Miffed about how they want me to give back lap top

We used pedal me to collect a laptop and bits from a staff member who had left. It's a London bike courier. Give them the details and tell them to book it.

Work laptops are generally configured to facilitate access to the work's remote data systems. People have passwords and all sorts saved on them. It's generally good practice to get laptops back and wipe them before disposing of them.

I had something similar when I worked briefly for a horribly disorganised charity.

They sent me by courier a laptop and a desktop computer with a massive screen without first letting me know that it would be delivered that day or asking me if I wanted the desktop as well and had space for it (I didn't as I was in a small flat at the time, the laptop would have been all I needed).

I told them after a month that I was leaving as the company and job were just a complete mess.

They then said they would send a courier to pick up the equipment.

Two weeks after I had finished with them, nothing had been organised and I had to email them several times to remind them that I wanted the equipment gone.

Then they said it would just be easier for me to deliver the equipment in one of their charity shops. The nearest one would have been an hour away and I had no car so could not easily bring the laptop and desktop computer either.

That made me so angry.

I sent them an email stating that this was unacceptable and that I expected them to arrange a courier to pick up the equipment at my house within a week at a time convenient for me.

And that's exactly what they did.

With time-wasters like that, you just need to make it clear what you expect them to do and not back down.

I'm curious....is this a magical gold plated laptop or something?
Why on earth are they that fussed to get it back?

My DH got given an old laptop recently - a really decent one. It's because they realised the resale value of the laptop was about £10. A used laptop probably isn't even worth the cost of a courier.

Colleague can pick it up, or company can arrange a courier.

Or they can pay you a freelance consultancy rate for 4 hours work plus travel expenses- suspect a courier will be cheaper.

OP, let them come get it back from you.

@ZoeyBartlett thank, that link is everything weird. I wonder if Maria has sent the laptop back yet.

Tell them to email you a pre-paid label. I did this when a fab friend offered to pick up an entire set of textbooks that were going free at her dc’s school a 5 hour drive away!

They can courier it from yours to that persons hotel or from yours to the conference.

I work for a big charity that has people working across the UK and we send laptops by courier all the time, and it really isn't that expensive! Tell your company that you are not available to travel but will package the laptop ready to be collected by their courier to be shipped to your colleague's hotel/conference venue.

No no, they arrange the courier - if it goes missing it’s on them. Bloody cheek expecting you to do a 3 hour unpaid round trip!

I was thinking the exact same 😂

Hang on to it unless they send someone to collect it. Presuming you've been paid your final wage? I had a similar, albeit marginally less hassling, situation with a work laptop and told them to come and collect it from me. Surprise surprise, two years later I still have the bloody laptop...

In what way would sending a parcel from one side of London to the other incur any kind of export duty?
As PPs have said, the company should be arranging and paying for the courier, so OP wouldn't even be paying so much as the VAT on the service.

Utterly bizarre. They can afford to send staff to London regularly for meetings but not sending one laptop through a courier? It's clearly not urgent so could be put on a bloody cargo ship!
Tell the person you're unable to meet them anywhere other than X location at X time. (Choose a cafe right near your house or work)
Then if they can't get it then they need a courier if they're so desperate for it back. Ludicrous.
I'd say if this carries on just block them all. It's their property and their responsibility.

Why are you even consider pandering to them. Stuff em. Tell them they can come to you, when it's convenient for you, and pick it up. Otherwise, it's tough.

You don't work for them anymore...

Not relevant in this case. In that case the ex-employee wanted to keep the laptop.

In this case the OP just doesn't want the hassle of returning it and wants her toxic ex-employer to get off their bottoms and collect it from her.

Presumably that was to their usual workplace.

It's a bit different when you work overseas.

Not if she sends it to a UK address for the collegue to return in person she won't.

Stop advising the OP to send it by courier or Royal Mail, she will have to pay tax and export duty on it which will cost her £££.

I would reply, " Sorry I wasn't expecting to travel 1.5 hours and have to pay for transport. You are welcome to collect from my home at an agreed time, or use a courier? Let me know."

State that the location is 90 minutes from your house so you cannot drop it off due to prior commitments however if they arrange a courier pick to the conference venue/hotel you can print off the label and drop it at a collection point.

As others have said, they should be organising the courier and paying for it, including any customs charges. The only thing you should really be doing is boxing it up and being available for its collection.

Eh? Royal Mail special delivery will send it securely for £30 at most depending on the level of insurance and speed of service required. Just tell them to do that, they'll collect from your house. If there's no national secrets on the laptop it doesn't need any more thought.

That's wonderful! I wonder if she got slapped with the full £80k costs?

You would hope that training to work in the legal profession would have taught her something — but apparently not...