If an item is sent in error how long do I have to wait before I can dispose of it?

marliepanda

The 'reasonable time' is so that you are NOT acting as a storage company for large items, as things such as a mattress, sofa, fridge would be unreasonable to hang onto for too long.

Therefore you tell them to come and get it, then you tell them youre going to sell it if you dont.

Then you can keep any fees associated with selling it.

You state in your OP it is a TV (hypothetically) so not a giant object. How many times have you asked the company to come and collect it, and what have they said?

At the end of the day a company has made a mistake and sent you two things, and everyone is allowed to make mistakes. Just because they are a big company making lots of money does not mean they are not allowed to make a mistake. Just act reasonably.

Energize

When you are in a one bedroom flat, a boxed 50" TV is a large object!

Luckily for me when that incident happened the company did collect it promptly.

Making a mistake is fine, but the ability to abuse the court system by claiming for property left for months on end needs to be prevented with a clear statute declaring such property as abandoned.

mije1983

Energize wrote: »

the ability to abuse the court system by claiming for property left for months on end needs to be prevented with a clear statute declaring such property as abandoned.

The amount of times it happens to the average person (very few), I don't think companies are doing this to abuse the law. It's unlucky for you as it has happened twice.

However, if you disagree, then you could always lobby your MP about it.

P.S. There is currently a clear statute. It's 6 years!

Energize

It's not simply companies making mistakes, I've been a witness in a couple of court cases where ex's were suing for property they had left at the property for ages and not claimed, the judge threw out the case saying that if they were bothered about the property they wouldn't have left it so long. It's an abuse of the court system. This is why I said earlier that judges will dismiss these claims.

gik

Why was the delivery of two TV's accepted?

Energize

It was accepted by a neighbor.

marliepanda

Energize wrote: »

It was accepted by a neighbor.

And how often have you contacted them in writing to ask them to pick it up?

Money-Saving-King

Energize wrote: »

Luckily for me when that incident happened the company did collect it promptly.

Which with a 50 inch TV they would do in all situations. Can't quite see the complaint here. Basically your opening post didn't even actually happen!

lucy03

Energize wrote: »

It's not simply companies making mistakes, I've been a witness in a couple of court cases where ex's were suing for property they had left at the property for ages and not claimed, the judge threw out the case saying that if they were bothered about the property they wouldn't have left it so long. It's an abuse of the court system. This is why I said earlier that judges will dismiss these claims.

It would be wrong to assume that a district judge would dismiss the claim in a small claims court. If someone kept a large television without trying to contact the company I would imagine some judges would wish to make a point and would find in favour of the business. Nearly all the judges I can think of are inclined to find in favour of a consumer where there is doubt unless there's a reason why that consumer hasn't acted reasonably.

There is certainly no abuse of the court system, selling the property of someone else is never a good idea unless it's the only reasonable option. If someone tried and tried to contact the company and then gave up and sold the product on eBay then I would imagine a judge would consider that reasonable and would allow the consumer reasonable costs for the effort incurred.

Domestic cases are a nightmare in courts as it's not very often clear who has said what and done what and when. A company might not realise for 18 months they've sent a television by mistake, that's not a situation that someone thrown out by their partner is likely to be in, they will want their property back straight away. So someone going to court after 18 months in a domestic dispute would be very different and I imagine most judges would just decide to maintain the status quo because of the time that has past.