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Unexpectedly received Droid Inc??

db9golf

Newbie
Jun 7, 2010
10
0
Hey everyone so I am in kind of a weird situation right now. Went in to a verizon store in june and signed up for a new account and paid for a droid incredible, expecting it to arrive in a couple weeks. I was billed $260 or so dollars. A few days later I heard about further shipping delays, went into the same store and cancelled the order, walking out with a regular droid in hand. I also was billed $260 dollars for that phone. 5 minutes ago I get a knock on the door from fedex and opened the box to find a brand new droid incredible:thinking: My question is this, what should I do now? I was billed the 2 year contract price on both phones, am I obligated to bring back the incredible? I am already planning on returning the regular droid next week to get the droid x.

Thanks for any input.
 
Legally, if it's delivered to you, it's yours. Ethically, you should contact Verizon and arrange to return it.
In what universe is this fantasy law exactly? If something is delivered to you and the legal chain of ownership determines that you are indeed the legal owner and intended recipient, then yes it is yours. If something is delivered to you by mistake, or if there is a billing error, you are not entitled to keep the product and/or a discount because a mistake was made. if you do not correct the error and the company notices, you could technically be on the hook for theft. whether it is worth it to the company to pursue it is an entirely different issue.
 
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In what universe is this fantasy law exactly?

The UK, for one:

Under the Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971, (as amended) it is an offence to demand payment for goods known to be unsolicited, in other words, they were sent to a person without any prior request made by them or on their behalf.

Someone who receives goods in these circumstances may retain them as an unconditional gift, and does not have to pay for or return any unwanted goods. Anyone who receives a demand for payment for unsolicited goods should report the matter to their local Trading Standards Department.

Similarly in the US, however with complications due to disparity between different States:

Unsolicited goods At COMMON LAW, the recipient of unsolicited goods in the mail was not required to accept or to return them, but if the goods were used, a contract and a concomitant obligation to pay for them were created. Today, in order to offer protection against unwanted solicitations, some state statutes have modified the common-law rule by providing that where unsolicited merchandise is received as part of an offer to sell, the goods are an out-right gift. The recipient may use the goods and is under no duty to return or pay for them unless he or she knows that they were sent by mistake.

Goods which are received after being cancelled are unsolicited.
 
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But what about the last sentence of the US law?

The recipient may use the goods and is under no duty to return or pay for them unless he or she knows that they were sent by mistake.

He knows they were sent by mistake so it no longer applies. I'm no lawyer but it seems like he could still be responsible for it. I'm not saying send it back because it really was there fault, you didn't do anything, but I wouldn't be 100% sure that it's ok to keep. Verizon is such a huge company that I doubt they would even notice so it's up to you what you want to do with it. If you're happy with the Droid X then why not make a friend's day and give it to them?
 
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But what about the last sentence of the US law?

Note the "mistake" clause only applies to use, not ownership, although personally I find the distinction made in law rather odd (why would one be allowed to keep goods but never use them?). My interpretation is that one would be allowed (under First Sale doctrine) to sell-on unsolicited goods, but never actually use them oneself (although apparently one could keep them stored away indefinitely).

Presumably the lawmakers had some special case scenario in mind, although I cannot imagine what it could possibly be. IANAL, so my interpretation of law is limited.

However, it would certainly be morally wrong for the recipient to either keep or sell-on unsolicited goods which were sent as a genuine mistake, regardless of whether or not the law allows this.

Unsolicited goods sent purely to bait customers is a different matter, since the actions of the seller are unconscionable (it's the equivalent of spam), and therefore it is right in principle that they should suffer the loss of those goods, both as a disincentive to continue such behaviour, and as a form of compensation to the victim. AFAICT this does not really apply in the OP's case.

I have actually been a victim of baiting using unsolicited goods, from an infamous company called Silkies (or HCI Direct Inc.), however I simply threw the goods away since, as a man, I have little use for hosiery (and was single at the time).
 
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Good man!

Although yeah I would wait and get a Droid X or Droid Shadow ;)

They are two separate phones right? (pretty sure they are hahaha, haven't even googled it!)

No the shadow was the codename for the X. Its the same thing.

To the OP: I would have done the same thing and hopefully they compensated you a little for your trouble.
 
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The UK, for one:



Similarly in the US, however with complications due to disparity between different States:



Goods which are received after being cancelled are unsolicited.
As others have pointed out your example of US law specifically mentions the knowledge of an error. Also these laws are written to reflect the intentional delivery of a good in an unrequested manner. they are not intended to give recipients free access to shipping mistakes (eg. if your neighbor ordered something and it is delivered to you, you have no legal right to keep the item).
 
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