Company won't pick up merchandise - TN

[buaya]

TN - I bought a tv online in Dec. When it arrived, it didn't work. After dealing with the shipping company, they finally got with the seller and sent me a new tv. The new tv arrived on Jan 10 (it works) but the shipping forgot to issue a pick up order for the defective tv and the shipping company rep wouldn't take it without a written order. I called the comany the following day and they said that they would send someone out to get the tv. I called the following seek and they said they didn't have a record of it but would send someone out. The following week (Fri) I called and they said someone would call me back. I called again on Monday and they told me the same thing. I called one more time and theywere supposed to return my call. That was about three weeks ago. I want to dispose of the tv myself but I don't want them to come back on me in six months and say I owe them a tv. How long do I have to morally and/or ethically wait before I can dispose of the defective set as I choose and not worry about any negative consequences?

 

[jdmba]

How long is a reasonable time to give the seller to pick up the broken TV, before rightfully assuming that it has been abandoned?

You're not going to find a law that states exactly how long you need to wait. Instead, these types of things are determined by "reasonableness." How long is reasonable?

If I were you, I would forget about the telephone. Put everything in writing. Send this company a letter via both certified and 1st class mail that concisely and bluntly states something like the following:

Please be advised that on January 3, 2007, I purchased a 42" Sony television (order # 101010010101) from your company. On January 15, 2007, the aforementioned television was delivered by Federal Express. To my dismay, the television did not work. I promptly contacted your company about the defective television, and received a working replacement on January 25, 2007.

However, the Federal Express delivery person refused to take the defective television with him. I immediately telephoned your company that day (Jan 25th) and was promised that the defective television would be picked up. It has now been 30 days since I first contacted your company regarding this issue. In that period, I have called your company three additional times, but the television has never been picked up.

Accordingly, please regard this letter as your notice that I consider the defective television to be abandoned, and as such, I will be forced to dispose of it should it not be removed from my premises by you or your agent within 14 days from the date of this letter.​

When they don't comply, write another letter referencing the first letter, and give them another couple weeks, then dump it. If they attempt to later sue you, you have paperwork memorializing the fact that you called several times, wrote two letters, and gave them over two months to take action. I'd say that's more than reasonable.

Obviously, add in the relevant dates, order number, etc.

 

[CraigFL]

I agree with the last response. So many times Freight is so expensive on large items that it may not be economically feasible for them to return a broken TV and try to fix it to recover some cost. It may very well be that they are abandoning it. I've seen this happen many times with leased office equipment when the lease expires.