OC Man Spends $15,919.61 To Pay Off All Layaways at Local Kmart

Vintage Kmart photo by Joe+Jeanette Archie via Flickr

'Tis the season to almost kinda wish you had some stuff on layaway at Kmart, since this year the thing seems to be for donors to swoop in and pay off all the accounts en masse. It happened last week to the shoppers of the Kmart on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa, reports the OC Register, when a man who saw a story on KTLA about the Michigan woman who paid off the balances of strangers in her area decided to do the same locally.

David Wilson of Laguna Beach got in touch with the store, and asked for a tally of layaway account balances. He ended up writing a check to the store for $15,919.61, and the store clerk who made all the calls to the customers heard a lot of shock and tears of joy over the phone.

Wilson, who owns several car dealerships, says the nearly $16k gift to Kmart shoppers was actually a gift for his wife Holly; he wrote the amount he gave the store on a slip of paper and tied a bow around it and presented it to her. She said it was the best birthday gift she'd ever received.

Apparently others have pitched in to pay off layaways at the same Kmart, including a little girl who brought in her piggy bank filled with $47. A total of $8,000 worth of layover accounts have been paid off by people other than the account holders.

And it's happening at Kmarts around the nation. The donors are being called "Layaway Angels," which is how clerks describe the donation to bewildered customers. The OC Register says holiday "Layaway Angeles" are "the biggest trend since gourmet food trucks." Suddenly the glut of gourmet food trucks doesn't seem like such a laughable thing; that many big-hearted "Layaway Angels" is downright awesome.

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By Lindsay William-Ross in News on December 21, 2011 9:00 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Kundanika

God Bless you Mr. David Wilson! Thankyou for such a beautiful gift for those in need.

Dhppy

Now, if only some angel would do this with universal health insurance.

Dhppy

Now, if only some angel would do this with health insurance.

Micah Smith

I didn't know K-Mart was still in business... I haven't seen one in over a decade!

Dave De Anda

I definitely read the piece in the OC Register as being an affirmation of the human spirit's potential to love our neighbor when we are blessed. Mr. Smith, your evocation of details about Mr. Wilson's business sounds rather vindictive (and quite possibly based on personal experience - perhaps you're an ex-employee?). While it sounds like a laundry list of bitter claims you've made, it has nothing at all to do with this story. He wasn't the only angel; they simply highlighted him. I think you could use a holiday hug.

Go De-Scrooge yourself! Your family will thank you for it.

EmmaWK

Or maybe he was ripped off by another car dealer and now hates all car dealers.

techweenie

I want the name of his dealership, since I'm in the market for a car soon. This guy has earned my business.

Michael Smith

Yes, he definitely deserves your business. He makes millions by gouging
customers with excess profit margins, BS finance deals with up to 20% interest
and the bank kickbacks, makes his dealers and finance guys work 70 hour
weeks for menial pay while he gets millions out of this abhorrent
behavior. But suddenly he donates 15k and then releases the donation info to the
public. Sorry saps like you that don't see this as a cheap advertising
tool deserved to be ripped off by this guy. Go buy a car from him now. Your ignorance deserves his treatment.

jefwrk

Do you own a car dealership? Would you spent $15k on some strangers? What a sour, pissed loser!! to the guy who's buying the car, congratulation, at least you are in the market for a new car. To the owner of the dealership, thank you for the good gesture. To you the sour guy, shut your mouth. You yourself are the ignorance one!!

Shame on you!!