To not want to keep storing expensive item when it has been sold?

Yep. This whole thing stinks, OP.

You need to look up the Legal responsibility for distance selling - it’s quite a long time that you are obliged to hold a returned parcel - as in years not months. If you refuse to refund/put it back for sale, it could be you that’s facing repercussions. You might just have to make a nuisance of yourself reminding him about collecting it!

It is totally about contract law - once she knows her legal rights and whether the items is genuine, she and lawyer can calculate what is an appropriate refund. Whether we were talking about a £15 item or a £8k item, a small item that fits in a drawer or a car that is occupying a driveway, it is about whether the contract is complete, who has title for the goods, whether - should title be with the other party - she is under any obligation to continue to store his goods indefinitely, and if not (she won’t be) whether the title for said goods transfer to her over time. She has done nothing ‘morally’ wrong. The other party is at fault for failing to address the issue of taking possession of his goods once they failed to pass through customs.

Taking a day off work in order to sell for £10K is a no brainer to me!

You might do well to ask under Legal, as this is a contract law issue.

I'd keep it simple.
Say it needs to be collected by x date or monies will be returned minus reasonable costs incurred and the transaction will be considered cancelled.
Then if not adhered to, relist and sell to a more reliable buyer.

Well no, because it’s the buyer hasn’t collected it, nor asked for a refund.

It may well be he’s v rich and now doesn’t really want it, but what I would do is send him a email saying he has two weeks to collect before you start charging for storage which will then have to be settled before you send it. Double check w CAB but seems reasonable to me. After a certain point ownership might return to you, but you probably need a solicitors opinion on when that is.

How is this laundering money? I mean, its obvious if £8000 has been spent on an item and then returned. Whoever is checking peoples accounts for signs of money laundering are not idiots.

I didn't think laundering money is as easy as buying stuff and getting a refund.

is it fully insured as it isn’t actually yours?

Another possibility .. friend was selling, surprisingly, £8000 bracelet a while back. Someone was supposed to come to view it but didn’t turn up. Three weeks later she was burgled and this and other items were stolen.

police said this was not uncommon, we’re pretty sure they knew who it was

Serial numbers can be faked and made to look exactly the same wear and markings as the original. Just get it checked out by a professional and go from there. It is not covered by your insurance as it is not yours. You can contact customs and excise and confirm the validity of the paperwork attached with the return.

This. ^ Give him his money back @Wheredoistandwiththis and tell him you are relisting the item, and make sure you block him so he can't buy it again. This is ridiculous. Whether it's a wardrobe, or a fancy watch, this man is still making it YOUR responsibility to look after the item HE has bought from you. It doesn't matter if it's not taking up much space. It's annoying! It's putting you on edge all the time, making you afraid to spend the money, and making you live in limbo.

'He is 'a very busy man with a high end job' and this is the reason he hasn't sorted it yet' is tripe. Sorry OP, I'm not being rude to you. It's him I'm getting at.... There isn't a single soul in the world who 'would not have had time' to sort this. He just CBA for some reason.

Refund the money. You don't need to wait to re-sell it, you have the £8,000 he gave you. Give it back to him. You won't be losing anything. You will have the item still and he will have the money back. You have had the item for 6 months. For some reason he isn't bothered about getting it. Like some other posters, I also suspect money laundering.

Saw this on citizens advice

You fail to collect goods you left with a trader
When you have a contract with the trader (even a small ticket can be a contract if it explains any terms) it should tell you what will happen and when it will happen if you don’t collect the goods. This notice or contract has to be reasonable and you must be given a 'reasonable time' to collect the goods before they are disposed of.
If there is nothing written down to form a contract between you and the trader then they would still be expected to make reasonable efforts to trace you. You should be told by the trader that the goods need to be collected and what will happen and when if you don’t collect them.
When you fail to collect the goods, after being informed that you have to, the trader can deal with them as if they have been abandoned. This means that the trader can let the police know the goods have been abandoned. The trader may be told to deliver the goods to the rightful owner or the police may get in touch with you to collect your goods.
The police have a responsibility to uplift abandoned goods and keep them for two months. If no one gets in touch with the police during this time, at the end of two months, they can:

• return the goods to the finder, for example the trader who reported that they had been abandoned
• dispose of them at a sale.

Tell him He needs to fly over and come and get it himself or the above happens

Surely his address was on the parcel that was sent….!

Exactly what I was coming on here to say - I'd be really concerned that this is money laundering. Assuming that you sold this as a private seller then you should report this to the HMRC fraud hotline as an unusual transaction that might conceivably be money laundering - you can do it here https://www.gov.uk/report-tax-fraud. DO NOT tell the purchaser in any way that you are going to report as this is known as "tipping off" and is an offence in itself. Assisting in a money laundering transaction can land you in hot water so a belt and brace approach is to report it - after all if there is no issue then HMRC will just close the file.

Once you have done this ask MN to delete the thread.

ETA to say please please do not refund the money as if it is money laundering that is what they want.

You make an excellent point as the return of the money IS what the 'buyer' is waiting for. No matter that he is 'a very busy man in an important job' lol.

I’m not even sure you can insure an item that you don’t actually own. As you’ve found the guys details, I think I would phone him and tell him you want it sorted. I expect customs needed an invoice sent with it.

It's not a large bulky item. Just stop contacting him. With any luck he will never collect it, and you'll end up with the jewellery and the money. He might be so rich, it's no big deal. Just keep quiet! 🤐

I do agree with this and think it could be money laundering. However..... if it IS money laundering, why would he just give away £8000 of 'laundered' money? Many people trying to launder money would invest it in a business, or buy high end/costly items with it. But this guy doesn't have the item. So he's £8,000 down at this point ...

Just to throw a spanner in the works … as you’ve sold it, I doubt it will be covered under your house insurance as it’s now not actually yours? Just something to think about and look in to.

It’s an odd situation but I can’t understand how it could work as a scam. If the buyer had sent back a fake he would surely have asked for his money back long ago.
I think the item does need to be stored securely, with adequate insurance cover, at an official location.
The buyer could be given reasonable warning, 7-21 days of this happening.
He can be informed of the location, and advised that the storage fee has been paid until X date. That would need to be paid by OP.
If he fails to pay the storage charge or collect then the storage company will eventually sell it to cover their fees.
I don’t think there should be any mention of a refund. The item is sold. OP has made/ continues to make it available. It belongs to the buyer. OP has not been reckless with his property.

But the OP doesn't want to keep it. She wants the 'very busy man with the terribly important job' to come and get his bloomin' item! 😬

As I said, NO-ONE is sooo busy that they couldn't have arranged for this item to be collected again. He just CBA for some reason, and it's very odd.

@SweetBirdsong or if he is that important he will have staff who can arrange the pick up for him.

I'd do this. Stick it up in the loft and await further communication. If none comes after a year...you're up 8 grand.

If the item was returned to sender having been opened by customs then the buyers address should be on the label. (Waiting for the OP to say its been removed before being returned at which point I will call this as BS.)