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Comment by Boothroid | Hacker News Reader

Just checked UK law. If you receive an extra item as part of a replacement for a broken item or similar and use it the sender has the right to demand payment for the extra item. The correct course of action is to contact the sender who can then choose to collect at their own expense.

I was surprised by this - I thought it would constitute unsolicited goods but it does not due to the extra item having been sent as remedy for a broken item. If someone sends you something out of the blue and then demands payment it is unsolicited goods and you have the right to keep it.

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So if my IT system messes up and sends you 10 TV, you have to pay for it or get out of your way to fix it ?

No, but you might be required to make reasonable accommodations to allow them to fix it, or minimise the cost of repairing it for them (at their expense). As I understand it, you couldn't just pick the most expensive solution and charge it to them, or obstruct every attempt they made to rectify the problem, simply because you were annoyed/inconvenienced. You may also be required to do other things to minimise the losses they have to compensate you for.

Sorry, I think I misunderstood your example. I read 10 TV as 10 Teravolts, i.e. they blew up your IT infrastructure with a massive electrical surge. Obviously I also mixed up who was sending the 10 TV and who was receiving. You can safely ignore my nonsensical reply. Yes, fortunately for you, if your IT system messes up and sends 10 TV (whatever that is), they cannot just keep the 10 TV. They are required to compensate you for them/it if they want to keep them/it.

In that scenario, I think it would be you would need to make reasonable effort to collect the item, otherwise you abandon it. If the customer refuses you to collect it, then you can demand payment.

But as the above comment says, you would have had to send the item as part of an existing engagement, such as a purchase or replacement.

If they were sent out of the blue you have no obligation to return them. If they were sent by mistake as part of a remedy of for example a faulty TV, and you decide to use them, the sender is entitled to ask you to pay for them. The correct course of action is to inform the sender, who then has 14 days (according to what I read) to collect them at their own expense.

As long as you don't use them the sender has no right to redress, only to ask for them back.

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