Items will be disposed of in 3/6/12/24 months etc...

Coriolanus

Really just a general enquiry, I'm not having a problem with any retailer or service provider.

I do see these signs up though, mainly in jewellers/repair shops, pawn shops, dry cleaners, that kind of thing.

Had a look on citizensinformation.ie but didn't really see anything outlining whether this is legislated for.

So, mainly I guess, is the disposal of stuff after a period allowed? What effect do deposits, or even full advance payment have on it?

dudara

I would think that as long as the shop, drycleaner etc, made you aware of this policy (verbally, by sign or in writing) when you dropped the stuff off, then they are covered.

axer

I don't believe this is covered by any statute law so I think it would be a civil matter basically coming down to the contract the customer has with the shop.

GerardKeating

Nevore wrote: »

Really just a general enquiry, I'm not having a problem with any retailer or service provider.

I do see these signs up though, mainly in jewellers/repair shops, pawn shops, dry cleaners, that kind of thing.

Had a look on citizensinformation.ie but didn't really see anything outlining whether this is legislated for.

So, mainly I guess, is the disposal of stuff after a period allowed? What effect do deposits, or even full advance payment have on it?

The theory is that by leaving it with them, you agree to this, it's part of your contract with them, and even if you are fully prepaid, if you do not collect the item, you incur storage costs with them...

Coriolanus

Fair enough, I was fairly sure that was the case anyway.

Thanks all, forewarned is forearmed and all that.

ttm

I've always thought of it more as a notice to try and make people pick stuff up promptly. Unless a company has a written policy thats available to everyone that uses there services I can't see how a notice over the till has any relevance?

axer

ttm wrote: »

I've always thought of it more as a notice to try and make people pick stuff up promptly. Unless a company has a written policy thats available to everyone that uses there services I can't see how a notice over the till has any relevance?

They could argue that it is an implied condition on all their contracts.

ttm

axer wrote: »

They could argue that it is an implied condition on all their contracts.

I think argue is correct as I can't see how it can work.

Say you take in an item that cost 500euro new and do a 50euro repair, after 3 months you sell the item for 200euro and cover the cost of your repairs, then the orignal owner returns. Do you give them the 150euro?

If you just send stuff to the tip after say 3 months then how do you prove to the original owner that you didn't sell the item and make money on it.

Its all too complicated.

Edit> Thinking a bit more about it my question is "can a sign like the OP describes pass ownership from the person who leaves an item for repair to the shop owner".

P. Breathnach

axer wrote: »

They could argue that it is an implied condition on all their contracts.

If there is a prominently-displayed notice on the premises, then it can be argued that it is an express condition (provided you visited the premises to leave an item in for cleaning, service, repair, whatever).

A notice on a docket that you receive after handing an item in is an interesting problem. It might be argued that they tried to impose a condition after a contract was already made.

seamus

Destruction/disposal of an item after a set period of time is a tricky one because it requires the disposer to have the authority to do it.

What these policies often do is impose a storage charge after a set period of time, which is perfectly legal and after another period of time they will sell it to recoup the storage bill. This involves taking the property as a lien for the storage charges, which can be legal.

I imagine in a legal context, the judge might look at similar laws that act in reverse. For example, if you receive an item from a company which you did not order, the company has sixth months to collect it. You are obliged to tell the company that you have it, to allow them to collect it (i.e. you can't conveniently not be present every time they come to get it) and also to inform them after five months that they have one month left to collect it.

If the company fails to have collected the item then when the sixth month is up it becomes the legal property of the person who received it.

You could apply a similar standard to businesses and make six months a reasonable amount of time for someone to have collected their property, assuming the business gave them plenty of notice that the item was ready for collection.

ttm

If the length of time is resonable say 6 months then I wouldn't argue, but the problem is items are often left with no way for the service provider to contact the owner and the service provider may not even provide a reciept let alone something with a contract on it.

An example might be a small computer repair shop (I've seen one with a sign saying "Any items not collected after 30 days will be disposed of") where someone drops in a laptop to get an estimate. I know a reciept should be issued but often all that happens is a sticker is stuck on the laptop with the owners phone number. Now if the item isn't picked up the phone number is wrong or the sticker drops off can the repair shop dispose of the item?

P. Breathnach

ttm wrote: »

If the length of time is resonable say 6 months then I wouldn't argue, but the problem is items are often left with no way for the service provider to contact the owner and the service provider may not even provide a reciept let alone something with a contract on it.

An example might be a small computer repair shop (I've seen one with a sign saying "Any items not collected after 30 days will be disposed of") where someone drops in a laptop to get an estimate. I know a reciept should be issued but often all that happens is a sticker is stuck on the laptop with the owners phone number. Now if the item isn't picked up the phone number is wrong or the sticker drops off can the repair shop dispose of the item?

You are suggesting that all the onus be loaded on to the repair shop. If I left a laptop into a place where such a sign was displayed, I'd be sure to make contact with them within the 30 days.

ttm

P. Breathnach wrote: »

You are suggesting that all the onus be loaded on to the repair shop. If I left a laptop into a place where such a sign was displayed, I'd be sure to make contact with them within the 30 days.

Thank you for making earlier my point clear

I've always thought of it more as a notice to try and make people pick stuff up promptly.

Coriolanus

Right, so not entirely clear after all then.