How long do I need to hold goods left for repair before declaring it abandoned?

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How long do I need to hold goods left for repair before declaring it abandoned?

A student brought a laptop to the library and asked us to look at it to see if it could be repaired. No promises were made nor funds exchanged or expected. We contacted and informed the student that in our opinion, the hard drive needed to be replaced and operating system reinstalled. Have not heard back. It has now been nearly 1 year.

Asked on March 5, 2018 under Business Law, Michigan

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

There is no set time line. Send the student a letter or email (send it so you can prove delivery--email should do) stating that unless they pick up the lap top in thirty (30) days, you will deem it abandoned and dispose of it as you see fit. Follow-up in 15 days with a 15-day countdown. After that, if they did not pick-up it or at least make arrangements to pick it up in a reasonable period of time, you could consider it abandoned.


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