Storage Auctions

The Storage Locker => General Storage Auction Talk => Topic started by: Travis on December 06, 2013, 06:50:42 PM

Title: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Travis on December 06, 2013, 06:50:42 PM
Is it legal to keep furniture, appliances, electronics or equipment if it's owned by a rent to own company?

Does a storage lien supersede the rental company's ownership?

Does anyone actually call the rental company to find out if the property has been paid for?

Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Alias300 on December 06, 2013, 09:02:40 PM
Well, you wouldn't know.   It might have been paid for.  Why would he put it in storage if it was rented. Just return it.
Plausible deniability.

And the renter would have a collections  against him.   He'll have to pay for it.  They aren't going to report it stolen or come looking for it.

Personally I would never had thought to call nor would I now.  I'd assume it was paid for.  Next you'll be calling library's to see if books are over due or were bought at book sale! 
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Travis on December 06, 2013, 09:18:05 PM
Wasn't there something in the news a few weeks ago about Aarons Rental tracking people through their computers...also something about them having the capability to spy on customers through their web cams?
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Alias300 on December 06, 2013, 09:34:51 PM
Yeah.  But that was an extreme case.  And I think it would be easier and cheaper to send person to collections rather than track and get police involved.....which they wouldn't unless there was a police report...then someone would have to lie to police.....

Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: alloro on December 07, 2013, 11:53:52 AM
Legally the items are owned by the rent to own company (or the loan underwriters) until they're fully paid for. By keeping them you are in possession of stolen property, assuming the payments are not up to date. This is no different than finding a car in a unit that still has an outstanding loan on it.
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: HomeGrownPromos on December 07, 2013, 12:07:03 PM
However, with rented furniture, it's impossible to KNOW that you're in possession of stolen property. Aaron's typically marks their owned property with "Aaron's" and a store number somewhere on the furniture. It may be on the back of a TV or under the tabletop. But it's not like they remove it when it's paid up. If you were to call a store and say, "Hey I've got this couch with Aaron's on it...etc." They wouldn't have any info to give you if you don't have the customer info.. and that's even if you're calling the right store.

You can't be expected to track down which Aaron's store and the customer info, etc. Aaron's will be focused on the person who bought the furniture in the first place to retrieve their money. If it comes down to Aaron's tracking it to the storage facility, I don't know if the facility would give up your info. Depends on the management I guess..

To track furniture to that level takes way too much manpower and costs way too much to even recoup their money from that piece. I wouldn't worry about it. Consider it laundered furniture.
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Alias300 on December 07, 2013, 12:46:36 PM
Consider it laundered furniture.

"So what are you in for?"
"Laundering"
"Money laundering?  Man, thats heavy"
"No. Furniture laundering"
"Like, your one of those guys in the van that clean furniture?  Good money"
"No!  I take stolen furniture and make it look like its not"
"Is there money in that?"
"No......so tell me more about these vans........."
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: HomeGrownPromos on December 08, 2013, 07:34:29 AM
"So what are you in for?"
"Laundering"
"Money laundering?  Man, thats heavy"
"No. Furniture laundering"
"Like, your one of those guys in the van that clean furniture?  Good money"
"No!  I take stolen furniture and make it look like its not"
"Is there money in that?"
"No......so tell me more about these vans........."

What is that from? Sounds like a movie quote..
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Alias300 on December 08, 2013, 02:16:37 PM
Nope.    Just my artistic genius showing thru.........    :-*
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: HomeGrownPromos on December 09, 2013, 12:08:00 PM
I may have to use that if I ever write a movie script again!
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Cobia on December 11, 2013, 08:11:20 PM
Is it legal to keep furniture, appliances, electronics or equipment if it's owned by a rent to own company?

Does a storage lien supersede the rental company's ownership?

Does anyone actually call the rental company to find out if the property has been paid for?

Are you talking about the stuff that gets sent straight to the auction house?  :)
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Travis on December 12, 2013, 12:23:01 AM
Oh, the irony. Is anyone else seeing Rent-A-Center ads on this page?  :D
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: parksleyman on December 12, 2013, 04:41:23 AM
What does everykone do with the dish network  and direct tv boxes?  around here you can't even donate them. 
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: HomeGrownPromos on December 12, 2013, 07:10:32 AM
I call the company and see if it's locked. If not, up on amazon it goes! Otherwise, to the scrap yard it goes!
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Liandra on December 15, 2013, 03:55:17 PM
What about a hand-truck from uhaul?  It had been painted, but the orange is showing.
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: MovieMan on December 15, 2013, 09:27:51 PM
What about a hand-truck from uhaul?  It had been painted, but the orange is showing.

I've known people who have ground down the letters in the loading base, and orange IS a popular color.
A heat-gun takes off the vinyl instructions.

U-Haul used to give a $25 credit (for buying packing tape, locks, boxes, etc). Don't know what their policy is now.

An appliance dolly of that type typically brings $65 to $75 when advertised on Craigslist and using a picture of a similar item with a different color.

Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: MovieMan on December 15, 2013, 09:32:25 PM
What about a hand-truck from uhaul?  It had been painted, but the orange is showing.

Take a look at this cList ad from northern California. It has both an appliance dolly AND a platform dolly...both orange.

This was on 12/15/2013 so may be gone when you take a look after Dec.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/tls/4232057818.html
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: bwd111 on December 16, 2013, 10:30:54 AM
These big companys just write it off! You dont even know what a write off is. "Seinfeild 1996"
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Liandra on December 16, 2013, 08:44:48 PM
They were in the third locker I bought and I still use them.  Just not at a uhaul facility.  I guess whoever rented them lost a deposit.  So they have been paid for twice since I bought the locker they were in.  No plans to sell them they are to handy to have around.  May remove stickers and repaint them someday.
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: Travis on December 16, 2013, 09:03:42 PM
2 of the lockers I bought last week had dollys in them. One was a U-haul appliance dolly with a strap and the other was one that has the extra set of wheels up top and converts to a push cart. The U-Haul dolly wasn't purchased at a U-Haul auction, so as far as I'm concerned, it's my property now. I'll be keeping both dollys because they will make future moves much easier. The U-Haul dolly is super durable and the push cart dolly makes moving inside units a breeze.
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: blaknite on December 17, 2013, 03:55:08 PM
Utah state lien law 38-8-3 subsection 10:

(10) A purchaser in good faith of the personal property sold to satisfy a lien as provided for in this chapter takes the property free of any rights of persons against whom the lien was valid and free of any rights of a secured creditor, despite noncompliance by the owner with the requirements of this section.

Seems pretty clear to me.  You bought it, you own it outright.  The person who leased the item in question still owes the company he leased it from, but they have no claim to collect the merchandise from you.  Elsewhere in the statute it calls out specific exclusions / restrictions for stolen property and anything with a VIN number.

Either way its probably not worth having to spend a day in court to prove ownership.  Repaint the thing and save yourself some trouble.   
Title: Re: Is it legal to keep property owned by a rental company?
Post by: HomeGrownPromos on December 17, 2013, 09:40:27 PM
One of the heavy hitters around here owns a Uhaul franchise out of his furniture store. He confiscates any Uhaul items he sees in units, saying that "by his contract with Uhaul he has to." I think it's a load of crap, but he gets away with it every time.