What to do with Lost and Found Goods

The old saying ‘finders keepers’ might hold a few grains of truth when it comes to lost and found goods. The following guide aims to find out the right and wrong ways to proceed when you find lost goods. When you find goods that belong to someone else you have to check a few things first before you can claim them as your own. You have to find out if the goods you found have been abandoned, stolen, lost or are treasure goods.

Abandoned Goods

Goods that have been abandoned are no longer wanted by their owners. They have been either lost or forgotten. Or the goods have been left with another person for caretaking, and they have in turn forgotten about or abandoned them. These can be goods ordered at a shop that have not been collected, goods that have been ordered and then not paid for, goods left at a shop to be repaired and even books left with friends.

Stolen Goods

Goods that have been stolen belong to the original owner. When found, they are remanded under the jurisdiction of a court who will then ask for them to be returned to the original owner. If the item(s) are not available, the equivalent monetary compensation must be given in return.

Even if you are not aware that the goods in your posession are stolen, you do not have the legal right to own them. If you are able to, you must inform the owner that you have their goods and offer to return them. If they were bought in good faith from a third party vendor, you may be able to receive some compensation from the vendor.

Lost Property

You may claim unknown lost items as yours if they were not obtained dishonestly, they do not belong to a known person (including your employer, relatives) and they were not claimed lost and just not collected. However whilst the goods are in your care they must be taken care of and not damaged.

You may also claim the goods for yourself if you have taken the relevant steps to locate the owner, such as leaving them at a police station to be claimed. You must wait six weeks before the police will allow you to claim lost goods as your own.

Treasure Goods

Treasure belongs to the monarchy and must be reported directly to the local coroner for the district within fourteen days of the find. Failure to do so is a criminal offence. Usually treasure can be classified as items that are over three hundred years old. Typical treasures include, coins and other items of which at least 10% is gold or silver. This can include coins or artifacts.

Whether the finder of treasure is allowed to keep their booty depends on whether it is deemed a national treasure and will be kept in a museum. If this is the case the value of the treasure that is kept must be given to the person who found it. The person is often entitled to a reward for their find, which is given twelve months later. If the treasure is not given to a museum it is then returned to the finder within six months.