To think she got her just desserts

[roundthepound]

So, 20 + years ago I was part of a large loose friendship group mostly based around going out and partying. There was one woman part of this group who was such a grifter. Borrowing money and not paying it back, pleading poverty to get people to cover her costs when out, forgetting her purse, there was even a point stuff when ornaments etc went missing from a few houses after a party and I'm sure it was her. She also dated guys specifically to get work done on her house. An electrician, then a decorator etc. She was a real piece of work.

Anyway, the group drifted apart but I heard similar stories about her over the years, including cynically befriending a well off elderly couple whose son lived abroad.

Fast forward to this week and turns out she had managed to get the surviving widowed elderly man to change his will in her favour in return for ongoing care for a number of years. All very hush hush and just their secret.

He died recently and she was telling everyone how she was at last rich and had good times ahead and so on. Turns out the elderly man had her number all along and the house had been transferred to his son abroad years ago with all the money and the new will had her named as getting £100!

I just liked the thought of karma coming back for once.

If they had a deal she would care for him for years for free and he would give her the house then she's not really being cheeky. If she's assumed she's going to get it and tried to trick him then maybe yes.

I think either way it could be seen as karma. And it sounds like she deserves it tbh. She thought she had her life made after spending the majority of it scamming people, and he got the ultimate one over her at the end

She was a nasty piece of work people, trust me on this one.

I’m with you! Serves her right!

She thought she could get her grubby hands on the house, when in fact the son owned it. Serves her right. I’d hope there was more to come for someone like that. She sounds odious.

Sounds like she finally met her match - an elderly man and his son who grifted years of free care from her. I bet they were laughing up their sleeves at her.

Ah well, karma indeed.

can't stomach her own medicine eh? it does feel karmic

Brilliant!

If I believed in karma, this would be it 😆

If it was ‘hush hush’ and ‘their secret’ , how did you know?

Is she homeless now?

it’s a bit crass to say how wealthy you are so soon after the man’s death.

It is good when people get their come uppance.

I suspect that he was supposed to keep it hush hush to stop his son finding out about it, but she (like all truly stupid people who think that they are being clever) cant help but tell people just how clever they are being.

Fucking hilarious. Good for him!

I'd enjoy watching this as a movie, and to see where she is now.

Sounds like the old man pulled a fast one. But if she deserved it then that’s ok I guess.

Is she homeless now?

Nope; she's apparently living rent-free in the OP's head.

You seem to know a lot about this person you don’t really speak to and about all their secrets and things that were meant to be ‘hush hush’.

She got what she deserved. Anyone who tries to scam vulnerable, elderly people are vile. Was she a carer for the elderly gentleman? If so I'm sure she was paid for the hours she did, people like her would never do it for free.

Not sure what to think about your story, but am disproportionately pleased you used the right version of "desserts"!

👌

People like this usually make mistakes somewhere in their duplicitousness. Hers was arrogantly assuming nobody could play her at her own game. It's the height of stupidity to rely on being left things in someone's will, because if even if you see a will in your favour, they can easily write a new one without you knowing.

But surely she saw the will and knew all this in advance? Especially if she was the one who pushed to get it changed? It means she would have had no access to any of the solicitor meetings.

There's a legal concept of "proprietary estoppel" for exactly this situation - so if she provided care for years on the understanding she would inherit substantially in return, she could argue that her detrimental reliance on the promise resulted in disadvantage and loss to herself (though she'd need to prove a lot of care was provided, and that doing that meant she didn't take on other work, for example). She might still be entitled to something.

Huh? I wouldn't normally comment on a spelling issue, but surely it's "deserts" as in what they deserve?

@MiaFeysImprobableBosom You are correct!
https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/just-deserts-or-just-desserts

Indeed. Often used in land farming cases where someone worked for years in the land for no Salary due to future promises.