Wellington cleaner’s shock $20,000 discovery

A Wellington cleaner found $20,000 hidden in an old chair cushion. Photo / 123RF

By Charlotte Cook and Midday Report of RNZ

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.

Loll, co-owner of Massive Property Services, said the retro chairs had been sitting in the basement for more than two decades.

It was her stepdaughter’s first day on the job and she was vacuuming them when she realised one of the cushions was lumpy.

“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!”

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.

“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?”

They sat down on the floor in shock, she said.

“My stepdaughter was like, ‘this is like a movie!’.”

They contacted the property management company who returned the cash to the owners.

They were “absolutely shocked” and had no idea about the money, Loll said.

“It was so overwhelming even for them... it was their mother’s money.”

The owners were grateful for Loll and her stepdaughter’s honesty, she said.

The pair had joked about whether they were being pranked, and filmed by secret cameras.

They didn’t consider keeping the money for themselves, but Loll did buy a Lotto ticket.

“I went and bought one straight away, but I didn’t win,” she said.

“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.”

-RNZ