Bicycles removed by property manager without my knowledge

e19

My bicycles were removed (and subsequently sold off) by the property manager recently without my knowledge. I consider the manager has mishandled this and am considering to take the property manager to court and would appreciate some expert opinion about this decision or providing other suggestions so that I would be appropriately compensated. 

Some background:

I live in an apartment block as a tenant, and there is a dedicated courtyard for residents to store bicycles. I noticed a few days ago that two of my bikes have gone missing from there and found out that the property manager have ‘cleared’ the courtyard back in November last year (2020) as an effort to remove abandoned bikes (the manager verbally admitted to that over the phone). They basically tagged the bikes in the courtyard, and gave people a month to remove the tag as a confirmation of ownership, and then removed those bikes where the tag remained after a month assuming they were abandoned. They asked a local bike shop to removed the bikes and was told my bikes were sold already having spoken to the shop (profit kept by the shop). 

I have not used my bikes over winter due to the cold weather (and with Covid there was nowhere to go!) hence did not realise until now that they have been removed by the property manager. The manager also said that they have notified residents about it by post but I am pretty certain I have not received any letter (have also checked with my landlord and they did not receive any notification either). In any case, I consider the property manager has acted negligently, because they did not do everything to ensure they have indeed communicated to all residents, and assumed that everyone would have 1) received their ‘letter’, and 2) used their bikes within a month, during winter and Covid. 

I have checked my tenancy agreement, and there’s no condition that I must check the bicycles on a regular basis. I lived there for three years and this is the first time it had happened to my knowledge. 

This incident has really caused a lot of distress to me (plus the fact that I did not violate any house rules in relation to bike storage!) and I would really appreciate any opinion / advice whether the property managers are clearly in the wrong, and what I can do to get compensation from the property manager.

Many thanks!

 

Update 5/4/21: So sorry for the late reply (it has been a very stressful few weeks as I have just moved out of that place!) - I just wanted to say a BIG thank you to all of you who had made a meaningful contribution to this thread! I will pursue the management company and will update this thread with any new developments (hopefully useful to those who have may a similar experience!). 

davidmcn

When was the last time you saw your bikes? How much did they sell for? 

pbartlett

the propery manager has comitted the criminal act of theft and you should report the crime to the police

davidmcn

pbartlett said:

the propery manager has comitted the criminal act of theft and you should report the crime to the police

You may wish to remind yourself what the definition of theft is before anybody wastes the police's time. 

Norman_Castle

"The manager also said that they have notified residents about it by post but I am pretty certain I have not received any letter"

Ask your neighbours if they received a letter about this.

[Deleted User]

davidmcn said:

pbartlett said:

the propery manager has comitted the criminal act of theft and you should report the crime to the police

You may wish to remind yourself what the definition of theft is before anybody wastes the police's time. 

 Why don't you tell us your definition then? 

Ectophile

I'd probably start with a Letter Before Action to the management company.  You'd need to know how much your bikes were worth.  Give them 14 days to pay you the value of the bikes, or you will start legal action for recovery of the money.

After that it's the court small claims procedure.

davidmcn

_shel said:

davidmcn said:

pbartlett said:

the propery manager has comitted the criminal act of theft and you should report the crime to the police

You may wish to remind yourself what the definition of theft is before anybody wastes the police's time. 

 Why don't you tell us your definition then? 

Assuming we're talking England or Wales, try here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/crossheading/definition-of-theft

JamoLew

Norman_Castle said:

"The manager also said that they have notified residents about it by post but I am pretty certain I have not received any letter"

Ask your neighbours if they received a letter about this.

Follow this advice - you need to be 100% certain

e19

davidmcn said:

When was the last time you saw your bikes? How much did they sell for? 

I don't remember exactly, but probably since around October/November last year. The bike shop refused to say how much they sold them for. 

davidmcn

e19 said:

davidmcn said:

When was the last time you saw your bikes? How much did they sell for? 

The bike shop refused to say how much they sold them for. 

Let's put it another way then - what do you think it would cost you to replace them with similar second hand bikes? Because that's all you can claim for (if anything).