Anyone really savvy with legal stuff able to help me with an absolute dilemma? I'm in the UK. Thanks.

[RICHIE B]

Hi everyone,

 

Just throwing this out there. You never know, someone might just know what to do! It's worth a shot.

 

The very short story: I have a storage unit with a woman's stuff in it. I am stuck paying for it in my name and she won't get her things or transfer the contract to her name. If I don't find a way to cut her off and get her out of my life, it will go on and on and on for years. I don't have the money and this can't go on.

 

I am an acquaintance who did her a favour while she was "between a rock and a hard place", never been involved with her in any way. Now, she has literally dumped all her problems on me, and is getting away with it.

 

She is a professional and knows better, which is a big part of why I fell for it. Meanwhile, I am currently an unpaid carer for a friend, and doing deliveries on the side. I currently have no other income after some hard times.

 

If I try to end the contract, the company will remove her things if she doesn't, and she will then charge me in court for theft.

 

The Police couldn't help me (the very definition of "the law is powerless to help you, but not punish you if you try to do anything")

Social Services couldn't help me.

Local Authorities couldn't help me.

The Storage Company couldn't help me.

 

There is someone somewhere who knows how I can legally get out of this and have my life back, it's just a matter of finding them. Who knows, they could even be on here!

 

"It will just be a few weeks" my ass.

 

Thanks for any help you can give.

Edited October 17 by RICHIE B

[GibFrag]

Get anything of yours out of the unit pronto, cancel the contract and suspend all payments. If she doesn’t collect her items, that is on her, not you. You leave them behind, it isn’t up to you what happens to them. Anyone telling you otherwise is manipulating you. She has no legal standing and is just using that as a threat to scare you into continuing to pay. 

[RICHIE B]

Thank you.

 

I admit this proud Echidna Warrior is a little weak in this area. Never quite the best at knowing where I stand or what to do. It's only her stuff in there and I want it out. The Police told me themselves I will be charged in court even if the company removes them, so I'm basically trapped paying for years (and it would be years, except it won't, it will be sorted) with no choice as it stands until I find a way to get out, legally.

 

I'll find the help eventually, and get paid back I should think.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

The unit is in your name, she's aware of where her things are, and you aren't preventing her from reclaiming her things. You aren't legally obligated to continue paying, nor would it constitute theft if you stopped paying. If you are paying monthly, give her a month's notice and stop paying because you're just allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. I don't see why a lawyer/legal aid won't advise you.

 

EDIT - Missed the "I'm in the UK" part. I'm in America but I highly doubt you have anything to worry about either way. 

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

1 minute ago, RICHIE B said:

The Police told me themselves I will be charged in court even if the company removes them

First she would have to file charges against you, and if she's in such a situation that she can't afford a storage unit, I doubt she can afford to do that even if she says otherwise. You're being used and deceived.

[RICHIE B]

Thanks. Yeah it's monthly and I'm in the UK.

 

There's plenty of options still to explore first, but the Simpsons style Police have been the most disappointing and waste of time.

[Murdoch]

7 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

The unit is in your name, she's aware of where her things are, and you aren't preventing her from reclaiming her things. You aren't legally obligated to continue paying, nor would it constitute theft if you stopped paying (although it would help if we knew where you lived and the specofics of your legal system). If you are paying monthly, give her a month's notice and stop paying because you're just allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. I don't see why a lawyer/legal aid won't advise you.

 

This. If you want to be absolutely certain, talk to someone with actual qualifications in the legal field, but I find the idea that you would be charged with theft to be patently ludicrous. It does not even fit the definition of theft. I have done websites for storage providers, and if you look at the terms they say non-payment will result in disposal of items and I guarantee you that they dot their is and cross their ts when it comes to the legality of such terms. What if you died for example and did not pay the bill because of that. No matter which way you slice it the "it's theft" argument doesn't hold water. She could, at best, try to bring a civil case against you but she clearly lacks the funds to do that, no sane lawyer would take the case, and judge would toss it even if it made it that far because you've made no legally binding agreement to this woman.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

8 minutes ago, RICHIE B said:

Thanks. Yeah it's monthly and I'm in the UK.

