To downsize his house, a retiree decided to give away an old leather couch, only to realize later that he had made a costly mistake: He had given away his life savings.
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George, who goes by a pseudonym, shared with 7 News that he donated the grey and brown leather couch to an op-shop in Queensland's southeast earlier this year.
He was in the process of renovating his house to sell and downsize when he decided to part ways with the couch.
However, George later realized the unfortunate truth - he had left $30,000 in cash stuffed inside one of the sections of the couch. He believed he had kept the section containing the cash when he gave away three parts of the five-section couch set.
George told 7 News: “I didn’t even think about it for a few weeks. It wasn’t on my radar,”
“I think the bit that really hurts is that I’ve done this to myself, and I can’t believe how bloody stupid I was, honestly.
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“I really did have to stop and say, ‘You’re human, you made a mistake. If you don’t repeat it, you’ve learned a valuable lesson – and an expensive one’.
After he contacted the op-shop, he was informed that the couch had been resold within days. However, the Queensland native said the couch was picked up and not delivered, making it impossible to track.
As a result, George's attempts to locate the couch have been unsuccessful, despite his efforts.
Nevertheless, George launched an online campaign to find the couch and recover his life savings. He even offered a reward to incentivize any information leading to the recovery of at least some of his savings.
George hopes that by gifting them his life savings, he may have given someone a chance for a better life
“If I get a portion back, I’ll be happy, but I think it’s gone,” he said.
“There are a lot of people in dire need. Maybe it’ll transform someone’s life.”
