Lee Posted December 7, 2005 Report Share Posted December 7, 2005 Goods left uncollected. following the topic about lost tickets, I did a little searching on the trading standards web site and came up with this interesting paragraph thought you all might like a read! This extract is taken from the Trading standards web site at http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/bglitem.cgi?file=badv073-1011.txt Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 Section 12 Occasionally customers fail to collect their goods after having them repaired or forget to pick up dry-cleaning. This Section sets out what action you should take to get the goods collected and makes it clear what you can do if they are not. It is sufficient to have a notice, which is easily visible to customers stating how long you will keep goods after repair and an intention to dispose of them after this date. Any time period would need to be reasonable. If no notice is displayed, you may need to send a registered letter to the customer specifying that the goods are ready for collection and from where. It also should state the amount owing. Additional notification must also be given if you intend to sell or dispose of the goods after a certain date and how additional proceeds from the sale can be collected. Common questions Q. I take in goods for a service (i.e. dry-cleaning/TV repair) and the customer fails to collect them. I cannot store them forever, what should I do? A. It is advisable to have a notice up in the shop which is easily visible to your customers telling them how long you are prepared to keep the goods and how you intend to dispose of the goods after that time. Failing this, you will need to give notice to your customer in accordance with the Torts (Interference with Goods Act) 1977. So basically the way I interpret this is put up a sign stating that items left uncollected for so and so months will be disposed of such and such a way. My Own sign reads, PLEASE NOTE ITEMS LEFT UNCOLLECTED FOR 6 MONTHS, WILL BE DISPOSED OF BY CHARITABLE MEANS. Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 Section 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 10, 2005 Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 The MSA (Multi Service Association) has plastic A4 size ntices available giving 6 months as the deadline. I've sorted the problem now that I get people to pay first anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Posted December 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2005 Having not seen the msa poster (which I am sure is correct) the point I was putting across is that to be correct in the eyes of trading standards, the poster MUST state how the goods are to be disposed, for example I put by charitable means other wise the customer could still be entitled to part of the sale value or compensation for the value of the shoes. If your wording is incorrect then I believe you will then fall into the category below, and have to make attempts to contact the customer as described which could be imposible if you have only taken their name! this is a further extract from trading standards If you are in possession of a customer's goods and he/she is under an obligation to collect them (e.g. because you have repaired the goods for the customer), you are entitled to sell the goods if they remain uncollected and are not otherwise the subject of a dispute. Before doing so, you must satisfy two conditions: 1. You must first send the owner of the goods written notice of: their obligation to collect the goods; details of the goods to be collected and the address at which they are held; your name and address; details of any sum of money owing in respect of the goods at the time the notice is sent (e.g. repair charges, storage costs). This notice may be delivered direct to the owner, left at his proper address or posted to it. The 'proper address' means: in the case of a limited or public limited company, the registered office or principal office; in any other case, the last known address of the owner. 2. If the notice does not result in collection of the goods, you must send the owner, by recorded delivery post or registered letter: the same information as in the notice above, plus notice of your intention to sell the goods if they remain uncollected, and the date of the intended sale. The period between the issue of the second notice and the date of intended sale must be reasonably sufficient for the owner to reclaim the goods. If any money is owed to you, this period must be at least three months. If the owner still does not collect the goods by the date stated in your second notice, you can sell them. You must give the proceeds of the sale to the owner of the goods, but you are entitled to keep any money owed to you, including the cost of the sale (e.g. advertising). If the owner of the goods is not at the proper address, you can still go ahead with the sale after you have taken reasonable, unsuccessful, steps to trace him/her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolcobbler Posted January 14, 2006 Report Share Posted January 14, 2006 I have a sign saying if shoes not collected within 6 month the shoes will be given to charity.one year i put them outside the shop and sold them for £3 a pair,made £45 and gave it to the local special baby care unit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh-Candoit (ENG) Posted January 20, 2006 Report Share Posted January 20, 2006 If you examine the shoes left behind you will probably find that the majority were not worth coming back for, so it makes sence to take payment in full or part for any footwear coming in that could fall into this category. If they refuse you could ask for a telephone number and address along with the name. If they know you have the details they dont usually forget to come back. I just ask them to write there details on the back of the ticket, much less formal than asking them to tell you the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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