I've bought a stolen bike. Now what?

I would have thought that Paypal have got a bit more to answer to here, using the 45 days as a convienient get out clause.
If I’m not wrong you’ve ‘bought’ the bike from Paypal who have bought the bike off the seller on Ebay, whom knowingly or not have advertertised stolen goods.
Both Ebay and / or Paypal – (who are owned by Ebay)must hold some if not all of the responsibility, I’d have a look at the sales of goods act and take it from there.
If you’d paid by credit card it would have been simples as they’d reclaim the money of Paypal and sort it out amongst themselves, you may get somewhere with your bank.
It depends how much you paid as to how far you go.

posiwev – Member

If I’m not wrong

You’re wrong.

Following the details of the story:
You have bought the bike through a legitimate trade facility and presumably paid a fair amount for what you purchased. It is not like you bought in in local pub.
As such the actual purchase was legitimate; the problem was the fact that the goods were stolen.
You have a claim against the goods albeit your claim generally will fall behind that of the original owner. However the original owner may have been paid out by his insurance.
First make sure that you are giving up property that is definitely stolen, then contact the solicitors department of the force who are dealing. You need to lodge your interest in interpleader proceedings, you never know the result so it is worth a try although it may not go in your favour.

To be honest if the bike is proved to be the stolen one, I’m not that arsed about fighting for it.

What I am concerned is getting my money back from eBay/Paypal/Bank. This won’t cover what I have spent on it, but I’d be satisfied with that.

Is this unreasonable?

I bought a car that turned out to have been stolen, or mostly stolen, about a year previously. I knew it was rebuilt following a crash, but neither I nor the guy I bought it from knew that the bulk of the rebuild was a stolen car, but with the identity of the crashed one. Police told me I couldn’t sell it, and I had a letter from the original owner’s insurance. I pointed out I’d bought it in good faith and had spent money replacing parts myself, so bits of it were mine. After about 6 months the insurer told me I could keep it as goodwill. I assume they decided the situation was complex enough that it wasn’t worth the legal fees. Your situation is less complex, but having bought it in good faith and spent money on the bike should count for something.

You can keep all the bits you have bought to fix/upgrade the bike. They are yours.

Providing you still have the original parts to put back on surely.

I am not sure PayPal or eBay really have any responsibility to be honest. You simply used their services to buy something. They haven’t withheld any details from the police or obstructed anything. If you had posted a cheque would the post office be liable for shifting your money? It’s bloody bad luck that it took so long for the police to arrive (not saying they must have say on it by the way) but I have a horrible suspicion that regardless of whatever anyone thinks eBay or PayPal should do, they will have an awful lot of experience of this kind of thing and their processes as probably set up to ensure their liability is very, very limited.

Doesn’t help you get your cash though, is there an equivalent to the motor insurance protection against uninsured drivers for other stuff? Never heard of one, but I have never had to look thankfully. Probably worth a trawl through your house insurance, and give them a call as they stick all sorts of extras on to be more appealing that you might not have noticed.

Hope you get some restitution…

It is the frame that is marked therefore the only part of the bike that can be proven to be the owners, all other parts could have been put on at any other date such as those you’ve replaced. I would remove ONLY the parts you replaced at your cost and fit original parts if you still have them. If the parts were not fit for purpose then the original owner would of had to replace them anyway and any upgraded or newer parts you put on are yours which you’ve presumably got receipts for.

I am not sure PayPal or eBay really have any responsibility to be honest.

Yet if it hadn’t turned up, or was materially different to the description I would be covered. It’s what is known laughably as “Buyer Protection” and is what Paypal takes a fee to cover.

Not all the original parts are on the bike; as I replaced some. But who knows what was done before I got hold of it?

if its any consolation Scott you are certainly not the only one to have lost money as a result of fraud on e-bay. I did – lost £350. They did put the guy in jail after a couple of years as he had ripped loads of people off, but I didnt get any money back

@ScottCheg – I am somewhat at a loss to see how you think you have a claim against PayPal, bank, eBay etc ? Do you think these companies should protect you against buying stolen goods ? Surely it’s common knowledge that a reasonable portion of goods on eBay / other online sites are less than legitimate ? That’s a risk you take when you buy from them, ditto the guy in the pub.

If I’m not wrong you’ve ‘bought’ the bike from Paypal who have bought the bike off the seller on Ebay, whom knowingly or not have advertertised stolen goods.

What a load of rubbish 😀

Paypal is a Bank, not a bloody bike shop.

@Scott – btw the way take off all the bits you bought, if you don’t have the originals just leave it as is.

did you pay pay via paypal balance or a card attached to your paypal account? If so is there any protection on that card???? just a thought…..

Not all the original parts are on the bike; as I replaced some. But who knows what was done before I got hold of it?

The eBay listing will be their point of reference for what condition it was in and what parts were on it.
All of the parts which you bought are rightly yours so you should remove them. Tell the police that the components which are missing were parts you felt that needed to be replaced and you planned to do so.

when did the police approach ebay?

was it within the 45day period?

did ebay stall just long enough to wriggle out of their responsibilities?

one would assume that the original owner didnt wait 45 days to recognise his bike on ebay? he would have seen the auction?