My parents allowed the ex of one of my siblings to store some things in their garage. This was nearly a decade ago. It was only things like old teddies and books. My parents and myself attempted on several occasions to get these items back to them but no one turned up to collect them and the messages were ignored so when my parents needed the space back recently they had no choice other than to get rid of the items. There was nothing of any monetary value.
Suddenly, the family of the ex is now contacting us to say that there were precious family heirlooms amongst these items and that they need them back. The messages threaten to ‘go public’ and to involve the police and the courts if the items are not returned. It’s extremely upsetting because none of the items left behind could possibly have any monetary value so either they’re mistaken or these items don’t exist in the first place. In addition to this we made several attempts to reunite them with the things they had left there and they hadn’t made any effort to get them.
To me it seems ridiculous that they would have any leg to stand on in taking my parents to court but I really suffer with anxiety so of course this has triggered it.
Can anyone advise me on whether these are just hollow threats or whether they could actually go after my parents for something that was never in their possession and may not even exist?