Delima with customer supplied parts

[greg lindsey]

Well, I had a customer that came to me for some samples, approved them, then had the parts delivered to me. This was a pretty large order, 20,000 pcs of 2" maple discs. The day they were delivered by the freight company the customer calls and says she has lost her funding for the project and could she just pick up the items. I told her yes, but to bring something large enough to load the boxes in (8 large boxes). Two weeks go by, I start calling her, sending her emails and even calling and emailing to her "money" backer ( I had his card). Now it has been two months and still no contact from either of them, phone disconnected, emails not returned. What do I do with these parts, how long should I hold onto them, they do take up quite a bit of space. Any suggestions?

[Ross Moshinsky]

This isn't an opinion question. Sadly it's a very specific legal question which could be unique to your town/city. The first call I'd make is to city/town hall. There might be someone who can answer your question for free. The next option is to contact a lawyer.

The reality is, sooner or later they are yours. It's just about waiting the appropriate amount of time.

[Scott Shepherd]

I don't know that I agree with Ross on it's eventually going to become yours. It's my understanding that only a court can give you legal possession of it. There is no time frame/limit before it becomes yours. It's not the lost and found at Applebees, this is a known, specific person's property and they have legal rights. You also have legal rights to get them out of your space. I do agree that a call to a lawyer is a good call to make. It's probably going to be something along the lines of a certified letter sent by the lawyer to them, including the fact that you are charging them storage fees, and then once that's not responded to, they can probably take it to the next level to legally let you take ownership.

[greg lindsey]

some good answers, except I really don't want to own them.

[Nicolas Silva]

send a certified letter giving her 30 days to pick it up then sell it. Can't sell it, use it for firewood.

[Dave Sheldrake]

I agree with Scott, Lawyer is the only way, if the customer is a limited company though and has gone bust the costs of the lawyer and removal of the stuff may well fall to you.

The UK is somewhat different but totally irrelevant here.

cheers

Dave

[greg lindsey]

let me also add that I have no contact info on the customer other than a phone number and a email address, so sending a certified letter might be difficult.

[phil harold]

let me also add that I have no contact info on the customer other than a phone number and a email address, so sending a certified letter might be difficult.
I use these when needed, free gets you pretty close
sometimes just google will do with the phone number or email address can provide clues
http://www.whitepages.com/reverse_phone
http://www.reversephonelookup.com/

[Jim Coffee]

You might consider contacting the supplier. Perhaps he has not been paid and would jump at the chance to have you return them 'freight collect'.

-Jim Coffee-

[Kev Williams]

Found this on webanswers.com, substitute "garage" for "engraving shop", and it pretty much equals your situation...take it for what it's worth!

Abandoned personal property/ How long should the things be kept?
A relationship ends and one parties property is left in a garage. Numerous attempts have been made to contact the owner but no return calls have been made. How long does the stuff have to be kept before it can be taken to good will?

Answer

I have seen this many times and the law is that 6 monyhs is a fair amount of time to allow a person to get their items. What you need to do is document all calls that you have made trying to notifly this person,and if you have an address mail him or her a certified letter stating they have so many days say thirty to come get their items or you are going to dispose of their property and make sure that you get a signuture(Return signuture). The reason for this is if you have done everything showing the court that you have in good faith tried to get in contract with this person and they have not responded then when and if they do come to get it and find that you have disposed of their property you can bet the first thing they will want to do is file in small claims court for damages of their property. If you have not taken the proper steps to give them notice you could be liable to pay them for their property and you don't deserve that. If you have a contract with this person stating they can keep their belongings in your garage for a certain period of time then keep that also,however if it is past that time you still have to do all these thigs that I have stated. Good luck

[greg lindsey]

GOOD NEWS!!! The customer I had been looking for contacted me today. She has regained her funding and wants to proceed with the project. Of course I told her it would now require a 50% deposit, I really don't want to get stuck with 20,000 engraved parts.

[greg lindsey]

Well, Well, Well. The customer actually has paid for the entire job upfront :)

[phil harold]

Sweeeeeeet!

[Dan Hintz]

Well, Well, Well. The customer actually has paid for the entire job upfront :)

Make sure that check doesn't bounce ;)

[greg lindsey]

Cashiers ck, went straight to the bank and cashed. it's all good!!

[Ronald Erickson]

"It may take weeks to discover that a cashier’s check is fraudulent" - http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/consumer-advisories/2007/consumer-advisory-2007-1.html

I agree with Dan... make sure that check doesn't bounce. Nothing about your story gives me warm feelings:

Large 20,000 piece order
On the day of delivery customer calls and says "no go" and wants to pick up the product
No further contact from customer
Won't return emails
Phone disconnected
No contact info except for the disconnected phone and email address

Three weeks later customer pops back up on radar with a cashiers check payment in full....

Nothing feels right about the situation. You did get a signed contract with full contact info, right? At the very minimum you should contact the bank where the check was drawn and authenticate it.

[greg lindsey]

Not to worry, this isn't my first rodeo. Check was drawn on a local bank with a branch just around the corner. Took it and cashed it. Plus I wasn't too worried as it will be about a month before I complete the job, it now has to fit in my production schedule (which is always busy) lose your place in line and ya gotta go to the back.

[Mark Sipes]

THIS HAS THE MAKINGS OF A NEW REALITY SHOW..........Someone from Hollywood will be contacting you very some.... "Duck Dynasty" look out!