Real Life MMD: Should I send the wallpaper back?

YeOldOne

tryfive wrote: »

First and foremost - you're under no obligation to call and let them know what's happened.

Yes you are.

If they contact you and ask for them back thats one thing. If they subsequently contact you and demand payment for them, it's legally called an unsolicited gift,

No it is not.

and you're fully entitled to keep them (it's called "inertia selling" - a well known scam)

Wrong again.

If you don't get any contact for some time (say 3 months), again you are free consider them an unsolicited gift.

I notice that a lot of people above have claimed that keeping them would constitute theft.

IT IS NOT "THEFT". IT IS NOT "STEALING" - the law is actually quite straightforward on the concept of theft, though it seems most people here are getting very confused between their own, personal, ideology of what theft entails, and what the reality is! I would suggest anyone yelling "thief!" here should first go look up what the defintiion of theft actually is before posting!

It may not be "theft" but if you do not contact the supplier then you are in the wrong, both legally and morally.

WhistlersMother

YeOldOne wrote: »

Yes you are.




No it is not.



Wrong again.



It may not be "theft" but if you do not contact the supplier then you are in the wrong, both legally and morally.

Absolute rubbish. There must be a new Sale Of Goods Act that I'm not aware of.

malkypaul

I would send them an Email and probably a letter stating what has happened and state that unless the surplus :jrolls are collected within a certain time (a month) i will dispose off them as i see fit!

Malkypaul on LPG:j

shzl400

I can't believe all these people who say they wouldn't know what to do with 40 extra rolls of paper - once they become legally yours, of course!

Have you people never heard of Ebay?

Hobgoblin_2

Just give it back.obvious, no dilemma

sjaarnaeh

WhistlersMother and tryfive are absolutely correct in quoting the Sale of Goods act and yet there are still comments regarding the legality of the situation?

The Sale of Goods Act Distance Selling Regulations are very clear on this;
If you’ve been sent unsolicited goods, you are entitled to treat them as an unconditional gift and do with them as you choose. You are not required to keep them for any amount of time and you are certainly not required to pay for them. Any attempt to demand payment (by threatening means or otherwise) is unlawful.

Of course, this has no bearing on any moral issue but legally you are not obliged to do anything.

scot8

i really think you should keep it .........because they are non the wiser,do you realise how much companies rip you off because you dont check the bills especially the supermarkets ..they forget to tell the tills they have lowered prices..and the electronic till couldnt give a damn..have you tried talking to it....eevery and i say every supermarket receipt I receive has a wrong price on..I take it to customer services and I am given my money back ,,sometimes they just take my word for it and give me money back and dont mark the receipt.....BUT WHAT ABOUT YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE THAT DO NOT CHECK YOUR RECEIPTS...that are also rich from us....BACK TO THE QUESTION,,,if you can live with keeping it fine ....but remember it could be a company just starting out...at the end of the year this is going to show.......they may have to close down at a loss..It could have been someone with a grudge or a youngster just starting in the job....second thoughts tell them they will probably give you ..your original free of charge,,,it DOES pay to be honest....Rosie

scot8

Anyway you dont want that horrible wallpaper it dont suit your room.......The other one was better..........

New_to_this_3

Someone has to pay for it at the end of the day - if it's not you, the cost will be passed on to consumers (like me) who will suffer price rises as the cost is filtered down by the business.

Have you dishonestly appropriated property belonging to another with the intention of pernenantly depriving the other of it? If you can tick all the underlined points, it is theft. I would suggest that by keeping the wallpaper, in the knowledge that you shouldn't have it, means that you have dishonestly appropriated the property and by making no effort to return it, you imply that you have the intention of permenantly depriving the other person / organisation of the property...so in the eyes of the law it would be viewed as theft. If you have made reasonable efforts to return the wallpaper and highlight the error you could argue that the intention to permenantly deprive is not there.

rob.kerss

Most of the responses to this "dilemma" carry no legal standing under current law.



I quote from the BIS (Department for Business Innovation and Skills) website


"Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971, (as amended) it is an offence to demand payment for goods known to be unsolicited, in other words, they were sent to a person without any prior request made by them or on their behalf.

Someone who receives goods in these circumstances may retain them as an unconditional gift, and does not have to pay for or return any unwanted goods. Anyone who receives a demand for payment for unsolicited goods should report the matter to their local Trading Standards Department."


The full article is at their website under unsolicited goods

So legally you have to do nothing when receiving goods not ordered - they are yours to do with what you like and you cannot be charged anything over the cost of your actual order.

However, morally you may wish to contact the company and ask them to collect the surplus items at their own expense within a reasonable time that you specify, otherwise once again they are yours to dispose of.