Sorry, I missed that part in the title.

 

I'm confused, though. You said she told you "it'll only be a few weeks", you pay monthly, but you also have a contract you're afraid of ending ("it will go on for years")... how long is the contract for? Either way, giving her a 30-day notice is about the most I can see being required. 

[RICHIE B]

13 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

...but I find the idea that you would be charged with theft to be patently ludicrous...

 

...I guarantee you that they dot their is and cross their ts when it comes to the legality of such terms...

 

...no sane lawyer would take the case, and judge would toss it even if it made it that far because you've made no legally binding agreement to this woman...

 

Thank you.

 

Yeah, ludicrous is right, but that's (too often) the legal system for you.

 

Yeah, I would expect the storage providers would be protected legally. But unfortunately I'm not. At least not as it stands. There must be law out there here in the UK, it's just a matter of finding it.

 

This is what I'm hoping. Every authority I speak to hasn't been able to help, but they've all said she's insane.

 

These are bad times, but I have an inkling if I keep the faith and keep trying, it'll all come out in the end and she'll come unstuck. Surely.

 

Can you believe she's a doctor? Non-practicing, obvs. Thank goodness. Her medical degrees are in there somewhere amongst all her shit!

[Phendrena]

I would suggest asking on the Legal Advice UK subreddit. You should get good help there.

 

- Dave

[RICHIE B]

5 minutes ago, Phendrena said:

I would suggest asking on the Legal Advice UK subreddit. You should get good help there.

 

- Dave

 

Thank you very much. I'll check it out now!

 

Obvs I will bring this thread back up whenever it's all resolved and let everyone know the outcome.

[Phendrena]

1 minute ago, RICHIE B said:

 

Thank you very much. I'll check it out now!

 

Obvs I will bring this thread back up whenever it's all resolved and let everyone know the outcome.

Hope you get it sorted pal 

[Murdoch]

13 minutes ago, RICHIE B said:

Thank you very much. I'll check it out now!

 

 

Just be aware, advice from random people on the Internet isn't a substitute for talking to an actual professional. There's a hell of a lot of bad legal takes out there. As MMM said, there's usually free legal aid available if you look for it. And the behaviour of the police really isn't relevant. It's a case of what will hold up in court, and what won't. Cops can bring a shitty case, but the court should (in theory) put it right. Even if they did bring a theft case against you, a first year law student could shred it in minutes. From the UK sentencing council website...

 

"Theft is defined by section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it."

 

If you stop paying the bill for the storage, you're not appropriating a damn thing. You could even say "hey this stuff actually belongs to this lady, here's her number, I'm out".

 

Who actually told you that this would constitute theft?

 

20 minutes ago, RICHIE B said:

Can you believe she's a doctor? Non-practicing, obvs. Thank goodness. Her medical degrees are in there somewhere amongst all her shit!

 

Doesn't mean she cannot be an exploitative bitch. Such behaviour is more about character than intelligence and education.

Edited October 17 by Murdoch

[RICHIE B]

23 minutes ago, TheMagicMushroomMan said:

Sorry, I missed that part in the title.

 

I'm confused, though. You said she told you "it'll only be a few weeks", you pay monthly, but you also have a contract you're afraid of ending ("it will go on for years")... how long is the contract for? Either way, giving her a 30-day notice is about the most I can see being required. 

 

It's a long long story far beyond that fucking storage unit. The true full story is too shocking to write here. I told my previous landlord the main part of it - the easiest part - and he nearly fell out of his chair and said he's never heard anything like it in his life - I'm thinking of writing a book about it all one day.

 

But the most important thing is the storage shit is the only obstacle to freedom.

 

The contract is ongoing and I just give notice when I want to cancel. The problem is shifting the shit out of the unit without her permission. This is a literal example of someone dumping their problems on someone else.

