owns this publication.
There had been a mistake and Junkyard Dogs, which had been hired to clean out an apartment, had started cleaning out the wrong one. In the good news category, Joy Ojo caught them in the act and, according to a list provided by the Ojo family, only 22 items had been removed from the apartment or were damaged when Ojo arrived home. Ojo declined to have any of the items that had been placed on the trailer returned.
But, unlike what has been reported in the media, the apartment was not “cleaned out.”
The 10 items the Ojos listed as missing include a hearing aid, alarm clock box, TV remote, iPad charger, documents, make up set, perfume, body cream and shower, towels, kid towels and bathroom curtain. The list also states, “mine $250 & my wife $60” but does not list what items those amounts refer to.
The items listed as damaged include black and brown leather sofa, chairs, dinner table chair, mattress bed, pillows, bed sheets and curtain, our clothes and kids’ clothes, Samsung 55-inch TV, 13-inch Apple MacBook, important documents, glass table for computer, kids’ bed, dining table for kids, bathroom items and some kitchen items.
And, as often happens when things go wrong, they get worse. Because a third-party removal company was involved, the management of The Carroll Companies was not immediately informed of the incident, which caused a delay in its response, and there is a communication problem because both Joy Ojo and her husband are hearing impaired and an interpreter is needed to communicate.
The Ojo family set a replacement value on the items missing or damaged of $7,000. The Carroll Companies provided the Ojo family with $8,000 in cash with the hope that the missing and damaged items could be replaced as soon as possible.
The Carroll Companies also provided $3,000 in Christmas gifts for the family. Unfortunately, before the Christmas gifts could be delivered, attorneys became involved and it is unknown whether or not the family has received the Christmas gifts that were delivered to the attorneys.
The Carroll Companies has also offered to upgrade the Ojo family from a one-bedroom apartment to a two-bedroom apartment at no additional cost, but this offer also has yet to be accepted pending approval of the two law firms now representing the Ojo family.
Greensboro is a generous community and the Salvation Army and the Greensboro Police Department provided the family with furniture to replace what was missing or damaged.
The Ojo family also set up a Go Fund Me page and $10,101 has been donated.
The Carroll Companies has also offered to replace or compensate the Ojos for any additional items that they have since discovered were missing or damaged, but with two law firms now representing the family, communication has become even more complicated.
Roy Carroll, president and CEO of The Carroll Companies, said, “We feel very bad that one of our subcontractors removed the 22 items from one of our tenant’s apartments. Within hours of learning that the subcontractor was not going to make the family whole, RE Carroll Management was on site and delivered $1,000 more than the family said the 22 items were worth to the family. Since then, several local media outlets have misrepresented the facts surrounding the situation. We continue to try and stay in contact with the family through their two law firms.”
Based on the information provided and that everything stated is accurate, it sounds to me like some bottomfe…I mean lawyers got to the family with promises of a never ending Christmas. The first question I would like answered is how much are those…lawyers getting?
Reading what Carroll Company has and is going to do to try to make right and/or compensate the Ojos, I would want to adopt a wait and see attitude before passing judgement.
My heart goes out to the Ojo family and the encounter they went through that day, I can barely imagine. Fortunately, for them, the rental company seems to have made quick and sincere efforts to accommodate for a situation that was not intentional. On the same note Greensboro is a generous community and stepped in as well.
A life was not lost, no ill intent mentioned and good financial efforts have been made by many. Hopefully all records are reclaimed and/or in safe keeping until the family chooses to receive them.
Why are two law firms representing this family? Thats right, so no one takes advantage of them, who could possibly be doing that?
It being the Carroll companies and the obvious dislike from the City powers and the greed of lawyers this is a sad situation that will only get worse.
Glad to hear Carroll Companies did the right thing, it will pay off in the end!
This is not surprising in todays litigious society, some folks are always looking for a payday and The Carrol Company has deep pockets. Those pockets are what some see as ripe for the picking, read some attorneys here. That’s a shame and reflects poorly on us as a society.. The media that made an issue out of this, well, there is no excuse for them. I appreciate those who tried to help when the mistake was discovered., that should have been the story.
A mistake was made, the mistake should be rectified and it sounds like the Carrol Company’s has made an attempt in good faith. I applaud them for the effort. I hope the effort is recognized by the couple and accepted in just as good a faith. I’m afraid the lawyers will not let that happen, after all they are looking for a payday.
how did junkyard dogs get into this ‘wrong’ apartment? who, where, when was the ‘correct’ apartment ‘cleaned-out’ ?
Attorneys make this situation scary! Will more damages be claimed? This is shameful.
When my apartment was stripped bare of all my belongings, I couldn’t find anyone who would assist me. The maintenance crew entered my apartment illegally, liked what they saw, I received a letter of non-renewal shortly thereafter and was taken advantage of my age and physical limitations. All of which was orchestrated. Oh, and I even reached out to Mr. Alston who ignored my email plea. I notified the newspapers and they didn’t print the story. As for compensation, Ha! I was told everything went to a landfill but given the quality of my belongings, I’m sure they were stolen and now sit in someone else’s place.
Why would a moving company even start with the ten items that were missing?
I think that the owner has gone over and beyond In money to replace items. Why did they get lawyers involved? And the go fund for them more than covers their losses. Shame on them!
There are just some people that take advantage of their situation!! Their items were returned in short order and they were more than fully compensated!! It’s people like this that ruin it for those that are really done wrong and get nothing!! Are the Ojos from this area? Are they employed in this area? How long have they lived here? Do they have family here? How many people are on the lease? How many people live there? These are legitimate questions that may change everything!!
My question…who opened the door to the apartment? Transposed numbers happen…what’s the big deal. I have heard of an entire house being demolished…numbers mixed up!
When I saw the first news report, I thought the Carroll Companies should get out in front of this quickly and it would appear that’s exactly what happened. Unfortunately, immediately admitting a mistake was made and owning up to it is not satisfactory to the local media, particularly WFMY who should be ashamed of ginning up this story to the max.