Returning Stolen Bike to Legitimate Owner

Emily_Joy

I've decided to share the story, as I believe it might be of some use.

I bought a bike on eBay last September. Checked the frame number on bikeregister - it came out clean. I've registered it without any issues on my name.

In December just out of curiosity I checked the number again - this time I got a message stating there are two records with the matching frame number, asking me to contact the Bikeregister Customer Service, which I did (by email). There were no data from the Police Register.

I received a reply from BikeRegister stating that there are indeed two records with the same frame number, colour, and model; and the second bike is reported as stolen. They asked to provide some photographs. The weather and holidays got in, it was mid January when I finally found some free time to clean the bike and take the photos.

A few days later email from the Bikeregister suggesting that the bike I have is indeed the one reported as stolen. They asked my permission to share my details with the insurance company the legitimate owner used. I firmly declined and asked for the police crime reference number.

With the crime reference number in hand, I called 101 and got through to the relevant police department. The operator then asked me to bring the bike to the nearest police station, which I did the next day. It was seized and I haven't seen it since.

Afterwards I got in touch with eBay to get a refund and cancel the transaction. They were surprisingly unhelpful. All I was able to get from their customer support was "We will cooperate with the police" and "I believe I have informed you about the status of your account".

Getting nowhere, I got in touch with the credit card issuer. They refused chargeback on the grounds that the transaction happened over 3 months ago. I replied asking to reconsider stating that according to the citizen's advice, the chargeback could be applied within 3 month from the date when the problem was noticed. I have submitted a formal complain via post, but I haven't received any reply. They also informed me that since PayPal was involved, there is no protection under 75 section.

Finally, I got in touch with PayPal via the phone and logged a request for a full refund on a basis of fraudulent transaction. Haven't heard back for a week and submitted a formal complain online asking to clarify the status of the initial complain. Within a few hours an email arrived from PayPal asking to provide Police Seizure Documentation within 72 hours, which I did. The refund was processed in a weeks time.

I did collect the bike in person and I would have never had the payment refunded if paid by cash on collection.

I am aware of "paypal + collection" scam, which makes me uneasy.

I would be grateful if anybody has a solution which wouldn't leave any party out of pocket in case of any problems. (Apart from registered signed for delivery).

ballisticbrian

I would be grateful if anybody has a solution which wouldn't leave any party out of pocket in case of any problems.

I'm not quite sure what you mean, the other party may well have stolen the bike and how can you have any / every party not out of pocket when handling stolen goods?

RFW

Emily_Joy wrote: »

I did collect the bike in person and I would have never had the payment refunded if paid by cash on collection.

I am aware of "paypal + collection" scam, which makes me uneasy.

I would be grateful if anybody has a solution which wouldn't leave any party out of pocket in case of any problems. (Apart from registered signed for delivery).

As far as I can tell the only one out of pocket here is the seller (of stolen goods) and/or Paypal.

The advice for Paypal and collection is to any seller offering collection. If you can find a seller willing to accept a non cash payment when collecting then it is safer for the buyer, as you have discovered. I'd assume the seller in this case didn't mind accepting Paypal as they can withdraw it quickly and not be too worried about their Paypal account being compromised. Hopefully they'll have left a paper trail and someone will be bothered to investigate and catch them.

It may be worth sending a letter to the Chief Constable of the police station you dropped the bike off at and ask where the investigation is up to. That might get it looked at again if they've stopped bothering.

As a final point I don't understand how bikeregister works and how the bike ended up being registered twice. Is it possible they were negligent in allowing you to register the bike with them? Or did the bike owner only register it after it had been stolen? If the latter that throws up other questions and could make you wonder if they were pocketing the insurance and selling the bike themselves.

Emily_Joy

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I'm not quite sure what you mean, the other party may well have stolen the bike and how can you have any / every party not out of pocket when handling stolen goods?

I meant that the innocent party involved in the transaction shouldn't be out of pocket.

(i.e. a common scam was described in another thread: to pay by paypal, collect the item, and then report it is non-delivered and get money back).

Emily_Joy

RFW wrote: »

Hopefully they'll have left a paper trail and someone will be bothered to investigate and catch them.

I gave the police all the details I had: seller's email, phone, address, and work address.

RFW wrote: »

It may be worth sending a letter to the Chief Constable of the police station you dropped the bike off at and ask where the investigation is up to. That might get it looked at again if they've stopped bothering.

Thanks - I will do that.

RFW wrote: »

As a final point I don't understand how bikeregister works and how the bike ended up being registered twice.

Me neither. Moreover, I've searched other open to public/free registers for the frame number and got "no police records" message.

RFW wrote: »

Is it possible they were negligent in allowing you to register the bike with them? Or did the bike owner only register it after it had been stolen? If the latter that throws up other questions and could make you wonder if they were pocketing the insurance and selling the bike themselves.

I didn't have much faith in them - so when the bikeregister offered to send a Liasion Officer around to take a look at the bike - I've asked for a crime reference number and took it to the police myself.