Teen Refuses to Pay Parents' Mortgage After They Took Money from Her Savings Without Permission

A teen has taken extreme measures to protect her savings from her parents.

In post on Reddit, the 18-year-old revealed she is refusing to pay off her parents’ mortgage after they took out nearly $1,000 from her savings to pay it off without asking her first.

She prefaced the incident noting that she works for her dad and gets “paid really well for my age.” She also shared that she had been saving up “most” of her income “in an account they don’t have access to” as she plans to move out with her 10-year-old brother, because they're caught in the “crossfire” of her parents’ “toxic” marriage.

“Recently, things had been calm between us, so I thought maybe I could trust them more. They’ve always said my money is mine, so I didn’t see this coming,” she wrote on Reddit.

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She explained that her parents “asked” to see how much was in her savings account earlier this week and when she showed them the figure, they grabbed her phone and called the bank to transfer $990, which is the daily limit into their loan account, without her “permission.”

She said they had not told her why they transferred the money at the time — which made her further “upset” — but her mother later admitted that they took the money to pay off their mortgage.

“[My mom] said, ‘Your money is our money, and you’re getting the house when we die, so what’s the problem?,’ ” the 18-year-old recalled. “That really hurt because I’ve worked hard for my savings to secure my future and help my sibling, and now it feels like all my work is pointless.”

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She said she and her mother then got into a “screaming match” after she “refused to give them more money,” and her mother “accused” her of “being selfish and ungrateful since they’ve provided for me my whole life.”

“I do feel grateful, but I also feel like they’ve crossed a line by taking my money without asking and then demanding more,” she continued. “I understand they’re under financial stress, but I feel like they’re treating me like an ATM instead of their daughter.”

Related: Man Saves Up for 9 Months to Pay Off Mom's Mortgage, Surprises Her in Tearful Video (Exclusive)

Several people online sided with the woman, with many noting that what her parents did was theft and suggesting that she “move out” immediately. One person wrote that her parent's "actions have consequences."

Another suggested, “I'd move the money to another bank and change the account access to only you. Call the bank and report the unauthorized transfers out of your account.”

The woman said in an update that she did just that and the bank “restricted all transfers out of the savings account.” However, she wouldn’t be able to get the $990 that was already transferred back unless she lodged a “police report.”

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