Karma uncontrolled and fatal
This is not my first QOTW, but very appropriate for all the wrong reasons. As a recreational Buddhist, I believe in karma, but it works in some vicious ways.

A few years ago, I got to be friends with a financial adviser. The friendship bloomed and I got to meet his wife and family, and we all became good mates. So far so good. He was a nice bloke, though a bit "Walter Mittyish" but we learned to ignore that. He drank in my local, was friends with just about everyone, and seemed like a nice chap. However, I didn't realise quite how often he drank...

However, at some point, I got a bit behind in my tax returns and turned to him for advice. Now, kids, don't mix business with pleasure, (it NEVER works), and so he put me on to an "accountant" who specialised in "tax advice".

Anyway the upshot was I let this new guy, a wigged, basically criminal idiot "accountant" take charge of my tax affairs, and he succeeded in taking about 60k of my money due to Herr Taxman and fucked off with it. Now I'm in deep shit with the Revenue. You don't bugger about with these guys. If you're asking, he's being hunted in at least 3 countries for similar offences. I can say without any comeback that this crook is called Ian Paye.

Ok my bad, but you should trust friends, shouldn't you?

Cue to me taking very serious (and very expensive) legal advice about what to do. The brief advised me to sue the arse off my IFA mate and take him to the cleaners. The consequence of this would be that he'd lose his IFA status, no job and his family would have no income (his kids were in the midst of being at uni, doing A levels etc.)

I was concerned. A more bloody-minded person would have taken this course, but I, being a family friend and knowing that his wife knew nothing about this debacle, decided to take the hit and liquidate my company. I therefore would spare his family the ignominy of his downfall.

You may say, "What a mug", but I was basically in the clear, and would let him grovel to me for eternity. That'll do, I thought.

Less than a year after this happened, he died totally suddenly of a brain haemorrhage in his sleep at age 48. Even as an IFA he hadn't taken out any life insurance for his family, and left his widow and children with an unsustainable mortgage and debts beyond their elbows.

Now, that may not be karma in my book, but it doesn't help anyone. I didn't wish it on him, certainly not on his family, but it just goes to show what goes around comes around, whether you like it or not...That's true karma. It's not who it affects directly, but the indirect victims, who usually don't have a clue about what has happened.
(Dr Teeth Who asked you, you fuckin' hobbit?, Thu 21 Feb 2008, 20:07, Reply)