<\/p>\n
\nShe opened the cushion and pulled out an old plastic bag full of $100 notes.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
A cleaner tidying up some dusty old chairs at a Wellington property has stumbled across the most “insane” thing she’s ever found – $20,000 cash.<\/p>\n
Loll, co-owner of Massive Property Services, said the retro chairs had been sitting in the basement for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
It was her stepdaughter’s first day on the job and she was vacuuming them when she realised one of the cushions was lumpy.<\/p>\n
“I sorta joked with her and said, imagine if it was some money, and we laughed, and then she said to me, if it’s a rat you have to get it!”<\/p>\n
Loll said they opened the cushion and pulled out an old plastic bag full of $100 notes, with a note saying it was “checked” in 2001.<\/p>\n
“We [were] just sort of like, shocked… oh my God, both had our hands over our mouths and we were just sort of silent for a second, just staring at each other like, is this for real?”<\/p>\n
They sat down on the floor in shock, she said.<\/p>\n
“My stepdaughter was like, ‘this is like a movie!'”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nThere was also a note saying it was checked in 2001.
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n
They contacted the property management company who returned the cash to the owners.<\/p>\n
They were “absolutely shocked” and had no idea about the money, Loll said.<\/p>\n
“It was so overwhelming even for them… it was their mother’s money.”<\/p>\n
The owners were grateful for Loll and her stepdaughter’s honesty, she said.<\/p>\n
The pair had joked about whether they were being pranked, and filmed by secret cameras.<\/p>\n
They didn’t consider keeping the money for themselves, but Loll did buy a Lotto ticket.<\/p>\n
“I went and bought one straight away, but I didn’t win,” she said.<\/p>\n
“It really has put me on a bit of a high for a few days… for one thing, finding it, I’ve never held $20,000 in my hands before.”<\/p>\n