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Paying to return someone else's phone
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[Deleted User]
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A boy on my Facebook last night asked if anyone wanted to buy a Blackberry he'd found on a bus for £10. As he's always posting things about anarchy and communism and how we should all live together and help each other, I said the right thing to do would be to ring 'home' on the phone and offer to return it. He agreed with me, but then said "what if the owner is a racist EDL supporter?" and that he was too poor to care and needed the money. All he's going to do is spend it on cigarettes.
I told him I'd meet him today and buy it off him, but is it worth it? I fully intend to return the phone to the rightful owner once I have it. It just seems unfair that someone could be panicking about losing such an expensive phone, and I keep imagining it's a kid that's lost it and how much trouble they'd get in
I don't have any income other than my student loan and money my relatives gave me for Christmas, and I probably won't get the tenner back but I think it's a small price to pay for returning such an expensive phone.
I'm a bit worried that, if the police find out, that I could get in trouble for paying money for it, even though I intend to return it. Could the boy selling it also get in trouble, or would it not matter as he found it rather than stole it? Is it worth paying £10 for it?
I told him I'd meet him today and buy it off him, but is it worth it? I fully intend to return the phone to the rightful owner once I have it. It just seems unfair that someone could be panicking about losing such an expensive phone, and I keep imagining it's a kid that's lost it and how much trouble they'd get in
I don't have any income other than my student loan and money my relatives gave me for Christmas, and I probably won't get the tenner back but I think it's a small price to pay for returning such an expensive phone.I'm a bit worried that, if the police find out, that I could get in trouble for paying money for it, even though I intend to return it. Could the boy selling it also get in trouble, or would it not matter as he found it rather than stole it? Is it worth paying £10 for it?
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Your boy knows it's lost, yet intents to trouser it, for his own gain.
Your offer to pay him £10 and then return it is admirable though
So what should I do? I don't really want to reward a criminal with money, but if I don't it'll get bought off him by someone else. Could I get in trouble if it's found out that I payed for it?
I really hope you get some great karma in return for your incredibly kind gesture. It's lovely to see
I don't think he's wiped it, as he mentioned yesterday he was going to look through it.
Thanks
The Police won't accuse you of nicking the phone if you hand it in, but they will want to know details of where it was found, so you'd need to know the rough area that was.
Agreed
However, i wouldnt get involved at all because in a real worst case scenario he could exploit you and make a habit out of this knowing it will play on your conscience, and where do you stop? I know its drastic but you cant go around returning everybodys stolen items.
I suggest you tell your FB friend that what he's done is theft and he should hand it in to the appropriate Lost & Found office for the bus company. Give the £10 to a worthwhile charity instead.
From what the OP is saying, there is no accessory to a crime at all. If the owner appropriates the property with the intention of returning it to its owner it simply isn't theft. Although if caught with the phone before its returned it could be difficult to prove.
HOWEVER, with the millions upon milliions of phones that there are and the millions that go missing, lost, stolen or whatever, I don't think the police are going to be pulling out the stops to find a stolen or missing blackberry even if it is reported. I also doubt if anyone is going to report a missing phone, they are so cheap and available these days (particularly second hand) and the expectation is probably more that it has been found by a dishonest person and sim changed or phone unlocked.
OP, just tell the guy to hand it in to lost property or to the police, where is will no doubt go unclaimed and eventually auctioned off.
Admirable attitude though OP!
i think if it's unclaimed from the police, it goes to the finder who handed it in.
I once found a phone on the road and just dialled the "home" number on it, spoke to the owner's husband and left it for them to collect at the customer service desk of a nearby supermarket.
Perhaps print off this thread and have it with you, if I had lost my phone and somebody had gone to that much effort to return it to me, I would (at the very least) compensate them for what they have paid out.
Ok, should have used the word 'explain' rather than 'prove'!
Yes you're right, things are clearly different these days! The police will actually hand the item back to the finder, after a record is made, who will be notified, generally, within 4 weeks if someone has claimed it unless the item is restricted. If the police take it, it would appear that it is disposed of after 14 days!
May as well just keep the thing!!
They'll take it off him and find the rightful owner
I admire you big time though! Not worth getting involved as your friend seems the kind to happily drop you in the shit if given the chance to squeal his way out of a situation
Then its just a case of him one day getting arrested for something trivia, going to the station to be processed and having the stolen phone checked on the database....