Most of us have borrowed a thing or two from a friend or acquaintance. But there's an unspoken rule of borrowing: you have to return the item in the same condition you got it in. Since people are even bad at returning cash (25% of Americans say they never got back the money they lent to a loved one), can we really expect anything more with physical property?
To see just how bad it gets, we've scoured the internet for the worst examples of people returning borrowed items in an atrocious state. From broken computer mice to wrecked cars and ruined attire, these entries might make your blood boil at least a little bit.
#21 Before And After My Little Brother “Borrowed” My Racket For Badminton Practice
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41points
Return the item in the same – or even better – condition. This is the golden rule that many of the borrowers in this list didn't follow. If you borrow someone's car, drive it to a carwash and have it vacuumed. If you're borrowing clothes, wash them too, or even have them dry cleaned.
#22 My Friend Borrowed One Of My Records And Returned It 4 Days Later Like This
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41points
#23 I Think My Husband’s Going To Realize I Borrowed One Of His Extension Cords
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40points
#24 My Mom Let Her Friend Borrow Her Van For The Day And It Got Returned With This
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39points
Say 'Thank you' or reciprocate. Returning the item promptly and with a "Thank you" note is the polite thing to do. Better yet, offer a favor in return. Borrowing and lending don't have to be a quid pro quo, but it's always nice to know that a borrower will have your back in the future if needed.
#25 Let My Friend Borrow My Earbuds For A Week
Before giving them to him, I took a toothpick to the insides, and wiped down the tips with disinfecting wipes, making sure that they were spotless. I'm a very clean person, almost to the point of being a mild germaphobe. I specifically asked him to take care of them, as they are $300 Sennheiser MTW 4s. He only asked to borrow them for a week, and I kind of forgot about it. A month later, I ask for them back, and he legit spends almost 20 minutes rooting through his wreck of a room before he finally pulls them out of a random pair of jeans on his floor. I thank him and head home shortly after. I pop the case open to give them a disinfecting wipe down before using them again, and see this abomination. Common sense and human decency people. sigh
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38points
#26 When Someone Borrows Your Needle Nose Pliers And Returns Them Like This
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37points
#27 My Neighbor Borrowed My Hedge Trimmer. This Is What She Did To My Extension Cord
Bonus points for the best way how to fix this.
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36points
Don't ask to borrow heirlooms and respect it when you're told "No." Some people just might be too polite and don't know how to say "No." Be the bigger person in a situation where you see that someone doesn't want to lend you their favorite or cherished item or just straight-up don't reply to your request.
#28 I Let A Kid In My Class Borrow My Calculator, I Got It Back Covered In Scribbles
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36points
#29 My Mom Borrowed My Car. Got It Back Smelling Like Cigarettes And My Mints Perfectly Trapped In My Cup Holder
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35points
#31 My Coworker Returned The Front Desk Stapler Like This. Told Me It Ran Out Of Staples
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34points
#33 Let My Girlfriend Borrow My Controller For One Set, Never Again. What Is This
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33points
#34 My Brother Taking My Bluetooth Headset Without Permission And Returning It Like This
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33points
#35 Let My Friend Borrow A Nintendo Switch Game. One Week Later It’s Damaged
Let my friend borrow Splatoon 3 for about a week. when I asked for it back. As I went to go play it was all messed up looking and wouldn’t work, it would also freeze up the entire console causing me to keep restarting it as I kept hoping it would work.
For comparison I put it next to a non damaged game in the second pic.
For comparison I put it next to a non damaged game in the second pic.
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32points
#37 My Ex-Wife Borrowed My Car Saying She Needed More Room. She Left Me Her Mini Cooper. This Is The Tire
I'm sure some people would consider this more than mildly infuriating but I guess she didn't have the money to get it fixed and this was her way of asking for help. she can't be driving my son around on a tire like that it's not safe. "Well it wasn't my car" would be a terrible eulogy.
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31points
#40 Let A Friend Borrow My Magnetic Beads About A Week Ago. Got Bored Today And Decided To Rebuild The Original Cube (How It Was When Borrowed)
One blue bead is missing and I can’t make the whole cube now.
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17points