Real-life MMD: Whose lens is it anyway?

Former_MSE_Debs

Money Moral Dilemma: Whose lens is it anyway?

Six months ago our flat received a parcel with no addressee's name. It turned out to be a camera lens worth £180 (according to eBay), so we thought the previous occupiers would collect it. We emailed the letting agent, but never got a reply. After so long, we're tempted to claim it, sell it, and give some of the money to charity, or would getting rid of it in any manner be morally wrong?

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Note: Please remember that these are real-life Money Moral Dilemmas and while we want you to have your say, please remember to be nice when you respond.


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deadrobot

I actually sold an expensive DSLR on ebay last year and it went missing. I managed to claim most of the money back from parcelforce as it was their balls up but I was still out of pocket at the end of it and extremely stressed out! Is there any way you can contact Royal Mail or whoever the carrier was and see if they are missing a parcel, someone could be trying to trace it.
Failing that I don't see what more you could do about it if there is no return address and no identifying information in the form of a packing slip or invoice. I think if it was destined for the previous occupants they most certainly would have came round to see if it was there.
I say sell it on, or get into photography .

KxMx

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.

thegrifter

The fact that you have asked whether or not it is morally right, indicates to me that this is a pointless post....you should already know the answer to that.
Undoubtedly you could definitely have made more of an effort to get it to the buyer or return it to the seller.
It's clear that you have opened the parcel, in which case there is almost always a packing slip in with the goods or in this case, given the nature of the goods, I would have expected a receipt, which will almost certainly have included contact information for the seller.
Someone is out of pocket here, yes it's possibly an insurance company but next time you moan about the cost of an insurance premium think about the camera lens you're about to sell for your own benefit.

cwc1899

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!

Sambucus_Nigra

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!

Depends on whether there was a return address on it, doesn't it?

And how would anyone know what was in a parcel unless they opened it? Genuinely interested in your response.

PenguinOfDeath

cwc1899 wrote: »

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.


!

How were they to know if there was no adressee name on the parcel? Surely if something appears at tour door you don't assume it's not for you if it doesn't have your name on?

I would probably make an attempt to find out the intended recipient again but not sure what much else could be done - it's unlikely to be a 'a specialist' lens for that price. However it's odd if there's no senders address included either.

Gillsx

If there is no sender address then I would say you just sell it. You've done your bit to help it be claimed, but as no one wants it best you get rid. Giving money to charity is a nice idea - not many people would do that.

brewerdave

No return address or name of recipient? Then no dilemma - its yours!

alittlemadam

Common Sense needs to be applied here.

If a parcel arrives at your door unaddressed, how do you know if its yours unless you open it. You opened it and identified that it wasnt yours, however unless there is a returns label identifing the sender how on earth can you return it.

However you are not looking at gaining anything from it but to sell it and donate the money to charity so in my book everyones a winner.

The original recipient would by now I would have hoped claimed back a refund of some sort and the seller would have claimed something back from the postal courier. The postal courier would have been covered by there insurance so i wouldnt worry about it.

Tulip1

I don't really think that enough effort has been made to try and contact the previous occupiers. Emails don't always get to their destination. A phone call to the letting agent would probably be more effective.