Disposal of Uncollected Goods

[SquareFrames]

Hi Folks,

This subject was recently brought to my attention from another picture framer as to when you can safely dispose of a clients uncollected goods. I di a little research for him and decided to list it here incase some people werent or arent clear, as it enevitably does pop up now and again during the course of our business. We all have our own ways of dealing with this and hopefully it doesnt happen that often, but how many of us have work sitting for more than 3 months? Be honest now! I have 5 pieces of work that date back at least 3 or 5 years, and 1 piece dating back at least 6 (personally I think this lady has since popped her clogs, but how and ever, I still have it) And where do we stand on the disposal of personal items such as photographs, certificates, etc. The Torts Act below does not specifically state about these kind of items.

When we undertake the contract to frame a persons work, they also enter into a contract to collect them and is also obligated to collect, but if they dont collect within the specified time, how long do we actually give them before taking any kind of action? What kind of timescale do other framers use, etc.?

Under 'The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977' provisions only apply after the goods are ready for collection, subject to any terms imposed at the time the goods were left in for framing or repair. We are also entitled to sell the goods if they remain uncollected as long as we are not the subject of a dispute and keep what is owed to us for costs and give the owner of the goods the remainder and just show that we have taken all reasonable steps to gain the most for the item(s) in question. We can also take costs of any sale, advertsing, etc.

We cannot sell the goods until we have met certain criteria and followed proceedures; like written notice to the client explaining their obligation to collect, details of the goods to be collected and the address at which they are held and details of any money owing in respect of the goods. This notice must be delivered direct to the client, left at the client's proper address or posted to the proper address.

If after this notice does not result in the goods being collected we must send the owner bssically the same notice as above by registered post or recorded delivery, only this time adding of our intention to sell the goods.

The Act states that if any money is owed we must wait at least 3 months to sell the goods from the date of the second notice, and if the client is not any longer at their proper address we can still go ahead with the sale after we have taken reasonable (unsuccessful) steps to find them.

I wonder sometimes if it is not just as easy and a lot less hassle just to write to the client, tell them the date of order, date of agreed collection, and tell them of a time scale to collect, and if not collected just take their work out of the frame and re use it, at least you'd get a return on it. As the Torts Act does not specifically state about photos, certificates, etc. to me this is the best option available to us.

I would be intersted to hear other framers (around the world) views on this subject and how they deal with it. I know of one framer who lists on his invoice that goods not collected with 60 days will be sold to defray costs, bit short of the 3 months that this act states, but then again he is based in Scotland where this Act does not cover, the Act only covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so in Scotland its easier and quicker to get your money back by the looks of it.

Steven
SquareFrames