If A Shop Takes A Deposit For Goods In Stock, How Long Do They Have To Keep Them For If The Customer Doesn't Return, Please

[ladywoman]

[Zacs-Master]

A reasonable time.

[bookbinder]

The shopkeeper should have given the customer a receipt/ticket, which says what will happen to the goods if they are not collected within a certain time. If the shopkeeper feels that the customer is not going to return to collect the goods, he must contact the customer and say what will happen if the goods are not collected within a specified time period.

[ladywoman]

Thanks Zacs-Master and bookbinder. If the customer is non-contactable what do you think would be deemed as a reasonable time to keep the goods I have heard it could be a year or more!?

[Zacs-Master]

Are they perishable?

[ladywoman]

No they are not

[Zacs-Master]

A ‘deposit' is generally regarded by Trading Standards as 10% or under of the total price, so if the sum is around this figure, then the retailer does not have to return anything.

[bookbinder]

This is the situation in Scotland (I don't know what applies in England): if the purchaser fails to collect the goods, the shopkeeper can regard them as having been abandoned. The shopkeeper should let the police know that the goods have been abandoned. The police have a responsibility to take charge of abandoned goods, and to keep them for two months. If nobody gets in touch with the police during this time, at the end of two months, they can: return the goods to the finder (and that means the shopkeeper who reported them as being abandoned); dispose of them in a sale.
If the police return the goods to the shopkeeper, the goods now belong to the shopkeeper. If the original purchaser comes to collect the goods within a year of abandoning them, they still have to be returned to the original owner.

[ladywoman]

Ok Zacs, but how long do the goods have to be kept for before the shop is able to re-sell them in the case of a no-show - that's what I am trying to ascertain, cheers.

[Maydup]

A deposit doesnt secure the goods forever nor are they deemed abandoned unless they are paid for in full.

Was there no agreement at all that went with the deposit transaction?

If not I would consider 28 days or one calendar month a reasonable time.

It might be worth keeping the deposit aside and refundung it if the customer does return after that, but the there is no real obligation to do so.

[ladywoman]

Thanks Maydup, that sounds sensible to me, I just wasn't sure what the law was. Thanks

[Hymie]

I don’t think anything similar to Scotland exists within England (see bookbinder’s post above) – the police in England can’t be bothered to turn up to a reported burglary; what chance they will call around to collect and store abandoned goods?

[Hopkirk]

Make up your own policy on this, and quote it to the customer while refunding the deposit (if he ever reappears)

[ladywoman]

Thanks everyone for your help. I deduce from this that no actual legal requirement exists but I would be interested to be corrected. Thanks again for your input.