Storing property for someone who won’t come get it

[xylene]

Motels don't like people dumping things on their property...it could, in fact, be a crime to do so.

I didn't suggest dumping anything.

I asked the OP to explain why they were unable to return the property to it's rightful owner at their current address. Is their a faulty assumption being made? A freezer is not small, bit it's not that big either. Generally speaking it would easily fit through a standard door.

I don't like when people state something based on assumption as if it were a categorical fact, because it is not impossible to return an applicance to someone even if they reside in an motel.

 

[Zigner]

I didn't suggest dumping anything.

I asked the OP to explain why they were unable to return the property to it's rightful owner at their current address. Is their a faulty assumption being made? A freezer is not small, bit it's not that big either. Generally speaking it would easily fit through a standard door.

I don't like when people state something based on assumption as if it were a categorical fact, because it is not impossible to return an applicance to someone even if they reside in an motel.

Your earlier suggestion was simply that the OP drop it off at the hotel without further explanation. Your additional explanation makes more sense.

Why cant you drop it off at the motel?

 

[NeilTheCop]

If it came from a house fire what sort of condition is it in, I mean is it working and full of food?

 

[quincy]

If it came from a house fire what sort of condition is it in, I mean is it working and full of food?

Apparently the freezer was salvageable. I doubt food is an issue.

 

[NeilTheCop]

It's just that the fire happened 8 months ago, so you would imagine that since then the rebuild should be in full swing with the possibility that the freezer can be returned to the house.

 

[quincy]

It's just that the fire happened 8 months ago, so you would imagine that since then the rebuild should be in full swing with the possibility that the freezer can be returned to the house.

I suppose it depends on the type of fire and how much of the house was left after it. I agree that 8 months seems a long time.

 

[NeilTheCop]

As the freezer survived unscathed it may not have been a major fire. Perhaps the OP can shed some light on how extensive the damage to the house was.

 

[quincy]

As the freezer survived unscathed it may not have been a major fire. Perhaps the OP can shed some light on how extensive the damage to the house was.

That really has nothing to do with the question asked, though.

 

[NeilTheCop]

That really has nothing to do with the question asked, though.

The OP wanted to know how he can get the freezer out of his house, so being able to return it to the owners house is surely relevant

 

[quincy]

The OP wanted to know how he can get the freezer out of his house, so being able to return it to the owners house is surely relevant

Okay.

The owner of the freezer lives in a motel and Onlyme123 took on the duty to care for the property. Onlyme123 must notify the freezer owner that the freezer will be moved or disposed of on X date if Onlyme123 wants to be relieved of this duty - but Onlyme123 cannot on his/her own move the freezer to the fire-damaged house (or anyplace else) without permission from the freezer owner or no response from the freezer owner by the date given on the notice.

 

[cbg]

Although we have not been told the extent of the fire damage, the fact that the Sally Army is still paying motel bills seems to imply that the house is not yet habitable. I had a night job as a hotel auditor some years ago, and we had someone (and their whole family) who stayed with us for a full 14 months after a house fire.

 

[quincy]

Although we have not been told the extent of the fire damage, the fact that the Sally Army is still paying motel bills seems to imply that the house is not yet habitable. I had a night job as a hotel auditor some years ago, and we had someone (and their whole family) who stayed with us for a full 14 months after a house fire.

Apparently, and depending on all facts, the Salvation Army will assist with the costs of alternative housing for up to 48 months.

 

[Litigator22]

The legal status of the OP and the church member may no longer be that of bailor/bailee. That relationship, gratuitous or otherwise, requires mutual consent and may very well have been withdrawn on the part of the OP during their subsequent conversations wherein the owner refused to comply with numerous demands to retrieve the freezer and the owner's refusal to fix a time ending the arrangement.

(A moot point perhaps, except as it affects the duty of care on the art of the OP.)

So, unless someone can point to specific N. C. laws governing the disposition of abandonment personal property in general (I cannot) then my suggestion is that the OP be rid of the freezer the same as with property abandoned by a tenant in accordance with N. C. G. S. 43.25.9(d)

Briefly: Have it delivered as a tentative donation to "a non profit organization regularly providing free or at a nominal price household furnishings to the needy upon an agreement that the organization store the freezer for 30 days and release it to the owner within the 30-day period." Give the appropriate notice to the owner first class mail. (Here I would recommend certified mail RR) If not timely reclaimed, the donation becomes final.

 

[quincy]

The legal status of the OP and the church member may no longer be that of bailor/bailee. That relationship, gratuitous or otherwise, requires mutual consent and may very well have been withdrawn on the part of the OP during their subsequent conversations wherein the owner refused to comply with numerous demands to retrieve the freezer and the owner's refusal to fix a time ending the arrangement.

(A moot point perhaps, except as it affects the duty of care on the art of the OP.)

So, unless someone can point to specific N. C. laws governing the disposition of abandonment personal property in general (I cannot) then my suggestion is that the OP be rid of the freezer the same as with property abandoned by a tenant in accordance with N. C. G. S. 43.25.9(d)

Briefly: Have it delivered as a tentative donation to "a non profit organization regularly providing free or at a nominal price household furnishings to the needy upon an agreement that the organization store the freezer for 30 days and release it to the owner within the 30-day period." Give the appropriate notice to the owner first class mail. (Here I would recommend certified mail RR) If not timely reclaimed, the donation becomes final.

You could be right on the balilee/bailor status after Onlyme123 orally communicated to the freezer-owner that s/he no longer wanted to store the freezer. But I think a written notice of same - with a deadline date for retrieval of the freezer - is an important step for Onlyme123 to take before disposing of the property.

I like your suggestion to donate the freezer to a charitable organization, with a 30-day delay of donation to accommodate a notice to, and possible retrieval by, the freezer-owner. I know the Salvation Army has in the past held donated items in this manner - and seeing as the Salvation Army is familiar with the freezer-owner already, it would be a good organization to contact.

 

[LdiJ]

I didn't suggest dumping anything.

I asked the OP to explain why they were unable to return the property to it's rightful owner at their current address. Is their a faulty assumption being made? A freezer is not small, bit it's not that big either. Generally speaking it would easily fit through a standard door.

I don't like when people state something based on assumption as if it were a categorical fact, because it is not impossible to return an applicance to someone even if they reside in an motel.

A chest freezer can be not too big, but can also be enormous. It depends on the size of the chest freezer. The size freezer my parents had in their garage would fit through a doorway, but would never fit in a normal motel room. I also highly doubt that the motel owners would tolerate a big chest freezer in one of their rooms.

One of the little ones would probably fit in a motel room, but again, the owner of the motel might still object, particularly if it has to be plugged in because there is food in it. Heck a motel room might not even have the right kind of receptical to allow one to be plugged in.