Locked phone ignored by Police officer

4rchibald

Last year I found a mobile phone. It looked new and unused. No SIM card, no contacts, nothing to trace the owner, except 3 blurred photos.

I contacted local PCSO asking him to check if the phone was reported in their register.

This is a low cost phone so I wanted to reunite it with the owner, but I was advised by the PCSO in writing that Police don't hold a record of any lost property and I should either dispose it or give it to a charity.

After 3 months with no updates, I decided to sell it with other old equipment at local CEX.

How surprised I was when staff told me, in front of other customers that my account has been banned due to locked (stolen/lost) phone I was trying to sell.

They only followed the procedure which I understand, but firstly my account is now banned and I won't be able to sell anything and secondly, I felt like a thief trying to sell stolen goods.

I have already reported this to the local police department, but I'm afraid that this will be ignored.

Is there anything I can do to make sure this will be properly investigated and that I can get a statement from Police which I can forward to CEX to reopen or let me create new account?

It's understandably a low value item, but I've always trusted police with found property but I'm affraid that due to ignorance of this PCSO (or any in that matter) some peope may get into a much bigger trouble.

powerful_Rogue

4rchibald wrote: »

Last year I found a mobile phone. It looked new and unused. No SIM card, no contacts, nothing to trace the owner, except 3 blurred photos.

I contacted local PCSO asking him to check if the phone was reported in their register.

This is a low cost phone so I wanted to reunite it with the owner, but I was advised by the PCSO in writing that Police don't hold a record of any lost property and I should either dispose it or give it to a charity.

After 3 months with no updates, I decided to sell it with other old equipment at local CEX.

How surprised I was when staff told me, in front of other customers that my account has been banned due to locked (stolen/lost) phone I was trying to sell.

They only followed the procedure which I understand, but firstly my account is now banned and I won't be able to sell anything and secondly, I felt like a thief trying to sell stolen goods.

I have already reported this to the local police department, but I'm afraid that this will be ignored.

Is there anything I can do to make sure this will be properly investigated and that I can get a statement from Police which I can forward to CEX to reopen or let me create new account?

It's understandably a low value item, but I've always trusted police with found property but I'm affraid that due to ignorance of this PCSO (or any in that matter) some peope may get into a much bigger trouble.

A lot of police forces no longer deal in lost property. Why was you waiting 3 months for an update when the PCSO told you they won't be dealing with it?

Also, the PCSO advised you to dispose of it or give it to charity, yet you decided to sell it - so going completely against there advice.

This won't be investigated, as there is nothing to investigate. Check your local police force webiste for information. Mine is Kent and there information pretty much tallies up with what you was told. https://www.kent.police.uk/services/lost-and-found-property/

davidmcn

4rchibald wrote: »

Is there anything I can do to make sure this will be properly investigated and that I can get a statement from Police which I can forward to CEX

Had you shown them the written advice you already had from the PCSO?

KatrinaWaves

You found a phone. That phone is lost

You tried to sell the phone that didn’t belong to you.

Your account is banned from CEX because you tried to sell a phone someone reported lost. They didn’t accuse you of ‘selling stolen goods’ but locked goods. Lost goods. You knew they were lost. They never belonged to you.

What’s the problem?

Hermione_Granger

powerful_Rogue wrote: »

Also, the PCSO advised you to dispose of it or give it to charity, yet you decided to sell it - so going completely against there advice.

Really?........

dispose
verb
1. get rid of by throwing away or giving or selling to someone else.

Verb Phrases
dispose of,
to deal with conclusively; settle.
to get rid of; discard.
to transfer or give away, as by gift or sale.
to do away with; destroy.

VERB
1 dispose of
Get rid of by throwing away or giving or selling to someone else.

‘the waste is disposed of in the North Sea’
‘people now have substantial assets to dispose of after their death’

KatrinaWaves

Yes a PCSO saying dispose of it definitely means sell it CEX...

its against CEX policy. The PCSO has absolutely no knowledge or control over that. Saying they don’t log lost property of low value so ‘do what you want’ is not ‘I take full responsibility for your account at cash converters...’

elsien

Not very sensible advice from the PCSO though. No obvious way to get it back to its owner, so give it to a charity so they can get in strife for having a blocked phone?


I have some sympathy with the OP because I've handed jewellery into a police station before now, and it's been given back to me when not claimed.

KatrinaWaves

There is no strife. If anything the insurance company could claim it back for parts, but they’re not gonna bother.

No strife, just no ‘cash’ alternative.

PCSO’s are not police officers. They’re no more versed in legalities than anyone else. Their response was simply ‘I have more to deal with than some crappy phone. Please go away’

Why anyone thinks they are now responsible for a ‘account’ at CEX is laughable, frankly...

4rchibald

Few keyboard warriors triggered.

The phone is NOT locked (SIM card works). It is on the register of lost or stolen goods which PCSO should have checked. It doesn't matter what they do. Don't know? Consult someone that knows.

CEX is the closest place that deals with electronic goods.

Charity shop told me that they don't deal with mobile phones. Like somebody mentioned here - most likely because they have no means to check legality.

It is completely legal to sell or dispose of lost/found item if a reasonable attempt was made to trace the owner. I have contacted police several times, offered to keep the phone in case the owner would want to claim it (it's still waiting for the owner) and decided to dispose after few months of waiting.

KatrinaWaves

No one said it was illegal. (Except you...)

CEX can ban you because they don’t like your haircut.

The police or the PCSO have no responsibility to you and your CEX account. If you want to show CEX the letter and say ‘look I thought it was okay to do, here is the money back I got from you for the phone. Can I have my account back?’ They might let you off.

The police have literally nothing to do with you and CEX.

4rchibald

My cex account is a secondary issue here. The main problem is that ignorance of PCSO could put someone in real trouble.
This item could have been linked with an organised crime. So how does handing it to a charity shop changes the status here?

I have a written statement but this could haven't been dealt informally.

I was advised by Police that the PCSO should have at least checked if the item was recorded in their system and apparently it was.

My constabulary clearly states on their website that any item with serial numbers should be reported to police (including PCSO) and they will investigate to find the owner or handed back to the finder.
Lost property should be also reported and police should help to find the rightful owner.

It seems that this varies from one county to another