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Abandoned items stored in my garage.Can I sell?
I rented my garage out to a bloke I only knew in passing for £60 PCM about 6 months ago.
He paid the first months rent in advance, then only half for the second month.
After that made a few promises to pay, but hasn't paid anything since.
I haven't had any contact with him for about 3 months and his mobile number is no longer active.
I have no way of contacting him.
I've had a little look around in the garage and some of the stuff he stored might have some value.
Can I sell some items to get the money owed?
If so would I have to keep hold of any excess money to give him if he happened to return?
Can I charge more for the aggravation?
Any advice will do. Legal or moral.
Cheers
He paid the first months rent in advance, then only half for the second month.
After that made a few promises to pay, but hasn't paid anything since.
I haven't had any contact with him for about 3 months and his mobile number is no longer active.
I have no way of contacting him.
I've had a little look around in the garage and some of the stuff he stored might have some value.
Can I sell some items to get the money owed?
If so would I have to keep hold of any excess money to give him if he happened to return?
Can I charge more for the aggravation?
Any advice will do. Legal or moral.
Cheers
0
Comments
Its a bit of a minefield this one!
Try every conceivable way possible to contact him (3 months isn't very long) and keep proof of this. Unless you had a prior arrangement that you could sell to make up any lost rent, I'm afraid you may be on a sticky wicket. Particularly if he has an inventory of what he stored there. I think the law says you have to keep it stored and safe for a certain period and even then you have to contact (or try to contact) the owner to advise of disposal.
If you do decide to sell, stay away from ebay because it may be proof for him that you sold his stuff and open to being accused of theft or fraud!
Be very wary of this, this sort of thing landed me in a whole load of bother recently! I was found to be in the right in the end but it didn't stop me being cautioned and interviewed by the police and then waiting to see if the CPS were going to prosecute me. As a former policeman and someone who has never committed a criminal act before, it was an awful time! In the end I was completely exonerated but told I had to keep everything for 3 years in order for the other person file a civil claim. In the end I just left it all out for the other guy to collect and he didn't, I left it there for about two weeks and took dated photos each day until the day I woke up and found it all gone, I have no idea what happened to it but we get a lot of rag and bone men around here!
Thanks, but the problem is I only ever had his mobile number as as it was a casual verbal agreement I don't even know his full name, I just knew him as Baz.
I just did a bit of looking on the net for advice and got some conflicting answers, like, one saying 90 days is the limit and another saying I can sell but would have to keep the money for 6 years in case he claimed it, but that is only excess of what he owed me, which of course grows by £60 a month.
I'm not planning on doing anything yet, even tho I have a few potential buyers for a few bits, not enough to cover the debt tho.
Just be wary! 3 months is not a long time! Its you word against his and if he decides to go to the police, the police will assume you have stolen his gear and will try and prove it!
Just steer clear of ebay!
Ok, I found this from the same link
"If you are in dispute with the tenants about any aspect of the goods, it is recommended that you do not sell the goods until this dispute is resolved. Any monies outstanding after the deduction of your reasonable costs belong to the tenant up until 6 years after the sale."
"A suggested procedure for legally disposing of uncollected tenant’s goods:
Make every effort to trace the tenant/s to their new address or contact them through any forwarding address you may have.
If you are owed monies you must keep goods for 3 months before disposing of them. If you are not owed money a reasonable period, typically 28 days is acceptable before selling the goods."
I have witnesses about how long it been, so I doubt the police would have a case.
http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/content/uncollected-goods
Oh I don't know. The forum's favourite legal eagle, Judge Judy, nearly always finds in favour of people who do that
OP,
I would get proper legal advice in writing and then follow it to the letter. That way if there is any future problem you can show that you acted reasonably and on legal advice.
(On a side issue perhaps the person is in prison which is why you can not contact him. Also what are you doing storing goods for someone you don't know with no written contract - sounds like a problem just waiting to happen, and it has)
Put an ad in the "Public Notice" section of the local paper asking "Baz" who formally used telephone number xxxx to contact you with due haste as his stored items will be disposed of.
Works two ways though, surely.
Does the guy have any proof that his stuff was in the OP's garage in the first place ?
No contact for 3 months.
Mobile inactive.
I hope it's not a load of hookey video players and TVs.
HMP
Absolutely, which why I say stay clear of ebay ie a traceable sale! Better to get rid at a car boot sale and then deny all knowledge of ever having it in the first place! Didn't say that before because, well, because this is DS and you can get flayed alive for saying shit like that around here!
I reckon his stuff is now your stuff.
Unless Baz turns up with Gaz and Daz with a couple of lengths of lead piping! Then it may not have seemed such a good idea after all!
Does he know who you are? If not sell the stuff or keep it and start charging him a storage fee.
Go on, tell us what was in the garage. I love Storage Wars and I'd really like to know what this character called Bez was storing. I bet its more than likely stolen.
Probably stuff you can "Step On"
Exactly! My only worry would be that the stuff is not actually Baz's. I'd just dump the lot, change the locks and forget about it. If Baz ever turns up just say it got burgled.
would guess a load of Maracas