Unclaimed work

[Kkastorf]

We have several pieces here, finished, that have not been claimed for two years or more. We have made and documented follow-up calls and letters. For all of these we had at least a deposit and one is fully paid.

Can we resell them, legally? Thanks, Karl.

[Emibub]

Hi, you need to check with your state laws. Every state is different. Hope that helps.

[Bill Henry-]

I have been faced with similar situations. Whether my approach is legal or not has not been tested, but …

My suggestion would be to send each a registered letter with a return receipt telling them that by such and such a date their work will be considered abandoned and that you will dispose of their art should they not be claimed by that date. In the letter, include the date and time and method of each attempt you had previously made to contact them. Keep a copy of the letter.

If they refuse to sign for the registered letter, it will be returned to you. Keep it.

If they do sign for it, keep the receipt.

In 2020, if they finally decide they want it and threaten to take you to court (they won’t) you have proof that you’ve made a good faith effort to do everything you could.

[DVieau2]

I've had very good luck with a private investigator who also works out of a law office. The first thing the deadbeat gets is a letter on law office stationery. You will give up 25% to 50% but thats better than nothing.

I've collected on unclaimed Custom Frames and photofinishing.

Doug

[Bogframe]

The policy at most of the shops I've worked at has been ¨We are not responsible for items left more than thirty days after pick-up date¨. This little statment at the bottom of your order form should limit your responsibility. A lot of shops will make at least three eforts to contact the client, but if phone calls and postcards fail, the chances are that they are not comming back. I say give them a year, and if they don´t respond to phone calls and postcards, sell their stuff....you need the space.

[Baer Charlton]

I worked at a store that sold the stuff at the end of 1 year.
A customer came back and sued for what the had sold her piece for...and if she had asked the details, she probably would have never sued....

The guy took the stuff from the previous year and "donated" it to a fund raiser for Cancer... silent auction....

Her's had gone for the grand sum of $35.

Point is, we cleared out the space, and got kudos in heaven for helping the cause. The COGs are just COGs.

[OzDave]

A guy was working through an old nieghbourhood he lived in 20 years earlier. He walked past an old cobbler shop with the owner leaning up against the doorway. When he saw the cobbler he remembered that he had left a pair of shoes in the shop 20 years back. He went up to the owner and said, I dont know if you remember but 20 years ago I left a pair of shoes in this shop to be fixed.
The cobbler said one sec, and he entered the shop. A Minute later the cobbler emerged from the shop and said to the guy. They're almost ready can you come back next Thursday.
:D :D :D

As for advise. We pull them apart, use what we can and then place the art up on a top shelf. In a few years we might clear it. Some stuff has been up there for 4 years now. ( Luckly we dont get that much of it. )

[MacGyver]

The cobbler sure is a speedy worker.. :D :D Ive got tons of those arts and neddleworks up my shelf myself.

[Ron Eggers]

In all likelihood, you could probably get away with disposing of the property in whatever way you choose, after whatever time period you choose.

You could probably also get away with driving around with no auto insurance.

[johnny]

Our record for someone coming in to pick up is 7 years. After that gem it goes down to 3 years and that person was very irate to see her artwork for sale on the wall. Internally we say that we're going to wait 1 full year on things, but usually it's closer to two. Some people still get irate, so just be prepared for it. People who will stick you with storing something for extended periods are unreasonable to begin with. Once some folks find out you ditched it, it will become their most emotionally prized possession.

Then there was the guy who came back 3 years after he picked up and wanted to know where his artwork was. I went into the files and showed him his charge receipt from his deposit, then another from his pick-up. He went to the police to accuse me of theft. They must have told him to go away.

[Ron Eggers]

I keep pretty good records. I have either a paper copy or a computer image (with backups) of every framing order I've ever written.

(I suspect those paper orders may burn better than L-J samples.)

I have had a few people, usually guys, come in to pick up an order and I have no record of either them OR their order.

It doesn't take too many calls for me to discover where they REALLY left the order.

When I moved (not the last time, but the time before that) I executed kind of a purge of a bunch of old stuff that had been laying around for more than a few years. I did have one customer come looking for a six-year-old order. I had to tell her it was gone, but I didn't have the heart to tell her it had been only gone about a week.

I didn't have the sheriff's auction (preceded by at least three public notices) that's required in our market. I had a salvage operation followed by a dumpster auction.

