Repair Item Sold

pwd62

A friend of mine sent an item to a business for repair. However it was in 2018  . He has only now membered the item and contacted the business. They said as he never paid his repair bill of £150 they sold the item in 2020 for £280 to re-coup their loses  .And as far as they are concerned the item was abandoned after they claim repeated reminders and the original ltd business was wound up but re opened in 2021 by an employee who said he has no interest in paying out anyone on this matter .  Has he a leg to stand on re compensation . He was a bit daft I have to admit forgetting about it but he does have "issues"  

[Deleted User]

He would be owed the £130 difference. However, if the business was wound up and no longer exists, there is no one to pay him. The new business won't have taken on the previous company's debts.

DE_612183

odd that the business that no longer exists can comment on what happened to the item...

user1977

DE_612183 said:

odd that the business that no longer exists can comment on what happened to the item...

Not that odd - a purchaser can take over the assets of the business (but not the liabilities), and they may have access to the previous company's records.

In any event, the customer's remedies would be against whatever entity the business was at the time they put the item in for repair.

p00hsticks

DE_612183 said:

odd that the business that no longer exists can comment on what happened to the item...

Not if, as the OP says, the business closed but was then (bought out and ?) reopened by an employee of the previous company.

Undervalued

It is a common term and condition of repair services to treat an item as abandoned after a reasonable period has elapsed.

Very long ago, in my student days, I had holiday jobs in a camera shop and they certainly applied that policy. Strangely more items than you might expect were abandoned, to the point that they were considering also charging a deposit when something was left for repair.

Repairs were subcontracted out leaving the shop with only a fairly small mark up. It wasn't uncommon for people to agree to repair estimates that exceeded the s/h value of the camera then, presumably, change their minds and opt not to collect the camera often leaving the shop out of pocket.

Yes, the balance between the sale price and the repair bill (less reasonable expenses) is due to the owner but if the business has changed hands that may be unenforceable.

Even if it hadn't changed hands but more than six years had elapsed (five in Scotland) it would still be unenforceable.

Bradden

Regardless of the legal aspects surtely it's not reasonable to expect a company to hold onto goods for this period of time. Expecting compensation seems to be a bit much IMHO.

nyermen

As above, although I would say - did the business make a reasonable attempt to contact them?  I presume they had at least a phone number.

Sandtree

You'd assume their T&Cs for the repair also cover abandoned items and forfeiture of title after a defined period... I know our dry cleaners have but they hand on twice as long as the period before then disposing the uncollected items.

sheramber

nyermen said:

As above, although I would say - did the business make a reasonable attempt to contact them?  I presume they had at least a phone number.

they claim repeated reminders 

However, since the company was wound up there is no claim on the current owner.