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Comment by autotune | Hacker News Reader

I have returned all company equipment in the past after getting laid off except for one ex company's laptop, now paperweight, I have had since January, because they have not offered to pay return shipping fees and haven't bothered following up. Also got a free monitor from them. Their stock is floating around $3/share right now so I don't think they have the resources to pay for return shipping.

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I wonder how abandoned property works in this circumstance? I’m sure the courts will see the item as clearly the employer’s, but why should you be providing free storage for their equipment? You’re also assuming liability for that laptop (e.g. cat knocks over water glass onto it), so how does that work?

I imagine the judge will side with you if you’ve made a reasonable effort to return the equipment.

Does reasonable include paying for shipping?

My silent hope is the company goes out of business before something accidentally happens to the laptop and I no longer have to worry about it. I refuse to pay for return shipping on it as a matter of principle.

You could ship it by COD? If they don’t pay, it gets returned and you can assume it’s yours.

This is a great idea. I honestly forgot COD exists, since it’s so infrequent these days. But it does seem perfect for this situation.

Same situation for me (albeit left the job at the end of the contract, not laid off). I’ve had the laptop for over a year now because IT refused to pay return shipping. I’ve followed up a few times and been told it’ll be sorted, but never hear back…

I was once at a company where the company was doing really poorly too. They still sent collection agencies after people who didn't return laptops and phones.

If this happens to you in the OP's situation you can dispute the debt.

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