A Reddit user shared a story of how their beach vacation turned into a nightmare. The user recalled another family sitting in the chairs and using the umbrellas they had left on the beach, and even drinking their sodas. Upon confronting them, the family’s behavior led the user to call the police.
The Reddit user revealed that they were staying near the beach with friends. The user also wrote that since it was the off-season, the beach was nearly empty. According to the user, there were hardly a dozen people across the 10-mile stretch of beach.
The Reddit user also explained that the house they were staying in was only a five-minute walk from the beach. “We've been setting up our chairs and umbrellas in the mid-morning and often leaving them unattended as we go for lunch,” the user wrote.
Once, when the user, along with friends, returned to the beach after lunch, they found a family sitting on their chairs. The family was also drinking sodas the user's group had left in their coolers. The Reddit user revealed that others in the group were “dumbfounded” at the sight, but the user went straight down and confronted them.
“They were acting all coy and saying that they thought the chairs were abandoned,” the user wrote. “I told them no, it wasn't, and to get out. That's when they dropped the coy routine and got snarly, telling me if we didn't want it taken, we shouldn't have left it, and if we don't like it, we can call the cops. I told them alright, if that's what they wanted and walked off.”
The user wrote about being told by friends not to call the cops. However, the user ignored them and called the police. After about 20 minutes, officers arrived at the beach access point, and they pointed towards the family.
The user wrote that initially the family claimed the stuff to be theirs, but then the user pointed out that their name was written on the backs of the chairs. “I would have been content with the cop just having them give us our stuff back, but since they lied to the cop, he ended up writing them all tickets,” the user wrote.
“Now they are all mean-mugging us from the balcony of their house two down from ours, and my friends are still saying I shouldn't have made a scene,” wrote the Reddit user. “I didn't have any intention of the cop giving them citations. I'm not pressed about the cost of the stuff; for me, it was just the principle of someone stealing something and then actually going ‘finders keepers’ when the owner tries to get it back.”
The post shared on the r/AmItheAsshole subreddit received 941 comments. One commenter wrote, “They were trying to steal your stuff. You did nothing wrong. Don't leave your stuff unattended.” Another commenter blamed the user and wrote, “Leaving your stuff unattended is stupid, but not inherently wrong.” A third user wrote, “It's the beach; how do you not leave your stuff there to go do beach shit? It's completely normal to leave your chairs and cooler while swimming or grabbing lunch.”
This article is based on a post shared by a user in r/AmItheAsshole on Reddit. The Daily Dot could not independently verify the events described. The account reflects only the original poster's perspective; the other family's account was not available.
