Small Claims Court - Handling Stolen Goods

HHarry

From what I can gather, by 'scrapped' the Jewellers mean it has been sent to a bullion dealers in London, where it will be stripped for the platinum.

Nukumai

HHarry wrote: »

From what I can gather, by 'scrapped' the Jewellers mean it has been sent to a bullion dealers in London, where it will be stripped for the platinum.

Then I would have thought that, unless there are specific legal protections for jewellers in such circumstances, the platinum extracted is yours...not the jewellers. The item was stolen property, after all.

TonyMMM

HHarry wrote: »

It has been confirmed today by the Police that the item has been scrapped.

If the police are involved - what proceedings are pending with your stepson ? Should it go to court, an application for compensation can be made against him for the value of the watch.... of course, getting the money if he has no assets is another matter.

arcon5

Sorry but saying they should have known it was stolen because he doesn't fit the profile of somebody who would usually own a pocket watch is ridiculous. Not everybody fits in to your stereotype. Or it could have been something he inherited or something.

HHarry

TonyMMM wrote: »

If the police are involved - what proceedings are pending with your stepson ? Should it go to court, an application for compensation can be made against him for the value of the watch.... of course, getting the money if he has no assets is another matter.

Tony, statement has been given to the Police and they are currently keeping any eye out for him. He's admitted it, but there's no chance of getting nayhting back off of him.

HHarry

arcon5 wrote: »

Sorry but saying they should have known it was stolen because he doesn't fit the profile of somebody who would usually own a pocket watch is ridiculous. Not everybody fits in to your stereotype. Or it could have been something he inherited or something.

Arcon, I totally agree that the profile of a person doesn't preclude them from owning nice things. I would just suggest that the number of teenagers legitamately owning, and offering for sale, expensive pieces of jewellery, is small enough that it should have raised some suspicions.

MamaMoo_2

If they had sent it to a bullion dealer in London, and you aren't based in London, there would be a window between them receiving it, posting/couriering it to the dealer, and the dealer receiving it and stripping it. Depending on where you live, it may be reasonable to assume that this took longer than 24 hours. Did the jeweller contact the dealer to see if the stripping had taken place/could be stopped?

Slowhand

HHarry wrote: »

Tony, statement has been given to the Police and they are currently keeping any eye out for him. He's admitted it, but there's no chance of getting nayhting back off of him.

Whether or not you have any chance of getting anything 'off' of your stepson he should be prosecuted for theft. Let the Courts decide how he should pay you back. Valueing items is not an exact science...hence the host of TV programmes that surround 'antiques'.

vaio

Nukumai wrote: »

.......Generally speaking, I doubt that a seller can pass on better title to property than the seller himself possesses (which in this case was none, as the watch was stolen).

Nukumai wrote: »

Then I would have thought that, unless there are specific legal protections for jewellers in such circumstances, the platinum extracted is yours...not the jewellers. The item was stolen property, after all.

I'd say this is the way to go...you'll need to provide evidence (balance of probabilities) that the jeweller bought your watch off the thief. and recover the cost from the jeweller if necessary via small claims

Might also be worth having a word with the police, I'd have thought they would have recovered the watch if it was still in one piece, as it been scrapped I suppose the difficulty comes in identifying which bit of melted metal came from your watch but that shouldn't affect your rights under civil law.

arcon5

Why not go for a free consultation with a solicitor