A New York City woman learned the hard way that sometimes the people you think are your friends will use you the first chance they get, even if it means subjecting you to potential danger.
Alex (@alexpoulx) uploaded a viral TikTok detailing how she let a friend of hers use her NYC apartment for what she thought was going to be four days while she visited Florida. However, she learned that for the month she was away, this person allegedly handed her key over to a man who was living in her apartment.
Meanwhile, Sarah said she had no idea this was going on or who this man was and only became aware of the situation when she received a random message from the man asking if he could get some of his belongings and mail back that he left at her place.
Numerous viewers who saw Alex’s post urged her to take legal action in response to this discovery, while others speculated that her “pal” was using the place as an opportunity to make some cash without Alex knowing.
“I’m tearing up because it’s a little bewildering it’s a little scary, this random a** man stayed in my house,” she said. “…What’s really crazy, I don’t know if you guys remember, I came back to New York for like literally one day last month because I was really missing home…and when I came into my apartment, my entire bedroom furniture was rearranged.”
Alex said she texted her friend to ask about it and the friend said she was the one who rearranged the furniture and “forgot to put it back.”
“I believed her because I thought she was my friend,” Alex said. “Welp, turns out it was Mr. Little Random Man who re-arranged my bedroom and god knows what else he did in here.”
@alexpoulx this sounds like an almost funny story time but i am unwell
♬ original sound – alexpoulx
“My sister says I should get a black light and I told my friends that and they were like I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she continued. “Because what the f*ck?! Who else was in this house? And you know what’s even worse? Now I have to change my locks. I have to change my locks because this man could have a copy of my key right now.”
She warned the “random man” that she has pepper spray and other “discreet weaponry.”
Several viewers urged her to take legal recourse for the breach of trust
“Take that ‘friend’ to small claims court for every single penny,” one person wrote. Another said, “Sue. Her. Immediately. Include court fees.”
Others thought that the friend was probably renting her home out on Airbnb or a similar online leasing platform while Alex was away.
Someone else said that she should probably talk to the guy who messaged her and ask if he was being charged any amount of money to live there.
“Ask him what he paid to be there for the month and send your friend an invoice,” someone commented.
Then some detailed other scary scenarios.
“Change your WiFi password as well. If he’s hooked up cameras, they’ll disconnect,” one TikTok user penned, while others were just shocked at how quickly the man made the place his home.
“He was getting MAIL there??” one remarked. Another wrote, “HE SLEPT IN YOUR BED??????”
The act of placing a property you don’t technically own on Airbnb or renting it to someone else isn’t illegal: it’s called rental arbitrage, and you’ve probably seen tons of people on social media telling you that you’re leaving money on the table for not partaking in the practice.
However, doing so without a proper agreement between you and the property owner or the legal leaser of the property, in this case, Alex, isn’t kosher and is effectively, theft.
Alex posted a follow-up video about the incident, which includes a screenshot of the message she sent her friend, where she asked for $1,500 “since that was the agreed upon amount for [her] staying [t]here for the month.”
The TikToker added that she needed to fix the holes that the random man put in her walls in the apartment since he took it upon himself to re-arrange her furniture and that she now needs to change the locks in her apartment.
@alexpoulx #greenscreen ♬ original sound – alexpoulx
Her “friend” replied that she wasn’t aware of the damage made to the apartment and that she would send the money over to her within a few days. She also asked for photos of the “holes” so she could send an “invoice”—presumably to the man who stayed at Alex’s place.
Noticeably missing from the text conversation, which Alex pointed out, is any “acknowledgment” of the fact that the friend was caught in a lie. Alex said the woman claimed the man was only supposed to be there to “water the plants” which she said she knows was a lie. She said that the friend couldn’t afford the $1,500 all up front and has since only paid her $200 of the money that she owes her.
The TikToker added that she feels “uncomfortable” in her own house and that she keeps finding things that belong to the man who stayed there, including “little black hairs” in the shower and that he used her “good shampoo” and not the “drug store brand” in her shower. She even showed off the rug that he was talking about: it’s a black-and-white oddly shaped piece that contains the letters “ABSL” on it.
Toward the end of her clip, she revealed that she was stalking the man’s Instagram account, and noticed he snapped a photograph of some hats he was holding in his hand, and in the background were her “hardwood floors.” The kicker is that the man said he left her place on Nov. 1, but the post was uploaded on Nov. 16, only leading Alex to believe she caught the pair in yet another lie regarding her apartment.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alex via email for further comment.
