Want to sell a camera but its been reported stolen, what to do?

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Hi all,

Hope you're all doing well. Looking for some advice, received a message from a friend this morning. She is in the process of moving so is clearing out things and selling some bits and pieces up and shes told me this

"CeX wouldn’t buy in my camera because it’s been reported stolen. I bought it brand new from Amazon in 2019 and found the receipt, it was a third party seller. What should I do? Go through Amazon or the police? Just try to sell it on eBay and risk someone coming to me in future accusing me of theft?"

Does anyone have any advice or been in this situation before? Any thoughts on what to do?

Appreciate any help :)

TIA
Jake
 
That is crazy... how would that happen?! CEX traced the serial number on the database for stolen items or..?!

I'm as surprised as you!
 
I know for phones there is a website (I forget the name, its been literally years since I thought of it) where you can input the serial number and it'll confirm if its a stolen phone or not. They must have something similar for other hardware I would guess?
 
Ask CEX for details of how they "discovered" it was stolen.
 
CEX keep a list of stolen serials. I was robbed last year and they made note of the serials when I contacted them about it.

Ask CEX if they have a crime reference number and ask the Police to follow up.

In the meantime, ask the seller for a refund, your friend is entitled to one under the Consumer Rights Act. Let the Police know about the seller too.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

If you think you've bought stolen goods

If you've bought stolen goods you need to hand them in to the police. You should then be able to get a full refund. Don't return the item to the seller yourself.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk
 
An ex of mine used to work for a reputable computer company, I dealt with them for years. Anyway, a lap top they sold turned out to be stolen and it caused a lot of problems for the company but that was years ago when the police were still investigating actual crimes rather than non crime hate incidents on twitter.

I suppose it's bound to happen sooner or later if you're buying and selling used kit.

I hope she has a good outcome Jake.
 
FruitFlakes said:
CEX keep a list of stolen serials. I was robbed last year and they made note of the serials when I contacted them about it.

Ask CEX if they have a crime reference number and ask the Police to follow up.

In the meantime, ask the seller for a refund, your friend is entitled to one under the Consumer Rights Act. Let the Police know about the seller too.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

If you think you've bought stolen goods

If you've bought stolen goods you need to hand them in to the police. You should then be able to get a full refund. Don't return the item to the seller yourself.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Click to expand...

Aren't you jumping the gun a little bit here. Maybe we should find the seller and hang him/her too while we're at it.
 
Thank you all for the kind words and suggestions. I'm forwarding all this on to her!
 
ecoleman said:
It's possible somebody has had a camera stolen and they've entered the wrong serial number.
Click to expand...

If it's a Nikon, it seems they may re-use the same serial numbers across different products.

photo.stackexchange.com

Same serial number on cameras from the same manufacturer

I found out that a Nikon D3000 has the same serial number as another Nikon D5100. I always thought serial numbers were unique at least among manufacturers. Are they only unique amongst the same ...
photo.stackexchange.com photo.stackexchange.com

e2a: another instance of this with Nikon from 2005: a D70 shares a serial number with a Coolpix

Re: Duplicate Serial Number: Nikon DX SLR (D40-D90, D3000-D7500) Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Expert news, reviews and videos of the latest digital cameras, lenses, accessories, and phones. Get answers to your questions in our photography forums.
www.dpreview.com www.dpreview.com

and another incident from 2011 where a stolen D40 shared a serial number with a D3100

 
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Interesting, Musicman. I just asked and she said Its a Sony RX100M3
 
Serial numbers are not unique to items. It's the combination of the model number and serial number that's important.
 
It's clearly a mistake, so advertise it for sale on here? How much is she looking for?
 
ecoleman said:
Aren't you jumping the gun a little bit here. Maybe we should find the seller and hang him/her too while we're at it.
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Nah, not really.

If CEX can supply a ref number, they can contact the Police who’ll give you more details on the crime report. If it’s a match in terms of make and model, then they can take the advice in the link I supplied.

If the details on the report don’t match then it’s a case of mistyped serials or duplicate serials. Then they’re free to sell the camera on, they’ve done their due diligence after being informed that the camera might be hot.

In my experience the Police aren’t quite as quick at jumping to conclusions as you are, they certainly won’t assign blame to the seller or OP’s friend, they’ll just follow up since it might lead to something bigger.
 
Sky said:
Serial numbers are not unique to items. It's the combination of the model number and serial number that's important.
Click to expand...

