Purchased Stolen Goods LEGALLY??

[Teamcam]

So my friend who owns a Drone business just had an item collected from him.

He recently purchased a second hand drone from a second hand goods dealer.
He fixed it up as it needed some repairs & also had some bits missing.
He then advertised the item & sealed the deal with a buyer. Sent it off & deal was concluded.
A day or two after drone was released, he gets a call from someone who stated that the drone is his & it was stolen.
This person later produces a slip & confirms the serial to what my friend has on his system (Registered business).
My friend is now stunned & calls the place that he purchased from & the shop states they kept if for a month before advertising it for resale... They then agree to to return the goods & my friend lets the original owner know what is going to happen... In this time, a CAS number is produced, but the owner refuses to give a statement from the insurance that there was no claim for the drone, however he does agree to paying for the repairs...
Today the police demanded the item & booked it in at SAPS. My friend is now in a pickle as the expenses of the drone is a negative on his side with a sum of loss..
He spoke to a Col at the station & the Col agrees that the drone was purchased legally as he (my friend) had no knowledge of it being a stolen item...

My question is - What does my friend do know that he has a cash loss?
Yes the item was stolen & purchased by a second hand goods shop, but it was sold by them to my friend who had no knowledge of the items history.

[Kola]

Sadly this is most likely going to be school fees.

[Davidc]

So my friend who owns a Drone business just had an item collected from him.

He recently purchased a second hand drone from a second hand goods dealer.
He fixed it up as it needed some repairs & also had some bits missing.
He then advertised the item & sealed the deal with a buyer. Sent it off & deal was concluded.
A day or two after drone was released, he gets a call from someone who stated that the drone is his & it was stolen.
This person later produces a slip & confirms the serial to what my friend has on his system (Registered business).
My friend is now stunned & calls the place that he purchased from & the shop states they kept if for a month before advertising it for resale... They then agree to to return the goods & my friend lets the original owner know what is going to happen... In this time, a CAS number is produced, but the owner refuses to give a statement from the insurance that there was no claim for the drone, however he does agree to paying for the repairs...
Today the police demanded the item & booked it in at SAPS. My friend is now in a pickle as the expenses of the drone is a negative on his side with a sum of loss..
He spoke to a Col at the station & the Col agrees that the drone was purchased legally as he (my friend) had no knowledge of it being a stolen item...

My question is - What does my friend do know that he has a cash loss?
Yes the item was stolen & purchased by a second hand goods shop, but it was sold by them to my friend who had no knowledge of the items history.

He could possibly recover the money from the seller, it’s worth asking them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SSP]

You can never purchase stolen goods legally, even if you did not know that they were stolen. All that the lack of knowledge excludes is a criminal charge.

He must pursue who he bought it from. There is an implied warranty of the ability to pass ownership when you purchase goods. He can claim the purchase price that he paid, as well as other damages.

The second hand goods shop is obliged to keep particulars of who buys from and who sells to them.

He has no cause of action against person that the shop bought from. That is the shop's problem.

This happens all the time in the budget end of the second hand car game.

[shooty]

As SSP states above. You cant legally buy stolen stuff. He will have to claim from the person he bought it from. Which might end up in civil case if they refuse.

[Teamcam]

Thanks for the info guys.
This is what we telling the shop & all we hearing 8s "it was bought & kept for a month & no one came looking for a stolen drone even when saps did their monthly check"
Looks like we will have to go the legal route & claim damages...

[Skaaphaas]

Thanks for the info guys.
This is what we telling the shop & all we hearing 8s "it was bought & kept for a month & no one came looking for a stolen drone even when saps did their monthly check"
Looks like we will have to go the legal route & claim damages...

That they (maybe) didn’t know that it was a stolen drone does not absolve them.

[SSP]

Thanks for the info guys.
This is what we telling the shop & all we hearing 8s "it was bought & kept for a month & no one came looking for a stolen drone even when saps did their monthly check"
Looks like we will have to go the legal route & claim damages...

That they kept it for a month is irrelevant. They were not entitled to sell it, regardless of whether they knew it was stolen or not.