[JRB]

Our work orders clearly state that we charge a storage fee if the work is not picked up in thirty days after notification. We consider notification to be the last resort, registered letter. All our work orders get dated and signed by our customers. We also charge a fifty percent deposit. We stand on our heads and gargle peanut butter. It does not matter what you do, you will always get stuck with at least some, unclaimed work.

People get old, they forget, they get put in "The home", they get sick, they decide they do not want the thing anymore. Whatever, it is all part of our business.

The smartest thing you can do is hang on to their property as long as you can, sometimes they surprise you.

In California, all abandoned property becomes the property of the state. I can not remember the time period, I think it is three years.

John

[Baer Charlton]

Originally posted by JRB:
In California, all abandoned property becomes the property of the state.
John Let's see..... Disneyland is in California.

Disneyland (or Walt) invented the "E" ticket ride...

We now have E-mail, E-junk, E-commerce...E-tc.

Would all this "abandon" junk be sold at an E-state sale? :D

[Rock]

I have on my receipts to pickup in 30 days or it will be sold. After about 3 months, I send a registered letter. If I get it back, I still sell it the work. They sign the receipt when they bring the work in, so they know the policy. I have sold stuff numerous times and always keep my registered letter as proof of me notifying them, plus with the signed receipt, I never have had a problem in 23 years.

Rock

[Ron Eggers]

Rock, the problems never arise until 24 years have passed. Then they all happen at once.

Has anybody else noticed that most of the abandoned work is not stuff that anybody else wants?

****, even the person who brought it in doesn't want it.

My wife will sometimes leave dry-cleaning at the cleaners (usually something we hardly ever need, like my suit) for months and months. I always say, "I hope you used your maiden name when you took it in!"

And she'll say, "Of course. We weren't married yet when I took it in."

We're a really cute couple.

[Gumbogirl]

After working in several shops, I have seen the "take no prisoners" attitude towards unclaimed work, where the mngr. swiftly rid us of unclaimed work after calls, two letters, and done. I think he gave them a year.

I've also seen owners/mngrs. mostly fall into the other category- no matter how much they threaten, they really just don't feel comfortable getting rid of it. Sort of bowing to the great law of Murphy, just knowing in their heart that the day they throw it out, the owner will magically appear and sue them or something.

Even with a stated policy signed by the customer, it seems shops are one extreme or the other.

I would say for every twenty we've ditched ( and reclaimed the framing materials) one has come back and fussed. Never sued, so it must not have been that important.

[Rock]

Yep, I know what you mean Ron. I'll keep looking over my shoulder on that one. By the way, you never did answer my e-mail to you from a week or so ago. Don't know if you got it or not. I may not be on here much for the next few days. My mother passed away today and there is much to do. I guess we are never prepared for such things. I know I wasn't. :(

Rock

[Ron Eggers]

I'm so sorry, Rock.

When things settle down some, send me a private message through The Grumble or a regular email with TG or Grumble in the subject line.

Sometimes my email system will send email to the junk mail folder if it doesn't recognize the sender or the subject.

[Lauren Tanzio]

I call all my delinquent customers once or twice a month for about 3-6 months and then they get a letter. I make one more phone call if there's still no response, and, using my best doom and gloom voice, let the customer know that I'm not responsible for items left over 60 days. If they still don't get the hint after 8 months, I salvage what I can and decide whether to store, donate, or trash the piece. I use the same technique on my fiance and all of his junk.

[J Phipps TN]

What if they pay a deposit. Do you refund thier money or do you keep it. And if it's payed in full what do you do?
Jennifer

[Lauren Tanzio]

Every order in my shop is prepaid, so, fortunately, almost everything is picked up within 3 months. If they come back years later and their work is gone, then I'd gladly give them a refund if they have a sales reciept or claim ticket so I can track the order.

[Bill Henry-]

What if they pay a deposit. Do you refund their money or do you keep it. And if it's payed in full what do you do?Keep the money! They have paid you for your time and materials to produce a frame that they ordered.

To my mind, it would be the same as if they came in to pick up their order, decided they didn’t like their choices, demand that you remove the art, and return it to them unframed. Most states have a “mechanics’ lein”-type dealie e.g. if you order new brakes for your car, then after they are installed, you change your mind. You cannot either demand that they reinstall the old brakes, nor can you pick up your car without paying the mechanic once he’s done the work.

Keep the money!