Cash Converter problem

[gd47]

Just over a week ago my car was broken into and a number of items were stolen (I think you can see where this is going!).

Police were immediately informed.

The next morning I phoned the local Cash Converters to inform them of the stolen items and of the possibility that someone may try to sell them.

Of course, the inevitable happened and one of the items appeared on Cash Converters EBay site three days later.

Police given all of the information and provided with serial number and photographs of the item.

They duly went to Cash Converters and the item was withdrawn from eBay, but the police were told Cash Converters won’t release the item to them without a court order!!

Meanwhile, the thief may still be in possession of my other items (one of which is an iPad...now a very expensive paper weight) and Cash Converters are hiding behind “data protection” issues in order to protect the identity of the thief!

The police officer who is dealing with this case is now in self-imposed isolation and is working from home for the next two weeks.

Any helpful suggestions as to what to do next would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

[fkofilee]

Not much you can do - The item that was sold to them will be held until the police can come and collect it again.

Try and see if someone else can deal with your case though.

 

As for the Data Protection issue - It isnt that. The Police are now involved so it will be kept under lips for now so they can investigate - CCTV etc

[BankFodder]

Have you got any of this in writing or is it just word of mouth?

If it is in writing – please can you post up what has been said

[gd47]

Many thanks for your reply...much appreciated.

 I don’t have a great deal in writing...just police crime reference number and various acknowledgements.

However, this is a reply from Cash Converters to my brother (who contacted them with questions about the item before bidding on it , the reason he was involved was he lives 200 miles away and would not arouse suspicion, whereas an enquiry by myself just a mile away might well do)...

 

)

Hi, Sorry the item had to be closed off as the item was sold to us unlawfully. We’ve had to take down the listing to give back to rightful owner at a loss to our company. Sorry for any inconvenience caused Regards

 

 

I don’t know if that’s of any use but it’s all I have at the moment.

Should I go to Cash Converters with a copy of the above and ask for my item to be returned?

Once again, many thanks.

[BankFodder]

Well if anything can be done, I think you need to start off by writing to them and asking them for its return. Tell them that as they fully understand, it is stolen and that they have bought stolen property. They are aware of the police investigation – given the crime reference number and may be a copy of the police report.

Stay polite – no need to get into an aggressive conflict on this. I expect they will respond saying that they will not return it to you without a court order – but at least you have that in writing. Then we can contemplate the situation.

What was the item and what is its value?

[gd47]

Thanks for the very quick and helpful reply...the item is a Markbass Minimark 2 Bass Amp, worth in the region of £400 (they were selling it on eBay for a starting bid of £82!!...that’s the going price of the carrying bag for it).

Good idea just to ask for it... if they refuse then that contradicts the email copy that I have!

 

[BankFodder]

I'm not sure that the email copy that you have is going to bear much weight – but still it would be worth setting out a paper trail so send the message and then get the reply and then come back here.

[adam1992]

Having worked in a similar store usually there’s nothing you can do.

 

The police would normally come down and take the item & potentially details from the person who traded it in. Then the company goes after the person who traded it in for the money. Odd that they would hand it over ive never seen a refusal to the police - the police can also obtain the data of the person trading most likely they know them already.

 

I’ve never seen a customer be able to take an item unless they were with the police. 
 

Have you asked the police to obtain the item for you? If they won’t until the officer dealing with is back you may have to wait.

[BankFodder]

There is lots you can do if you are prepared to bring a small claim against cash converters on the basis of the tort of Conversion.

It just means that you have to be prepared to go to a bit of trouble for it – but at the end of the day people like cash converters need to start understanding what the law is and not the fact that simply because they are in possession of the item, it means that they can do what they want.

[gd47]

Thank you all very much for the sound and well-reasoned advice.

The latest update is the police officer involved seems to be very helpful...he has emailed Cash Converters and also the head office of the local franchisee.

He’s kept me informed about the situation and now Cash Converters have reopened there may be further developments shortly.

Incidentally, a very strange thing happened regarding my iPad Pro, which was also stolen.

 I immediately locked it remotely and if anyone tried to access it a message was also displayed with my phone number.

 I had an irate phone call from someone asking what I was doing selling him a locked iPad!

After explaining the situation, to cut a long story short, he ended up returning it to me but didn’t want the police involved even though he had lost £500 to a seller on Gumtree ( he paid cash, seller delivered it to him)...didn’t want anything at all in return.

So there are some good people about (if I accept his story at face value!).

Sorry about the long post and once again many thanks for all the helpful advice.

[BankFodder]

I think that if you can produce something in writing from the police in which they agree that the item belongs to you – or if you can get several bits of evidence that the item belongs to you then I would suggest that you begin an action in the tort of conversion.

I think that that will start to move everybody – particularly because clearly Cash Converters is involved in the handling of stolen goods. To be an offence they must "dishonestly" being involved – but in practice they are involved in the handling of stolen goods and I think that they will be very concerned that someone goes to the trouble of starting a court claim.

If you want to take disruptive action – then that is what to do. We will help you all the way

[adam1992]

I don’t understand why they haven’t just handed it over to the Police, I’d be asking the officer when he can go back to the store.
 

The police have the right to seize the item. The store probably just needs the crime reference number for their records. But they are just delaying the inevitable.

Franchisee will be annoyed (but it’s the risk of the store) that they will be out of pocket) but as the Police know they have the item they can’t just get rid of it. 

 

 

Edited June 18, 2020 by adam1992

[BankFodder]

Because the police can't be bothered – and they have too much to do anyway and they don't have the space to take all this stuff in. Because cash converters can't be bothered and generally speaking they probably don't ask enough questions when stuff is given to them and so it's just a bit of an annoyance when somebody actually rumbles what is happening.

Basically nobody cares and you've caused a nuisance of yourself – and you are the one person that everybody wishes would go away.
All of that

[ericsbrother]

You can sue cash converters for the value of the goods OR ITS RETURN. They will then be wise to set the item aside and wait for the inevitable.

A letter before action will probably be enough to wake them up, they presumably need something to show the taxman/their insurers so may just ahve to go along for the ride with this one.