Keeping Items That Have Been Delivered to You by Mistake

Posted on Friday, December 18th by

As children, we are taught to always return what is not ours. Naturally, the same rule should apply to items that are delivered to us by mistake. However, Robert Quinn from south London is the living proof of the fact that this do not work quite this way these days.

Engineering student Robert Queen residing in Bromley got to keep a selection of items worth as much as 3,600 pounds, thus benefitting from a glitch in Amazon's delivery system. The items included a number of gadgets, more precisely a 3D TV worth nearly nine hundred pounds, a few tablets, a Sony PSP console, as well as a heater, a baby buggy, a single bed, an electric wine cooler, a Waterman pen, books, CDs and DVDs, among others. The items were supposed to be delivered to an Amazon depot as returns, but instead they were shipped to Quinn's home in Bromley.

As he told one of the British newspapers, Quinn did not hesitate to express his concern with regard to those who had returned the items to Amazon for various reasons. However, he was reassured that they would not be at a loss. The Liverpool University student aged twenty-two decided to donate some of the items that were delivered to him by mistake and then sell the remaining ones in an attempt to raise money and start his own business.

So, is it okay to keep so-called "unsolicited goods" that have been delivered to your home by mistake? Well, yes and no. Normally, you have every right to keep them. In fact, the law is on your side too. No law will force you to return the items that have been wrongly delivered to you to the sender or to pay for them. Any such claim is deemed a criminal offence.

You should note that this does not apply to items delivered to you by mistake, but to any items that might accompany an order you have placed and repeat deliveries as well. However, you should make an effort to return any items that may have been delivered to you by mistake but are not unsolicited to their rightful owner, namely the issuing trader. Failing to do so may result in your being sued over the goods in question.

Therefore, should you find yourself in a situation where you have received any unsolicited goods, you should make contact with the sender and request the collection of the goods in question. Do not worry about costs or anything for there will be none. Also, make sure you provide an acceptable deadline for the collection of the delivered goods.

Last but not least, you even have the choice of selling the items that have been delivered to you by mistake. However, this may be a little bit more complicated. Firstly, in order to do that, you need to notify the sender in writing in advance, twice, and follow a standard procedure. Secondly, you will only be able to spend the money you have earned upon selling the items after a minimum period of six years, the original owner of the items being having the right to claim the money from you anywhere within that time span.