That does depend on the details each manufacturer's serialisation scheme (seems my comments about Nikon above)

However, reports of duplicated serial numbers for Sony gear appear to be limited to NPFW50 batteries which are suspected to be counterfeit anyhow, so it looks like they don't reuse serials across different models.
 
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JohnX said:
It's clearly a mistake, so advertise it for sale on here? How much is she looking for?
Click to expand...

Did think about that. Its a thought for the backpocket for now.
 
Musicman said:
That does depend on the details each manufacturer's serialisation scheme (seems my comments about Nikon above)
Click to expand...

This is true - most will just use it as was originally intended; 001 to 1102229999 etc. This combined with the make and model made items identifiable enough in most cases.

There have been been many variations since this was started with some adding the model number, year of manufacturer etc. into the serial number - I'd hate to think how many possible variations there could be out there.
 
In the early 1990s I bought a Compaq LTE notebook from a dealer.

When I registered it with Compaq, they told me it was down on their list as stolen. I contacted the dealer who more or less smacked their forehead and muttered "not again". About a fortnight later I received a photocopy from the dealer, of a letter he'd received from Compaq. It acknowledged that, due to a mix up at the warehouse, a batch sent to him had been incorrectly listed as "missing, believed stolen" and advised that any customer worried by the problem should contact them directly via the standard service address.

I did so and within a few days received a letter confirming that the LTE was not stolen, along with a goody bag including a tee shirt and a mug! :naughty:
 
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there was a spate of camera shop break ins just prior to covid lockdowns . so worth reporting to police in case it can be traced back the thieves , who BTW have also helped to increase our costs when buying from the effected shops
 
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If it is stolen, it is worth doing a little research on title.

I'm probably wrong, as I am not a lawyer, but I believe that the only person who can have title is the original owner, or the insurance company if a claim has been paid out. So the current 'owner' of the item wouldn't actually own it...
 
I think i would start with Amazon. She may get a full refund if it is indeed stolen.
Would also keep a copy of the receipt safe for future reference.
 
@Jake The first thing you need to do is ascertain whether the camera actually has been stolen or not. I would start by contacting Sony and asking them for advice.
 
L320Rio said:
@Jake The first thing you need to do is ascertain whether the camera actually has been stolen or not. I would start by contacting Sony and asking them for advice.
Click to expand...
This sounds like a good first step and perhaps your friend had best give Sony the "bought from Amazon off of a third party merchant (was it fulfilled by Amazon?)".......as perhaps(?) the seller has history, or not as the case may be, with Sony?

All being well, it will be a storm in a teacup and the status of the camera will be resolved quickly.
 
FruitFlakes said:
Nah, not really.

If CEX can supply a ref number, they can contact the Police who’ll give you more details on the crime report. If it’s a match in terms of make and model, then they can take the advice in the link I supplied.

If the details on the report don’t match then it’s a case of mistyped serials or duplicate serials. Then they’re free to sell the camera on, they’ve done their due diligence after being informed that the camera might be hot.

In my experience the Police aren’t quite as quick at jumping to conclusions as you are, they certainly won’t assign blame to the seller or OP’s friend, they’ll just follow up since it might lead to something bigger.
Click to expand...

I was referring to this bit.

FruitFlakes said:
In the meantime, ask the seller for a refund, your friend is entitled to one under the Consumer Rights Act. Let the Police know about the seller too.
Click to expand...

You expect a seller to just refund you 3 years later because someone says it's stolen and what country do you live in that you think the police would be in the slightest interested.
 
ecoleman said:
You expect a seller to just refund you 3 years later because someone says it's stolen and what country do you live in that you think the police would be in the slightest interested.
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Harsh words.

...but, on the whole, fair. :naughty:
 
ecoleman said:
You expect a seller to just refund you 3 years later because someone says it's stolen and what country do you live in that you think the police would be in the slightest interested.
Click to expand...

If the country is the United Kingdom and the camera was stolen property when they sold it, since the sale occurred after 1 October 2015, then providing a full refund is exactly what the seller is required to do in law.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

If you think you've bought stolen goods

If you've bought stolen goods you need to hand them in to the police. You should then be able to get a full refund. Don't return the item to the seller yourself.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Citizens Advice Bureau said:
If you bought the item on or after 1 October 2015

You have the legal right to full refund from the seller. This applies even if it’s been a while since you bought the item and you’ve only just realised it’s stolen.

