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

Musicman said:
CAB advice which I linked to earlier is very clear on the matter if you have genuine reason to believe the goods were stolen
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You can report it all you like.

Our police are great but there aren't enough of them and they keep being given more stupidity to deal with.
 
A bit of a self-fullfilling prophecy not reporting to the police because they won't do anything, isn't it? If everyone did that the police couldn't prove they are overworked and would even have less chance of increasing recruitment in future (ok so that's very simplified, but you get what I mean).

I had a woman basically run me off the road (with my 7 year old in the car) a few weeks back, then followed me home all over me, then got out (at my home) and started hurling random abuse at me. All documented on rear and front dashcams and house CCTV, I assume mistaken identity as I did nothing, but it didn't make it any less terrifying. Anyhow, reported if for no other reason than she was clearly off her face. The police didn't even ask for the footage.
 
ukaskew said:
A bit of a self-fullfilling prophecy not reporting to the police because they won't do anything, isn't it? If everyone did that the police couldn't prove they are overworked and would even have less chance of increasing recruitment in future (ok so that's very simplified, but you get what I mean).

I had a woman basically run me off the road (with my 7 year old in the car) a few weeks back, then followed me home all over me, then got out (at my home) and started hurling random abuse at me. All documented on rear and front dashcams and house CCTV, I assume mistaken identity but it didn't make it any less terrifying. Anyhow, reported if for no other reason than she was clearly off her face. The police didn't even ask for the footage.
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That's quite different from a camera allegedly stolen three years ago, they clearly should have pursued the matter further.

In a case like that I'd write to the divisional superintendent and copy it to your crime commissioner. That should stir them up!
 
Lots of good advice in here. One thing I definitely *wouldn't* do is list it on eBay until you've got it all sorted one way or another: eBay's policies are so stacked against the seller it's not even funny; I've seen people sell things then have to refund the buyer and pay for return postage because the buyer says it's faulty when it isn't; people saying that the item was never received and getting a refund even though the seller can prove it was delivered and signed for; it seems like at the slightest hint of an issue eBay side with the buyer, so if there was some sort of dispute then you could end up losing the camera and the money, plus the potential for loads of hassle.
 
With a little digging, it is easy to discover, that CEX use a service called CheckMEND, at least in the UK since 2012

Met Police agree information sharing deal to tackle mobile phone thieves

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has agreed to share information with stores that swap and sell technology products in London in a bid to catch mobile phone and computer thieves.
www.computerworld.com www.computerworld.com

They have this to say about their stolen property checks

Database Checks Explained - CheckMEND UK

Check the history of a used device or mobile phone with CheckMEND the World's largest provider of consumer electronics background reports
www.checkmend.com www.checkmend.com

Stolen: A red result means the item has been reported stolen to us by the owner, police or a source other than a mobile phone network.
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So if the lookup was conducted properly, it is quite possible that there is a police crime reference easily available

Regardless, if the device is flagged as stolen on this system, many other companies use CheckMEND and any potential purchaser will encounter the same problem.
 
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If there are multiple cameras bearing the serial number 123456890 and one happens to be a Sony a66, and another a9 and one for each model range, its possible that the wrong camera could get recorded as stolen if not all the information is established correctly. Especially if there are mk1, mk2 and mk3 versions of the same camera.

If CEX are being helpful maybe they can provide a copy of the CheckMend report, or for £ 2 you could do your own on the particular item in question.

It could very easily be a case of mistaken identity, but it could also be a camera that was stolen from a camera shop and the products were distributed via channels with the respectability of Amazon (despite being a marketplace seller)

I wouldn't sell the camera until you get to the bottom of it, because if the new onwer decided it wasn't for them and took it to CEX, they'd find it was stolen and possibly come back to your friend.
 
Just an idle thought from all this.

If the buyer tells the seller it's stolen and demands a refund, what if the seller simply says no? What happens next?
 
simon ess said:
Just an idle thought from all this.

If the buyer tells the seller it's stolen and demands a refund, what if the seller simply says no? What happens next?
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How much do you want to spend on bringing a small claim court action and then on engaging a bailiff, if the seller just ignores the judgement?
 
As I said before at the time this was purchased via Amazon there was a spate of camera shop break in within the u.k so I would assume the police might be very interested in a dead case lead even after 3 years .
 
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