Man says he stored a friend’s furniture for free for nearly two years, and after he threw it out with notice, the friend allegedly wants $800

An Illinois man says he is dealing with a demand for $800 after he apparently cleared out furniture that, according to his Reddit post, had been sitting in his garage for nearly two years.

As found by The Nerd Stash, the man, who goes by the name Post-Modern_Trash on Reddit, posted the details on the r/legaladvice community. He said it began when an acquaintance allegedly asked to store furniture in his garage for what he assumed would be a short time.

According to his post, the arrangement dragged on for nearly 19 months, with Post-Modern_Trash claiming he reached out twice asking when the furniture would be collected. He wrote, “It wasn’t a few weeks. I texted him twice in the first year asking when he was coming to get it. He said he was still figuring things out.”

The storage favor allegedly turned into a dispute over $800

According to the poster, the situation lasted approximately 19 months. He wrote that, after waiting much longer than he said he had expected, he claimed to have sent a formal 30-day notice to the owner, stating the furniture would be disposed of if it remained unclaimed.

He said that when the deadline passed with no response, he apparently cleared the items out. Disputes over furniture are common online, including one case where a woman saw movers damage her furniture after paying $1,100 for the move.

According to the poster’s account, the owner reached out about a week after the disposal, claiming he had been planning to collect the furniture all along. Post-Modern_Trash wrote that the owner said he “had been planning to come get it and that I had no right to touch his property,” and allegedly demanded $800 for the disposed items.

Many commenters said they believed the owner was in the wrong, as one user wrote, “When you text someone the “come get it or I’m getting rid of it” message and they don’t respond that is entirely on them.” Another commented, “Your house = your junk ,,you were a good friend to him and he took advantage.” Stories like this often spark reaction, like one where another couple avoided a costly home purchase mistake.

Some commenters suggested the timing of the demand looked deliberate, as one user wrote, “He was just waiting for you to dispose it to hit you up for money. You did him a big favor with free storage, gave notice, his loss.”

One commenter wrote, “Two years of free storage is already more patience than most people would have given him.” Post-Modern_Trash pushed back on the idea that he had acted too hastily, saying, “That’s what I keep coming back to.” He added, “I didn’t toss it after a month, it sat there for nearly two years.” Another commenter, Taen_Dreamweaver, chimed in, “I’m no lawyer, but according to this website, it’s ballpark $300 to file a small claims case. Until you get served formally, just ignore it.” This story comes entirely from one side, and the other party has not commented publicly or offered his version of events.