The last thing anyone wants to hear while on vacation is grim news about their home. For Susan Hodgson, it couldn’t get much worse: Her house was accidentally demolished.
Last month, Hodgson came back to find her longtime Atlanta family property in rubble, the Associated Press reported Saturday.
“I am furious,” Hodgson said. “I keep waking up thinking, ‘Is this all a joke or something?’ I’m just in shock.”
Hodgson had received a call from a neighbor while she was away asking whether she hired someone to demolish the vacant home.
“It’s been boarded up about 15 years, and we keep it boarded, covered, grass cut, and the yard is clean. The taxes are paid and everything is up on it,” Hodgson told FOX5.
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Hodgson told the neighbor that she hadn’t hired anyone to tear down the home. The neighbor went over to confront the worker, who replied in a harsh tone. “He told her to shut up and mind her own business,” Hodgson said.
The homeowner sent a family member over to speak with the worker, who then realized he was at the wrong address.
“He said, ‘Well, I want to see a permit or something’ and the guy pulled it out and said, ‘Oh, I’m at the wrong address,’ and he just packs everything up and leaves. And the house is just … gone,” Hodgson told FOX5.
Hodgson has filed a police report and contacted lawyers, but it’s still unclear what her next steps are, AP reported.
Hodgson told FOX5 the company responsible, You Call It, We Haul It, hasn’t contacted her. USA TODAY was unable to reach the company. In a statement to FOX5, the company said it was investigating.
“It’s just hard to believe someone thinks they have the right to just come and tear something up and walk away from it and didn’t come back and say I’m sorry. What do I need to do to fix this. It was an accident. They didn’t give me nothing,” Hodgson said.
