Story with a happy ending.

Last year, I was getting new floor tile installed. It was taking a little longer than expected and my wife and I were invited to a barbecue that evening. I called the supervisor and the flooring place and asked if their people were bonded and insured.

They all said yes. I asked the owner and supervisor if it was safe for me to go to the barbecue and have them lock up the house when they finished.

The said "yes of course" they do it all the time.

We went to the outing had fun and got home around midnight.

First thing I noticed was my digital camera was gone.

My wife was upstairs taking off her wedding ring and when she opened her jewelry box all her stuff was gone. Diamond rings, bracelets, stuff I have given her for the past 15 years. The only thing left was the cheap stuff.

The camera and jewlery were no where near where these people were working and I had locked the bedroom door. One or all of the workers easily defeated the locks and filled their pockets.

I called the cops and they took a report.

I called the flooring place and they called me a liar and that people claim stuff is stolen all the time.

I called the owner of the tile compnay "Jose" and he assured me that it wasn't his guys and he would talk to them.

I told Jose that I wanted my stuff back and and he wasn't getting payed until this matter was settled. Turns out that bonded and insured means nothing and they lied to me anyway. I called my own insurance company and they told me that they only cover $1000 in jewelry without a rider minus my $250 deductible

I had lost at least $4500 worth of shit. Jose called me back and said "the police ran the pawn detail on all his guys and they had not pawned my stuff. Somebody else must have stolen my items and he stands behind his crew."

Jose came by the house to discuss the matter. He told me that I needed to pay him or sue him and to make a decision. I told him directly that I was not a liar, his people were thieves and he needed to make this right.

He again refused, saying there was no proof that my items really existed and that his people didn't steal. I reluctantly paid him for the finished tile job so he couldn't put a contractors lien on my house. If a contractor puts a lien on your property the bank that holds the mortgage has the option of calling in the note.

I didn't feel like being homeless.

I asked Jose, "do you believe in god?" He said, "yes my family is very religious and we pray all the time" I asked him, You do realize that god works in mysterious ways and this will be settled by him?" "Uhh.. yes he will" said Jose nervously. I don't know why I said all that. I'm not very religious and rarely break into god talk with strangers.

That very second we heard an ear shattering crash. It sounded like a bomb went off. We ran to the front door and peered outside.

Jose's brand new truck was folded in half, wrapped around my neighbors minivan. The neighbor was angry at her teenage son and mistakenly slammed on the gas instead of the brake and ended up smashing into Jose's truck. The neighbor was a single mom and had no insurance.

From looking at the truck I could tell there was at least $7000 worth of damage and possibly a total loss. I asked Jose if he carried commerical vehicle insurance with uninsured motorist coverage. He looked at the ground and shook his head.

I went back inside and enjoyed the rest of my day.

I soon recieved an insurance check for $2000. The claims person had felt sorry for me so he made an exception and forgave the deductible. I went out and bought my wife a new platinum tennis bracelet with the insurance money.