calling me a thief. calling police.

[michael444]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I am a vendor at a flea market. Someone wanted me to hold an item for about 2 weeks. I ended up holding it for about 4 months. I gave up on them and I got rid of the item. Now they are calling me a thief and are calling the police. Does anyone know the law concerning holding/storing someone's property for a certain amount of time? What are my options after a certain amount of time? They don't even rememer paying for it and they don't have a receipt. I even offered them the amount of the item in case they did pay. Now they say they are going to call the police.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[CdwJava]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I am a vendor at a flea market. Someone wanted me to hold an item for about 2 weeks. I ended up holding it for about 4 months. I gave up on them and I got rid of the item. Now they are calling me a thief and are calling the police. Does anyone know the law concerning holding/storing someone's property for a certain amount of time? What are my options after a certain amount of time? They don't even rememer paying for it and they don't have a receipt. I even offered them the amount of the item in case they did pay. Now they say they are going to call the police.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Was this an item they gave you to hold?

Was it in exchange for something else - cash, property, etc.?

Or, was this an item you had offered to sell them but they did not have the cash for so you agreed to hold onto it for a while?

Details, please. The details can make the difference between a potentially serious crime or no crime at all.

 

[michael444]

thank you for your response. i don't recall if the item was paid for or not. i agreed to hold it until he could pick it up when he was not on his motorcycle which was supposed to be in a few weeks. i had it for 4 months. since i could not remember if he paid or not, i was willing to give him the price back of $20 that we agreed on. he refused and says he is calling the police. for the past two months i never heard a word from him. i however found out that he was in the flea market several times and once in a car but did not ask to take the item out.

 

[michael444]

we also have a layaway that says we hold items for up to 10 days and no refunds after that. would this situation be considered a layaway? would the police officer require a receipt for proof of payment?

 

[CdwJava]

thank you for your response. i don't recall if the item was paid for or not. i agreed to hold it until he could pick it up when he was not on his motorcycle which was supposed to be in a few weeks.

Okay, so he expressed interest in an item that you had for sale, but he was unable to take it with him as he was on a motorcycle. He may or may not have paid for the item, but you cannot recall. Correct?

First, that's pretty sloppy business practice if you are not keeping track of sales. Second, you leave yourself open to claims like this.

i had it for 4 months. since i could not remember if he paid or not, i was willing to give him the price back of $20 that we agreed on. he refused and says he is calling the police. for the past two months i never heard a word from him. i however found out that he was in the flea market several times and once in a car but did not ask to take the item out.

Can you prove that you offered to reimburse him the $20?

Frankly, I do not see the cops getting involved in this. I suspect that they will see this as a civil issue. At most they might write a report, but i cannot imagine it will go anywhere ... especially over a $20 item.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

If he never paid for the item, absent a written agreement specifying conditions, you had no liability for not keeping or selling YOUR item. You providing info to the contrary, would change that answer.

 

[michael444]

thank you very much for your replies. can i ask would this be considered a layaway? also, is there any laws for storing someone's item until it is considered abandoned by them?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

If it is your item, held by your terms, I would think only you can decide the answer to that and act accordingly.

 

[swalsh411]

This person is nuts. Even if he paid for the item and even if you promised to hold on to it for an indeterminate amount of time, the only thing you would owe him would be a refund of the purchase price.