What to say or write:

“The police have confirmed that the item was stolen. I’m entitled to a full refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.”
Click to expand...

e2a: specifically it is sections 17 (1), 19 (6) and 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 taken together that confer these rights upon the buyer

Consumer Rights Act 2015

An Act to amend the law relating to the rights of consumers and protection of their interests; to make provision about investigatory powers for enforcing the regulation of traders; to make provision about private actions in competition law and the Competition Appeal Tribunal; and for connected...
www.legislation.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk
 
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That’s better advice than I gave earlier (with a caveat :)), and is better for the current owner.
 
Musicman said:
If the country is the United Kingdom and the camera was stolen property when they sold it, since the sale occurred after 1 October 2015, then providing a full refund is exactly what the seller is required to do in law.
Click to expand...

That maybe the case but certainly not on the word of some kid that works at CEX an an internal database that could be wrong.
 
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ecoleman said:
That maybe the case but certainly not on the word of some kid that works at CEX an an internal database that could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Clearly it must be established properly that the goods are stolen before exercising one's rights. It would be prudent to ask CEX for confirmation in writing of the validity and the source of their claim.

Establishing that the camera was stolen is one reason then to go to the police and why the police would be interested in the matter alongside returning the camera to its proper owner (to address your other point).

If CEX find they have made an error, then they should have no further objection to purchasing the camera from the OP's friend.

Edit: looking at the whole thread in context, I suspect we are actually saying pretty much the same thing - that it is best to have a police crime report available before approaching the seller for a refund, except that you don't seem to think the police will be interested in providing one.
 
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Musicman said:
Clearly it must be established properly that the goods are stolen before exercising one's rights. It would be prudent to ask CEX for confirmation in writing of the validity and the source of their claim.

Establishing that the camera was stolen is one reason then to go to the police and why the police would be interested in the matter alongside returning the camera to its proper owner (to address your other point).

If CEX find they have made an error, then they should have no further objection to purchasing the camera from the OP's friend.
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you have said.

However, @FruitFlakes comment started with "In the meantime," which infers the OP should demand a refund BEFORE establishing the facts.
 
Musicman said:
Establishing that the camera was stolen is one reason then to go to the police and why the police would be interested in the matter alongside returning the camera to its proper owner (to address your other point).
Click to expand...
I'm not sure that it would meet the standards of importance, let alone the likelihood of success, that are required for the police to spend resources on it.

They really do have far more important things to do than investigate a vague claim that something might have been stolen several years ago.

:tumbleweed:
 
Musicman said:
If the country is the United Kingdom and the camera was stolen property when they sold it, since the sale occurred after 1 October 2015, then providing a full refund is exactly what the seller is required to do in law.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk

If you think you've bought stolen goods

If you've bought stolen goods you need to hand them in to the police. You should then be able to get a full refund. Don't return the item to the seller yourself.
www.citizensadvice.org.uk www.citizensadvice.org.uk



e2a: specifically it is sections 17 (1), 19 (6) and 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 taken together that confer these rights upon the buyer

Consumer Rights Act 2015

An Act to amend the law relating to the rights of consumers and protection of their interests; to make provision about investigatory powers for enforcing the regulation of traders; to make provision about private actions in competition law and the Competition Appeal Tribunal; and for connected...
www.legislation.gov.uk www.legislation.gov.uk
Click to expand...
I very much doubt that UK consumer law is applicable in Portugal.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I'm not sure that it would meet the standards of importance, let alone the likelihood of success, that are required for the police to spend resources on it.

They really do have far more important things to do than investigate a vague claim that something might have been stolen several years ago.

:tumbleweed:
Click to expand...

CAB advice which I linked to earlier is very clear on the matter if you have genuine reason to believe the goods were stolen

CAB said:
Take the item to the police

As soon as you think it's stolen you need to call the police on 101 or take the item to your local police station. They’ll try to return it to its original owner.

You shouldn’t keep the item or return it to the seller yourself - this might be considered ‘handling stolen goods’, which is illegal.
Click to expand...
 
Ah, I see the OP's profile says he's from Portugal.

Still, Consumer law is an EU law which the UK adopted as being part of the EU so will be applicable in Portugal.
 
ecoleman said:
I agree with everything you have said.

However, @FruitFlakes comment started with "In the meantime," which infers the OP should demand a refund BEFORE establishing the facts.
Click to expand...

My bad, that was my pre-coffee brain typing there - confirm with the police then ask the seller is what I meant. The rest of the advice still stands though.
 
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Sorry for the delay folks. been a crazy morning with work! Thank you for all the advice. I'm passing this on as we go. She is in the UK camera purchased via third party seller fulfilled by Amazon. Shes reached out to Amazon and Amazon have advised her to contact the seller, so shes raised a complaint about it and waiting to hear back!
 
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