14 People Who Showed Kindness and Ended Up Regretting It

Most of us have already heard the adage “when you do good, good comes back to you,” and, for the most part, we know it to be true. Besides, we’ve seen numerous heartwarming, faith-in-humanity-restoring stories go viral on the internet and we couldn’t help but feel inspired.

There are, however, certain instances when doing a good deed leads a person to unimaginable trouble. Take it from these 14 netizens who took the time to share their first-hand experiences when they found out for themselves that showing kindness can sometimes go terribly wrong.

Read on and see for yourself:

1. She donated a kidney and ended up with a massive hospital bill.

Reddit user dendaddy’s kindhearted wife donated an organ to a stranger but things took an unexpected turn when they later discovered that the recipient’s insurance did not pay the hospital bill in full. A collection agency has since been chasing them for the amount of $10,000.

2. Apples for the homeless.

Judith Ré, founder of the Judith Ré Academie shared:

“I was purchasing fruit at a truck where several homeless men were congregating. As I purchased my fruits, I bought apples to give to each of the men.”

Sounds like a good idea, right? Well not exactly after one of the men told Judith “I’m sorry but we can’t eat these because our teeth aren’t strong enough.”

3. A good gesture taken the wrong way.

Scott Deuty, author of Secrets of an Over 50 Fat Man, once went out to work out on the steps of an ampitheather. While there, he spotted a woman with her daughter. They were also working out.

He was inspired by the pair and so he approached them and gave a copy of his book. The daughter, however, got mad and threw the book down the stairs.

4. Smoking and pregnancy.

Veonne Anderson of Veonne Speaks, LLC recalled:

“I saw a pregnant woman smoking, and I wanted to give her an encouraging word about quitting smoking for her baby’s sake. I started by telling her how pretty she looked. Then I asked her how many months she was.”

“How many…? What?” the woman replied. She later clarified she was “just fat” and not pregnant.

5. The case of the flat tire.

One Reddit user saw a vehicle with a flat tire and offered to help take the driver to the nearest convenience store so they can buy what they need.

Much to his surprise, they took advantage of him instead.

“Not only did they ride in my car silently, offering no thanks, but they also stole my wallet out of my console when I wasn’t looking.”

6. He’s never giving ice pops ever again.

Reddit netizen whomwhom was walking in a city park one really hot day when he saw a bunch of kids, fighting over ice pops. So he went out of his way to do something good for them but ended up regretting it.

He wrote:

“Since these things are like 30 cents apiece, I bought 20 of them and handed them out to all the kids.”

An onlooker, however, took it the wrong way and reported him.

“Two cop cars tracked me down and questioned me for three hours,” he continued.

7. Must be a bit of misunderstanding.

New Jersey resident Mark Bierman said:

“A snowplow plowed into my car. Because the driver barely spoke English, I didn’t call the police to the scene. Instead, we exchanged information, I contacted the insurance company, and I figured it was all taken care of. Instead, I got a visit from the police.”

Apparently, the driver’s boss claimed Mark drove under the influence of alcohol (which is untrue). It took 2 years and 6 months before the confusion was cleared.

8. Choosy beggars.

Blake Snow spotted a few homeless men while he was in Brazil.

“They asked me for money to help them buy food, but I felt I could do better. I bought them sandwiches and water.”

As he was leaving, one of the beggars shouted “Hey, can’t you at least give us money to buy Cokes?”

We hope he means the caffeinated drink.

9. A picky eater.

Redditor hourmc was approached by a homeless man and asked him for money. He didn’t have any at the time and so he offered his chicken salad sandwich instead.

The beggar replied “Ain’t nobody gonna eat that,” leaving hourmc feeling “strangely rejected.”

10. Fixing a flat tire.

Ez-Duzit, another Reddit user, decided to lend a hand to a woman who had a flat tire. He ended up causing more harm than good.

He said he accidentally snapped off “the lug nut and bolt which was then lodged in the tire iron, rendering it useless.”

He tried using his own tool kit but still failed to fix the problem. “Those things were way too rusty. Eventually, her friends showed up, and I left,” he further shared.

11. That stings – like literally!

Reddit user Thundernut found a fallen tree in his path as he was trail running one day. He thought he’d move it off the path and then he felt something painful on his knee, followed by another.

It was already too late when he realized a swarm of bees was attacking him. He probably disturbed their nest as he moved the tree. He spent three days in a hospital bed for anaphylaxis.

12. Unexpected rage from a fellow bus passenger.

Phantommunky, another Reddit netizen, recalled:

“On a trip to Taiwan, my brother was on a bus and offered his seat to a woman who was standing.

“Next thing he knows, this woman is screaming at him in Mandarin. He only found out later that Taiwanese culture dictates you only offer your seat to the elderly. And this woman had a problem with his offering her a seat because she wasn’t elderly.”

13. Game over.

Grand Theft Auto player Jeremy 813 wanted to help another gamer who kept getting killed so he sent him a message to ask if he needed any help.

“He said he did, so I drove my tank down to the docks and told him he could use it to even the score with the high-level guy that killed him a bunch. I get out of the tank and let him in.”

“He immediately blew me up.”

14. Saving a woman from an abusive husband.

Reddit user capatiller helped a female friend leave her abusive husband. He even allowed her to stay in a spare bedroom in the house.

Unexpectedly, the woman began an affair with his fiance and capatiller later ended up getting kicked out of the home instead. He lamented:

“They now live there together. Looks like I got the short end of that good deed.”