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A serious real life situation where i need advice

#65
PastorofMuppets said:
Hello,

Here is the situation which I will explain accurately without changing anything into my favor. I need your opinions here, according to the law.

A year and a half ago a band that I was a part of broke up. We were working musicians playing covers. The band ended and parted ways in March of 2007.

The lead singer in the band furnished the PA system with all the mics stands speakers etc. The rehearsals always took place in my garage, and when the band broke up two microphones were left there. The lead singer who I believed owned all the equipment pretty much left the state and had gotten divorced and was quite difficult to contact.

I tried multiple time to contact him and tell him that I have his microphones at my house. I tried phone,email, voicemail, texting, myspace, all to know avail. I know other people who talked to him. I know his numbers didnt change. He just didnt return my calls or seem interested at all. So I gave up trying to contact him.

Fast forward today. A music store, where I know every employee, contacted me and tells me that they heard that I was planning on returning the mics to them because they were not paid for and they needed to close his account.

I do not feel like I should have to return these mics to this store. I know these people quite well and IMO they will just write off the price of the mics anyway and throw them in a box somewhere. They can not be sold as new and they can not be returned to the manufacturer. In the end they will never benefit anyone if they are returned. Plus its been a year and a half and I feel like whats been in my possession for that long should become mine. My garage is not a storage facility for deadbeats gear.

I on the other hand actually use them for myself. If they would have asked me a year and a half ago for them, I would have returned them no questions asked. I have a good moral compass and would not want to be labeled a thief.

I replied to the email by saying that, the mics have been mine for 1.5 years and no one ever tried to get them. I said possession is 9/10ths of the law and I would be keeping them.

here is his reply after I said that:



Wes-

Here's the deal... the mics have NOT been paid for. We made a deal with Easy to make payments on the mics until they were paid off. He didn't hold up his end of the deal so we need the microphones back as soon as possible. This is a big deal to the store- that is why I'm contacting you now about it. We've tried to get the money from Easy countless times to no avail. Our last resort is to get the goods back in our possession where they belong. You can either cooperate with us and return them to the rightful owner, or you can explain the situation to the authorities when they arrive at your door.

Thank you
Bryan



I would like to know if there is any chance that I could get into any legal trouble over this. As far as I am concerned, they have no arrangement with me, nor do I have any contract for repayment. If they want to recoup their money they need to pursue legal action against the former singer "easy".

Please share your opinions
I appreciate it

sorry for the length of this letter but it was important to get all the facts straight here.

others have suggested that they could report the mics as stolen by easy and that they know where they are and i will in a sense be in possession of stolen property.

I content that the first action should be to sue Easy for the money he owes them, and to go about recouping their loss that way.


please give me your thoughts
Click to expand...

"possession is 9/10ths of the law."

That statement will not save you in a court of law because one, you have no receipt showing that you paid for the mics in full and two, no one paid for them.

IMHO, you were just as wrong as "Easy" by keeping the mics knowing that they were not paid for. What you should have done was give them back to the store 1 1/2 years ago or better yet, you should not have taken them into your possession at all. Now you face legal issues that will be virtually impossible to win.

My advice to you is to let the store have the mics back so you can have a piece of mind. Saving up for more mics is better than serving time in jail. It's not worth the risk. Let them go!!
 
#67
Smallmouth_Bass said:
I don't think the police will get involved and I agree that it is probably a civil matter. The store's deal is with "Easy" and not you. How do you really know that they belong (or should belong) to the store? Do they have serial numbers on the mics and a receipt? And how do you really know that "Easy" didn't pay for them. Maybe he did and they've heard he skipped town without his stuff and are trying to claim it. Unlikely, but you never know...

In any case, you made a reasonable offer to pay for the mics. You are also allowing them to pick them up which is reasonable as well. If they want delivery, you can tell them to make arrangements with "Easy" and you'll be happy to give them to him.

They are just making empty threats to call the police. What's the worst that can happen? Even if the police do show up (which I doubt they will), you can explain that a former band member left some equipment at your house and that you would be happy to return it to him. You have no relationship or obligation to the store and the burden of proof is on them to show they have claim on the items.
Click to expand...


