Real-life MMD: Whose lens is it anyway?

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  • lika_86
    lika_86 Posts: 1,745
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    You are in a bailment situation as an involuntary bailee. In order to dispose of the goods, the bailee must follow a statutory method set out in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act. If the bailee is reasonably satisfied that the bailor owns the goods, then the bailee must serve the bailor with a written notice requiring the bailor to take delivery of the goods. Often this notice is combined with a notice stating that should the bailor fail to take delivery, then the bailee will sell the goods on or after a certain date. The date specified in the notice must give the bailor a reasonable length of time to take delivery of the goods. There is no guidance as to what is reasonable.

    Even where you sell the goods, the money is not just yours to keep.

    Unless you can show that the property has been abandoned of course (very difficult to prove).
  • adouglasmhor
    adouglasmhor Posts: 15,554
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    cwc1899 wrote: »
    It is absolutely NOT yours to sell!

    You should NOT have opened it and should have, straight away, taken it back to the post office with 'not known at this address' or 'return to sender' written on it.

    You are a thief by the mere act of opening someone else's mail and think how you would feel if this were your parcel.

    SHAME ON YOU!

    It was addressed to their flat not a person, so stop being so judgemental and please apologise for calling them a thief.
    SHAME ON YOU.
    The truth may be out there, but the lies are inside your head. Terry Pratchett


    http.thisisnotalink.cöm
  • Fujiko
    Fujiko Posts: 150 Forumite
    KxMx wrote: »
    I think you are ok to sell it, but could have made more efforts than a single email to reunite it with it's proper owner.
    Since there was no addressee name, just a flat number it would be difficult to establish just who it was intended for and since you are the current occupant of the flat I would have thought you were quite entitled to open it. It does seem odd that such an expensive item should have been sent in this way with no indication of who it was intended for or where it came from. I'm not sure what the law says, but in the lack of recipient or sender details I would have thought it could be regarded as unsolicited mail which you should hold for six months and then, if unclaimed, it is yours to keep and dispose of as you see fit. Strange that the previous occupant of the flat, if that is indeed who it was intended for, has made no effort to find his missing goods.
  • A.Jones
    A.Jones Posts: 508 Forumite
    alanq wrote: »
    I find it hard to believe that neither the outside nor inside bore any contact details for the sender.


    I don't. Many of the things I buy on ebay have no paperwork inside, and no return address on the packaging.
  • Assuming all reasonable attempts to find out who it belonged to have been made then I personally don't see the problem in getting rid.

    It's happened to myself in the past where I've moved house and I've ordered something online and changed my address but somehow the parcel has turned up at my old place, I didn't realise and put in a claim for my missing item only for it to be bought round to my new house by a neighbour about a month later. Assuming something similar here the previous tenant thought it was sent to their new property I imagine they would have raised a claim with the seller for non-delivery.
    Have you tried speaking with the neighbours to see if they have a forwarding address?
  • LameWolf
    LameWolf Posts: 11,234
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    alanq wrote: »
    I find it hard to believe that neither the outside nor inside bore any contact details for the sender.

    I don't. The last package I had through the post contained the CD I'd ordered, but had no return address on the outside or invoice inside; it's just the way that particular person (a folk musician) operates. He gets his money via Paypal, he sends the CD, end of story.

    However, along with others, I feel that one email that went unanswered isn't really much of an effort to trace the true owners of the camera lens.:(
    If your dog thinks you're the best, don't seek a second opinion.;)
  • Seems you've taken reasonable steps to correct the error. Yes, treat it as one of life's upsides, make a contribution to charity and enjoy the proceeds guilt free.
  • pacemaker
    pacemaker Posts: 14 Forumite
    edited 21 November 2012 at 2:08PM
    I would have contacted ebay and asked them to email the person involved whose lens it was to tell them that you had their package at their previous address. If no luck after that? then maybe keep it or talk to the letting agent again as they have a Duty of care to the previous tenant.
  • Opening mail not addressed to you is a criminal offence. When we receive post addressed to the previous occupiers and other random people I always mark as not known at this address please return to sender and let Royal Mail sort it out. Having just re-read the dilemma, it is not clear where this parcel came from, nor who delivered it. If it was me, I would contact the letting agent again and ask them if they had any luck contacting the previous occupants and the outcome. I would also check with my neighbours, in case the parcel had the number mis-typed. I'd even check in neighbouring buildings if they had similar addresses (e.g. flat 6, 24 High Street and flat 6, 26 High Street).

    I think you need to make more effort before you consider selling it. Otherwise if it is ever traced back to you, you will have to make good. A couple of years ago my daughter found a gold ring when she attended the Remembrance Day service at the local town's Cenotaph. I took it to the local jeweller so that I had a proper description. It was not of great value, but it was very unusual in both the style, type of gold, where it was hallmarked as coming from and gems used. I put notices in the local papers and took it to the Police station. It wasn't claimed after 90 days, so it was given back to us BUT I had to sign a form to say that I would not dispose of it and would produce it if the owner ever came forward. Ironically if I hadn't gone back for it within 7 days, the Police would have sold it at auction. So we still have it.

    I receive lots of parcels from a mixture of private sellers and businesses. I would estimate that only about 60-70% have any invoice or documentation in, even less have a return address on the outside of the packaging. I also have parcels left on the doorstep by couriers and I wouldn't know which courier had left it without contacting the sender. So I can well believe that you have little to work with.

    You need to make substantially more of an effort to trace either the correct recipient or the sender. If you are then still unable to trace either, I would then donate to a charity, but I would make sure the Manager was aware of the value, so it doesn't end up in the shop priced at £5. Or I would sell it to a photography shop and donate the entire proceeds to a charity and make sure I kept the receipts. If someone does turn up at a later date to claim it, this can be mitigated by a reasonable weekly storage charge.
  • adouglasmhor
    adouglasmhor Posts: 15,554
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    Opening mail not addressed to you is a criminal offence.

    Opening mail addressed to someone else may be a criminal offence, but that is not what happened here. It was addressed to OP’s flat with no name at all.
    The truth may be out there, but the lies are inside your head. Terry Pratchett


    http.thisisnotalink.cöm
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