Goods Received for Free

ibanez1070

Whilst this seems fairly straight forward , the vagaries of the relevant laws have left me unsure as to my legal standing.


A large company which I previously had dealings with have sent me an item I didn't order.
The Item was added to my account at £0.00.
The Item arrived addressed to me with an invoice stating the actual item and a cost of £0.00


Two weeks pass and the company has now emailed requesting the item back (yes, they will pay the collection costs)


As I am in possession of the item, related invoice(bill of sale) and electronic audit trail showing that the item was sent to me at £0.00.


1. Am I the legal owner of the item ?
2. Is there any reason why my ownership would not stand up in court ?

3. Are the company in a position to change the price in order to pursue the cost of the item even though the whole transaction has an audit trail stating £0.00. ?

Aylesbury_Duck

ibanez1070 wrote: »

Whilst this seems fairly straight forward , the vagaries of the relevant laws have left me unsure as to my legal standing.


A large company which I previously had dealings with have sent me an item I didn't order.
The Item was added to my account at £0.00.
The Item arrived addressed to me with an invoice stating the actual item and a cost of £0.00


Two weeks pass and the company has now emailed requesting the item back (yes, they will pay the collection costs)


As I am in possession of the item, related invoice(bill of sale) and electronic audit trail showing that the item was sent to me at £0.00.


1. Am I the legal owner of the item ?
2. Is there any reason why my ownership would not stand up in court ?

3. Are the company in a position to change the price in order to pursue the cost of the item even though the whole transaction has an audit trail stating £0.00. ?

They are permitted to rectify their mistake at their cost.

ibanez1070

Great, thanks. What legislation covers this ? As this would allow for any company at anytime to claim additional costs from any completed purchase wouldnt it ?

Geodark

ibanez1070 wrote: »

Great, thanks. What legislation covers this ? As this would allow for any company at anytime to claim additional costs from any completed purchase wouldnt it ?

Only if it was an obvious mistake

ibanez1070

Ok. So it would be for a court to decide if it was "an obvious mistake" or a good will gesture rescinded for example?

bris

ibanez1070 wrote: »

Ok. So it would be for a court to decide if it was "an obvious mistake" or a good will gesture rescinded for example?

No, its an obvious mistake you know this the courts will know this.


You are an "Involuntary Bailee" and as such need to take steps to make sure the item is returned or you will be liable for it's value.


As the company has already been in touch to collect the goods then they are doing all they need to do, you now need to do the same. it's not one you can win.

ibanez1070

Thank you kindly. As the goods value are stated at £0.00 is this the liability that can be claimed or can they claim the retail price ? Also does the bill of sales not void any claim ?... straws, grasping. ;-)

DoaM

The only addition here is that the collections/returns must be at your convenience, not the company's. You don't need to be inconvenienced by this - for example they can't require you to wait in all day for the goods to be collected; confirming a 1 or 2 hour window on a suitable day would be reasonable.

askmeaboutsofas

So it would be for a court to decide if it was "an obvious mistake" or a good will gesture rescinded for example?

Is it the sort of thing you might reasonably expect to be given for free? You seem very keen on arguing that you get to keep it, and the company are willing to pay for collection, which leads me to think this is a relatively high value item. Therefore, much more likely to be a mistake and much less likely to be a "good will gesture". If they were to offer something valuable as a good will gesture I'm sure they would describe it as such on the order, not just send you an invoice of £0. The court will take into account whether your average, "reasonable" person would expect to receive this item for free under the circumstances. I am fairly sure from what you've described that the answer will be no.


DoaM makes a very good point. Their mistake should not cost you money or cause you inconvenience, so they need to work with you to arrange the collection for a reasonable time.



In addition to the above, they have the right to terminate your account and refuse to deal with you again, for any reason. They may well exercise that right if you try to fight them over the return of this item. It's up to you whether it's worthwhile to risk this.

e goods value are stated at £0.00 is this the liability that can be claimed

:rotfl: It's clear and obvious to a bunch of strangers on the internet that these goods are worth considerably more than £0, therefore it's obvious that the £0 invoice is a mistake. There is no interpretation of this that includes anyone saying "yes you can keep this item for free."

davidmcn

ibanez1070 wrote: »

What legislation covers this ?

The Chancers Trying to Profit From Others' C0ck-Ups Regulations 1994.

shaun_from_Africa

ibanez1070 wrote: »

Thank you kindly. As the goods value are stated at £0.00 is this the liability that can be claimed ?

The cost of the goods is stated as £0.00 but this isn't their monetary value and it is that value that could be claimed.

If you buy something from a shop and they throw in a freebie with your purchase, this free item will show up on the receipt as having a cost to you of £0.00 but even though no money changed hand for that item, it still has value.