+1

JYS
 
#69
I think it is reasonable for the store to arrange and come to get them (cops, themselves, or other recovery people) and to show serial numbers. What if the particular mics you have are not the ones he bought from there? Probably are if they are the correct model.

In this case until they can show that those particular mics were bought from the store, they should remain in possession of the OP unless the singer asks for them. If the store has serial numbers that is good enough to be certain.

It is their burden to recover the mics, not yours to return them. I normally would mail them to the store with a prepaid label however in this case where they have been pricks, I would only do that if it was a USPS prepaid box and you could leave it for the mailman outside your door. I would not drive to the post office, UPS, or Fedex to send it out. Not only is it gas money but your precious time.

At this point I would stop using the mics and plan on them being recovered however I would not lift a finger to help them. They better send a prepaid self-sealing box with packing material or else they are going to get the mics in an envelope or rattling around in a box.

At the same time your reputation is already done with the store so I hope you have other places to go. If you had given them no hassle And made aome fanfare about that you might have set yourself up for some good karma there at the store in the future.
 
#71
my latest reply, i wish i would have added in the serial number verification stuff, but i didnt.

here it is


Hi Russ,

I am sorry but I can't deliver the mics to the store. My schedule is very full and it would be a big stress for me. I never wanted to be caught up in this situation in the first place and do not wish to have it taken any further, and I am more than willing to return everything. You can come and pick them up on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday between 12 noon and 3 PM. I will gladly hand the items over to you, or any other R&R employee at my home during that time. I am sorry this situation got out of hand, I just didn't appreciate being threatened. I hope this all works out and can be brought to a end soon.

My address is:

*************
**********

Let me know which day works best for you.


Thanks

Wes
 
#73
Smallmouth_Bass said:
If and when you do return the mics; I would request to see a copy (or original) of the invoice with Easy's signature. I would also request some sort of receipt or something in writing to acknowledge that the items have been returned.

Who knows, Easy might show up at your doorstep in two weeks and demand that you return his mics to him!
Click to expand...

And when this happens and Easy really doesn't want to go to the store as he owes them some more money, you will have to be prepared to take the consequences of his fury too...

Dude, this is not a funny situation you end up in here, you should have put the mics in a box and sent it to some relative to Easy or something ...

D.Don
 
#76
"Possession is 9/10ths of the law"????? Give me a break!!! First off, not only is possession NOT 9/10ths of the law, they should send a cop to your house to slap you around for being a wiseguy. You really think that just because it's a music store with a lot of equipment that they don't need their $230 worth of mics? Do you need YOUR stuff? Can I just come and take $200 worth of your stuff because I arbitrarily decide that YOU don't need it?

Sorry, but I'm totally on the store's side. Had you started out a little more humble and a little less arrogant, maybe I'd have sided with you when you tried to make a deal and they refused. Is it your responsibility to return the mics? Not really, but you were so arrogant about it that you put their backs up against the wall and forced them to be nasty about it. You seem like a decent guy from your other posts, but you handled this situation extremely poorly.
 
#79
So, your singer inadvertently leaves two mics at your house and then a music store contacts you and says they "heard" that you were planning on returning the mics to them, claiming they were not paid for??? First off, your singer left his gear at your house. If the music store finds it necessary to send a repo guy over to collect, make sure that they have all the necessary documentation before you hand over your singer's gear. I would probably contact the police and explain this situation and find out what documentation you should expect from the store and/or their repo guy. If that happens, get copies of everything so that when the singer comes looking for his crap, you can show him that the music store did, indeed, come and collect it. Don't get me wrong. If your singer did not pay for the gear, I think the store has a right to try and collect it. Not sure, but it seems reasonable. Just make sure they prove it to CYA.
 
#80
Having read the posts, let me suggest this.

If "Easy" hasn't been in contact, how do you know that the retailer in question is telling the truth. For all you know, Easy paid his account and has the documentation to prove it. Maybe the mics really belong to him.

Likewise, the retailer can't prove that those mics belong to them (unless they are serial numbered).

They won't pursue this court... the cost of the lawyers are more than the mics.

Good luck to you.
 

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