2nd iphone 5s delivered by mistake

bassitt74

Hi, i'm posting for a friend who wasn't sure where to seek advice. i knew where to go of course

my friend recently ordered a new iphone 5s. he received a dispatch notice on when he could expect to receive his new toy (ahem, sorry phone) which is when he noticed that they had his address wrong.

he phoned the retailer to let them have the right address and was told that his order would be cancelled with a new order set up with the correct address.

a few days later his phone arrived and he now happily working out how to use it.

so far all good.

the day after he received another dispatch notice saying when his new phone would arrived. he just figured that that the computer system had just sent out the same notice twice and thought nothing of it.

later that day a 2nd iphone 5s arrived from the same retailer!

he's now wondering what his rights are to keep the 2nd phone as its clearly a mistake on the retailers part.

does he have any right to keep it or should he send it back?

any advice on where he stands on this?

System

Depends whether he wants to steal an iphone I suppose.

They'll probably catch up with him eventually if he does.

unholyangel

Goods sent in error remain the property of the sender. He may think they fall under unsolicited goods.....they don't. For the goods to be unsolicited, there would need to be no request made by him or on his behalf. Since there has been (and they have just mistakenly sent a 2nd handset), the goods are not unsolicited.

They can chase him for the goods (or their value) for up to 6 years.

And also, he does have a statutory duty to take reasonable care of the items. If he wishes to dispose or sell the goods, he needs to send them 2 written notices containing certain information (and any money from a sale belongs to retailer for 6 years.....cant give mates rates either, would need to be a fair price they were sold for).

However he shouldn't be put out in returning the items. They should be collected at his convenience and at the retailers expense.

bassitt74

yes i think he was thinking about the unsolicited goods act but he didn't know any more about it than that really. we've all told him that they'll probably ask for it back anyway.

thanks everyone

System

bassitt74 wrote: »

yes i think he was thinking about the unsolicited goods act but he didn't know any more about it than that really. we've all told him that they'll probably ask for it back anyway.

thanks everyone

It's not unsolicited goods when you order the item and they send 2 not 1.

fluffnutter

And even if they were unsolicited, goods don't automatically and immediately become yours. If you contact the issuer and they make no attempt to recover the goods, they become yours after a month, if you don't contact the issuer, they become yours after six months. During these periods, the goods must be kept safe and in their original condition, i.e. not flogged as I suspect your mate wanted to do

OlliesDad

Also, If he does decide to sell it, he can expect an angry buyer a few months down the line when the phone company block the phone.

earthstorm

fluffnutter wrote: »

And even if they were unsolicited, goods don't automatically and immediately become yours.

not true

the unsolicited goods act 1971 and The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations does state

You can keep the goods

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations say you have a right to keep goods delivered to you that you didn’t ask for. But if goods are sent to you by mistake, you need to contact whoever sent them to let them know and ask them to collect the goods. You might get goods sent by mistake if they are meant for someone else or you’ve been sent duplicate or extra items on top of what you ordered.
If you receive goods you have not ordered and which haven’t been sent by mistake, you can treat the goods as an unconditional gift and you can do what you want with them.
Do you have to return the goods?

You have no obligation to return the goods to the trader or allow the trader to collect the goods. However, it would be reasonable for you to contact the trader to explain what has happened and give them a chance to collect the goods from you.


If you receive a demand for payment

If you receive a demand for payment for unsolicited goods or services, you can ignore it. If the trader does this, they may have committed a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. You should report the matter to your trading standards department through Citizens Advice.