how long I can keep items in my repair shop for, before they are "recycled"?

showtime

Howdy,

I own a mobile phone and PC repair shop ,

over the years I have mountains of peoples stuff building up that I know they are never coming back for.

Like laptops that were going to cost more to fix than they were worth.

and then there's the fixed items (phones etc) that people seem to leave for months and months.

we've never actually thrown anything out or recycled it or even sold it because I know that that would be the day they'd come back looking for it.

But i have harvested the odd part from a laptop in the "graveyard", something that i know i can replace if they come back.

So I'm just wondering what the actual law is ?

I could do with a major clear out.


Someone came to my shop this week (a foreign girl with not much english) she said she had been in a repair shop in a neighbouring town and had her phone in there for two months, when she eventually had the money to go collect it, the guy told her he had sold it as it had been there too long , personally I think that's a bit harsh


TIA

ohnonotgmail

what period have you put in your terms and conditions when accepting an item for repair?

showtime

i haven't put any time frame for throwing things out. I have stated that there may be a storage fee on items not collected after three months.

but this is just a scare tactic (that doesnt work)

whippet

showtime wrote: »

i haven't put any time frame for throwing things out. I have stated that there may be a storage fee on items not collected after three months.

but this is just a scare tactic (that doesnt work)

send a message, email to any contact detail you have stating that items will be disposed of in 45 days if not collected for the gear you have in stock and then just get rid of it

You should put something on your terms and conditions

seamus

I don't think there's any specific legislation to cover this, but you could take your lead from other areas.

For example, if I order a laptop from Dell and receive two laptops, they don't both belong to me. I am obliged to notify Dell of the error and give them reasonable access to come and collect the laptop (i.e. I can't pretend to not be home and ignore their calls). They have six months to do so, but I am obliged to contact them again one month before the expiration of that six month period. If the item is not collected then, it's mine.

So you could theoretically take a similar tack - notify the customer when it's ready for collection. Five months later, you contact them again to let them know that the item will be recycled and sold if it's not collected in the next 30 days.

Alternatively, you could look at the finders-keepers legislation. If you find something on the street and the owner does not come forward within a year and a day (assuming you've made reasonable attempts to find the owner), then it's considered "abandoned" and becomes your property. So you could do the same with items - consider them "abandoned" after a year and recycle them. It means you're holding them for a good bit longer, but the odds of someone coming back looking for something after a year are minimal.

A final, but more difficult alternative is to look at the running total of storage costs -v- the item's value. That is, if you're storing something at a cost of €10/month and it's worth €50, then after five months you could sell the item to recoup your costs. In this case you can likely get rid of non-collected items faster, but it's more fraught with issues. It's also something you would have to include in your contract with the customer.

Personally I'd be inclined to go with the six months rule. Provided that you keep accurate records of the items and the contact made with the customer, it's easy enough to manage.

showtime

whippet wrote: »

items will be disposed of in 45 days if not collected for the gear you have in stock and then just get rid of it

cheers, .... so.... 45 days? is that the law?

Pat Mustard

showtime wrote: »

cheers, .... so.... 45 days? is that the law?

Mod:

Whilst it is permitted to ask what the law may be in a hypothetical situation, it is not allowed to ask for specific legal advice.

OP, you are asking for a procedure whereby you can avoid liability to customers in relation to goods that have been abandoned by them. Whilst this is sensible and commendable on your part, legal advice isn't allowed here and this thread will have to be closed.

You can't get legal advice here.