Sister’s Boyfriend Moved Out With a PS5 He Didn’t Own — Then a Video Promise Became the Only Proof

A man says his sister’s boyfriend moved out and took his PlayStation 5 with him.

The problem was not confusion over who owned it.

The poster said he paid for it.

He explained in a Reddit post that his sister’s baby daddy moved out with the PS5 and would not return it. By the time he posted, the theft had happened more than a year earlier, but he said he had not had the time or resources to pursue it until then.

That delay made the situation harder.

A stolen console is frustrating right away, but waiting a year means evidence can get thinner, memories fade, and the item itself may have been sold, damaged, or passed along. Still, the poster believed he had one important thing: video proof that the man said he would return it.

The issue was that the proof was not perfect.

In the comments, the poster explained that he had bought the PS5 from someone on OfferUp and had paid in a way that did not leave him with a clean card record. The sister’s boyfriend had also taken the receipt with him.

That made ownership harder to prove.

If someone buys an item from a store with a credit card, proving ownership can be easier. There may be a receipt, order number, bank record, warranty registration, or serial number tied to the buyer. But secondhand purchases can get messy, especially if payment was made in cash and the receipt disappears with the person accused of taking the item.

Still, the video gave him something.

He said the recording showed him asking the man whether he remembered the messages the poster had sent asking when he was going to return the PS5. According to the poster, the man said yes, he remembered. Then the poster asked if he was still going to bring it back over, and the man said yes.

But he never brought it back.

That kind of video might not be a perfect confession. It may not include the man saying, “This PS5 belongs to you and I stole it.” But it could still be useful because it suggests the man acknowledged there was a PS5 he was expected to return.

That matters.

The poster wanted to know whether he had any options. Could he report it stolen? Could he sue? Could police do anything after a year? Would they accept the report without the receipt?

Commenters gave him practical advice. One suggested walking into or calling the local police station and asking whether he could report the PS5 stolen with the evidence he had. Another said proof of purchase would help if he could get it, but the video might still matter. A commenter also said that if everyone involved was over 18, small claims court might be the realistic route — suing for the value of a used PS5.

That may not have been the dramatic answer the poster wanted, but it was probably the clearest path. Police might take a report, but with a year-old theft, no receipt, and contested ownership, they may not actively pursue it. Small claims court could let him present the video, explain the purchase, and ask a judge to award the value.

The emotional part was sharper than the legal one.

This was not a stranger taking a console from a porch. It was someone connected through family. That always complicates things because the theft does not only take an item. It leaves tension at family gatherings, pressure from relatives, and the awkward question of whether calling police or suing will create more drama than the console is worth.

But the poster clearly felt wronged.

A PS5 is not a tiny item. It is expensive, hard to replace for some people, and personal if it was something he bought for himself. Having someone move out with it and then ignore requests to return it would be infuriating.

The man’s promise on video may have been the one thing keeping the poster from feeling completely stuck. He had no receipt. He had no easy payment trail. But he had the accused person acknowledging that he had been asked to return it and saying he would.

Then doing nothing.

That may not guarantee a win.

But it gave him a starting point.

Commenters mostly told him to gather every bit of evidence he had and try both practical paths: a police report and small claims court.

Several people said police might still take a stolen-property report, even without the receipt, especially if he had video of the man acknowledging he was supposed to return the PS5.

A lot of commenters said proof of ownership would matter. Since he bought it on OfferUp and the receipt was gone, he needed anything else he could find: messages with the seller, screenshots, serial numbers, photos of the console in his possession, or messages asking for it back.

Others said that if everyone was an adult, small claims court might be the better route. He could sue for the value of a used PS5 and let the video serve as evidence.

The strongest advice was simple: stop waiting for him to do the right thing. If he has had the PS5 for more than a year and still has not returned it, the poster needs documentation, not more promises.