19 Unlucky People Whose Kindness Backfired

All parents have probably taught their children to share their toys or food with others. Of course, when you grow up, you become generous and lend anything to anyone in need. Unfortunately, some people have found out the hard way that maybe that’s not the best idea.

• I lent a new shirt to a neighbor, and when she came to return it, my mom just told her to keep it as a gift. I was shocked, so I asked her: “Why are you giving it to her?” And she told me: “So that you learn that clothes cannot be lent, they are personal things.” I was speechless. © Stefany Cardonas / Facebook
• I lent a watch to my second-grade classmate in college, and then she told me that she had lost it and would pay me back. Time went by, and I asked for the money. She said, “I don’t have any money.” It’s been 36 years, and I’m still waiting for her to pay me back. © Guadalupe Alejandra Flores Fernández / Facebook
• I left the country for a while, so I told a friend she could stay home for a year. She had a little girl and two dogs. She kept the dogs inside, where we had suede reclining furniture, and took my best clothes and bed comforters.
  When I returned, she said, “There’s still a month left for the year to end.” I had to live for a month in the cellar of my own house. © Josefine Carrillo / Facebook
• I lent a welding machine to a friend. I have several of them. A long time went by, and one day I thought of asking it back.
  He replied: “No, I haven’t had it for a long time. We melted it down and sold the leftovers”. Still, friends are friends, but I didn’t laugh back then. © Pablo Stampanone / Facebook
• I lent one of my husband’s jackets (super expensive) on a freezing day to an uncle who was visiting. When I saw him again, he was wearing a very dirty jacket. Sure... Then I asked for my hubby’s jacket back.
  He was wearing it but told me it was his son’s gift. I reminded him when I had lent it to him, and he said: “I don’t think so, I don’t think so. I’m sure that’s not what happened.” He never gave it back to me. © Claudia Morales / Facebook

• I lent a pair of pants to a “friend”. She washed it with bleach, and it got stained. She returned it to me like that and bought the same pair for her because she loved it. She gave me the damaged one, and I had to stand seeing her in her new pants while knowing I had to throw mine away. © Sandra Tirado / Facebook
• I had the entire collection of Agatha Christie books. A colleague of mine had her mother hospitalized and borrowed several of them. She was, so to speak, my boss and a real pro. Anyway, I lent her ten books. Her mother passed away a month later.
  When she returned to the office, I didn’t dare ask for my valuable books immediately. Sometime later, I finally gathered the courage to ask them back. She said: “I have no idea where they are. I think I left them at the clinic. I had no time to think about books”.
  I had to buy them again. Unfortunately, 2 of them weren’t for sale anymore. © Vivian Acevedo / Facebook
• My husband and I moved into a house with a large yard. We bought a mower to keep it nice all year long. My neighbor’s son borrowed it from me right after we bought it. Their yard was very small.
  A long time went by, and I asked for it back only to find out the boy was using it to clean yards and a whole operation around it. I got it back, but it was in bad condition and dirty. I couldn’t believe it. © Marta Malave / Facebook
• I told a “friend” to live for a few months in my fully-furnished house while I was away. One day, he asked permission to use my desktop computer. I agreed. But when I returned, he was gone.... with my computer!
  I asked him what happened, he said that he installed an expensive program on it and that he didn’t plan to lose it just because I said so. Unfortunately, that “friend” passed away. Obviously, I never got my new computer back. © Meli Durand Ortiz / Facebook
• My mom made me lend my quinceañera dress to a friend’s daughter. They took it to the dry cleaner, but according to them, they didn’t have the money to pay for the service. After months of insisting, she told us which dry cleaner had the dress. It turns out that they had a policy of giving away the clothes they didn’t pick up, so I hope many quinceañeras have enjoyed wearing it. © Mery Carrillo / Facebook

• I was in high school. My mom bought me a new pair of tennis shoes. A friend borrowed them from me on a Friday.
  On Monday, I went to school and saw a girl who had never talked to me showing off my sneakers. She didn’t know they were mine. My friend lent them to her. I was so angry that I took them off her feet immediately. © Betty Dourdan / Facebook
• I bought a beautiful dress for a wedding; the dress was emerald with rhinestones on the waist and a sweetheart neckline; it didn’t cost me much, but I loved it. I lent it to my husband’s sister. She is shorter than me.
  When she gave it back to me, the dress was smaller. She had it cut to her size and spilled a drink in it. Obviously, I told her to keep it because I could never wear it again anyway. © Glo Ria Chavez / Facebook
• I went to a party next to my house with a brand new, unused denim jacket. Took it off to dance and never saw it again.
  Sometime later, my neighbor was walking around with the jacket. And that’s not all. The whole family was committed to keeping other people’s things. They weren’t afraid of telling others these things were theirs. © Patricia Pino / Facebook
• Some men whose car had broken down right before his house asked my father for pliers and a screwdriver. After a while, they fixed it and continued their trip with my father’s tools. © Roxana Arias / Facebook
• I once lent a dress for someone to make a pattern out of it. It was naive of me. Turns out I got back an oversized dress.
  The girl I lent it to weighs about 30 kilos more than me. It was ripped at the seams and full of strange balls, so obviously I had to throw it away. © Julieta Romero / Facebook
• I lent a friend a new blouse that I loved because her mother wanted to have made a similar one. I waited and waited to get it back, and nothing. They always came up with a thousand excuses not to give it back.
  Then, my mom and I once surprised her at home. She was chilling in her front yard with friends with the blouse on. My mom asked for it in front of everyone. She got so mad she just took it off right away and gave it to us. © Nathalia Angela / Facebook

In a world that values acts of kindness, these stories stand out as cautionary tales. They remind us that even the most well-intentioned actions can sometimes lead to unexpected and unfortunate results. These individuals’ experiences underscore the delicate balance between compassion and caution in the intricate fabric of life.