A woman says attempting to help a teenager with prom pictures ended up causing $1,400 in damage to her brand-new Jeep.
TikTok user Destiney Thee Caketress (@destinedindulgence) is a St. Louis-based baker who runs her own business. She posted a video that has since amassed 1.7 million views detailing the incident.
In the video, which she posted back on Sep. 13, Destiney says, “Somebody please explain to me how you can cause $1,400 worth of damages in a matter of two hours?”
What happened to the Jeep?
Destiney explains that she employs a high school student who asked if she could borrow Destiney’s Jeep to use as a prop in a pre-prom photoshoot. “I know it was a dumb idea on my part, but I was thinking, ‘It’s just pictures, she’s not driving it. She just wants to take pictures.’”
The day of the event, Destiney dropped off the Jeep at the photoshoot location and then left with her husband to grab something to eat at a nearby restaurant. Having established ground rules in advance, she expected everything to go smoothly.
Unfortunately, she soon received a call from her employee asking if she could take the doors off the Jeep so they could capture a specific shot. Destiney says she told the employee no, because she hadn’t taken the doors off of the Jeep yet and was nervous about something potentially happening to them in a public place.
Her conversation with the employee’s father
Destiney thought that was the end of the conversation. However, she says she received another call shortly thereafter from her employee’s father. He insisted that Destiney wouldn’t notice if he took off the doors and asked her to reconsider. Again, she declined to allow them to take the doors off and she thought they accepted her position on it.
Later, Destiney says she picked up the Jeep with no problems and didn’t think twice about the incident. That is until months later when her Jeep flooded after it rained. She took it to the dealership to get it looked at.
“After a diagnostic, they see that my doors are on wrong,” Destiney says. “Not from the manufacturer, but because somebody tampered with the doors, took the doors off, and then put them back on.”
To make matters worse, she says, “They didn’t take the doors off like Jeep doors, though. They took the doors off like a chop shop. They actually took the hinges off of the doors and then put them back on. Who comes to the park with tools like that?”
The total damage done to her Jeep
It ultimately cost Destiney $1,400 to fix and reseal each door on the Jeep. When she complained about it at work, she learned that the employee’s dad had lied and told his daughter Destiney changed her mind and decided to allow them to take the doors off after all.
“Nope, nope,” Destiney says. “So what would y’all do in this situation? Because I’m still in shock. I just picked up my car. And I don’t know how to handle it. I know I can’t be mad at [my employee], because she genuinely did not know. She thought that it was OK.”
Viewers react to the situation
In the comments, viewers are equally shocked and outraged by the turn of events.
“What would I do??? We’d be sitting in front of Judge Judy,” joked one user.
“My mom told me a long time ago… Don’t let people borrow things they cannot afford because they don’t know its worth,” wrote a second user.
A third user wrote, “When the dad called I would’ve came and got my car.” Destiney wrote, “Definitely a red flag I ignored.”
Another user suggested, “I would No. 1) Ask politely for the $1,400 and do payments if you’re comfortable, with a written contract. No. 2) If they refuse, go to small claims court. Keep it professional and polite, but to the point.”
@destinedindulgence Like I'm seriously still I shock 😐 #jeeplife #jeepwrangler #jeepgirl ♬ original sound – @Destiney Thee CAKEtress 🧁🍰
A happy ending
Destiney in a follow-up video posted last month said she decided to let it all go. She decided against pursuing a small claims court settlement. She said that the employee has been with her for several years and is close like a “little cousin.” So reprimanding her at work or pursuing that $1,400 didn’t seem worth it.
The Daily Dot reached out to Destiney via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.
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The post ‘When the dad called I would’ve came and got my car’: Woman says prom pictures caused $1,400 of damage to her brand-new Jeep appeared first on The Daily Dot.
