Any Lawyers, quick question for essya please help!!!!!

10 replies

dabihp · 19/12/2006 20:30

Do you have a legal right to return lost property?

or are finders really keepers?

cheers

OP posts:

SpicymulledSheraz · 19/12/2006 20:48

If you have taken reasonable steps to find the owner/ or it would be impossible to find the owner then you can keep the property without attracting liability for theft. Eg if you found a driving licence youu cannot keep it. If you find a £5 note on the floor at a football match, you would be unable to trace the owner so can keep it.

Original poster

dabihp · 19/12/2006 20:50

what about...

where somebody has offered people a reward to find an item, and somebody finds something similar buts requests information about it, and then finds out that it is the same item, and then requests more money for returning it, is he legally bound to give the item back or.. could he just disgard it?

OP posts:

SpicymulledSheraz · 19/12/2006 20:53

That would be bordering on blackmail?

mummydear · 19/12/2006 20:59

You could use the definition of theft

The Theft Act 1968 Section1 (1) states that a person is guilty of theft if: he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

And in this case the person knows who the owner is , knows that he doen't have a legal right to it therefore has dishnoestly appropraited but then on the other hand does he have the intention of permanemtly depriving the other of it ?

mummydear · 19/12/2006 21:05

what about this

Original poster

dabihp · 19/12/2006 21:05

dp says big thank you to 'mummydear' that will do very nicely!!

I love mumsnet, can get answers to all questions!

OP posts:

SpicymulledSheraz · 19/12/2006 21:05

Tricky one isn't it? If the person knows that the property belongs to the other they should return it. If they retain and ask for more money is it balckmail or similar?

mummydear · 19/12/2006 21:07

Hope he gets it finsihed OK ?

Whats it for ?

Original poster

dabihp · 19/12/2006 21:12

first year law essay, somehtign abotu a usb being lost and someone seeing offer and returning it, but the postal van being done over, so someone else finds it and sends it back but it gets lost in post, so someone else finds it and trys to return it b4 seeign offer, then sees offer and asks for more money.. soemthign like that. he needed to cite cases for wider reading

OP posts:

mummydear · 19/12/2006 21:14

Blimey , good luck !

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