 

It's bad now, but I have faith she will come unstuck in the end if she continues on.

[RICHIE B]

Deleted

Edited October 18 by RICHIE B

[RICHIE B]

50 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

Just be aware, advice from random people on the Internet isn't a substitute for talking to an actual professional. There's a hell of a lot of bad legal takes out there. 

 

"Theft is defined by section 1 of the Theft Act 1968 as the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive the other of it."

 

If you stop paying the bill for the storage, you're not appropriating a damn thing. You could even say "hey this stuff actually belongs to this lady, here's her number, I'm out".

 

Doesn't mean she cannot be an exploitative bitch. Such behaviour is more about character than intelligence and education.

 

Sorry for spamming now, I'm being disorganised.

 

Yeah, ain't that the truth about online stuff. It can be a general guide but you can't stake your life on it.

 

I believe this will get sorted in the end but there's a lot of work to do. Yeah, I don't have any intention to deprive her of her stuff, I'm just trying to deprive myself of it.

 

That is a great point and I will be seeking this route to give the storage company her details so they can then chase her. I have her name and number but not her address but it might be able to be found. The unit being in my name is the obstacle though.

 

Yeah, I have to admit I was fooled. I thought she was like me, but I have solemn respect for other people's lives and autonomy.

 

At least even though I can be fooled, I never stay fooled and always figure it out in the end if someone isn't being straight with me.

 

And thanks for the help everybody, I really do appreciate it. Just the support alone is valuable.

[Murdoch]

4 minutes ago, RICHIE B said:

At least even though I can be fooled, I never stay fooled and always figure it out in the end if someone isn't being straight with me.

 

Nothing to be ashamed of. I am generally very, very good at reading people, but even I get it wrong sometimes. Helping people is to be encouraged and commended, but you absolutely shouldn't let a user continue to exploit you because in the end, that becomes a tacit way of saying "Your behaviour is perfectly fine, carry on!". Everybody makes mistakes and we shouldn't be quick to judge, but my general rule is once is a mistake, twice is a cause for concern, three times is a pattern.

[RICHIE B]

Yep, that's true.

 

While it's always good to check yourself if there's a problem, it took me an embarrassingly long time to finally understand if someone is throwing a tantrum at you, it doesn't necessarily mean you've done anything wrong, it's on them.

 

I don't blame myself for having had a vulnerability. I would blame myself if I stayed that way, didn't recognise it, and didn't grow and mature, sometimes it takes a while.

 

Also, I find my instincts are usually very strong, and are basically always right, no matter how it looks.

 

Whenever I've gone most wrong in life is when I've ignored and overruled them. Or in earlier days especially, allowed myself to be talked out of it by gobbling Turkeys.

 

Gobbling Turkeys who spend their day seeking out the soaring Eagles to pester them, attracted by their their energy instead of doing the work to make their own.

 

Keep the gobbling Turkeys out everyone. And don't put their stuff in your storage.

[Redneckerz]

9 hours ago, RICHIE B said:

Do you know what, I'm actually considering forwarding this thread to her, so she can come on here and give her "side of the story".

 

In that case, this might just go Viral and Doomworld might become famous. And you should stock up on plenty of popcorn cos this is where the action would be at.

 

She's never heard of Doom, naturally.

Yeah lets not do that. This is your private issue, this shouldn't be a public one.

 

I sincerely hope this is a crude joke.

[Gez]

9 hours ago, RICHIE B said:

Do you know what, I'm actually considering forwarding this thread to her, so she can come on here and give her "side of the story". 

 

In that case, this might just go Viral and Doomworld might become famous. And you should stock up on plenty of popcorn cos this is where the action would be at.

Please don't. Were I a moderator or admin here, doing that would result in a ban. This is a game forum, not a place to slug it out about utterly unrelated dirty laundry.

 

Doomworld already went viral for InstaDoom and MyHouse.pk3. It doesn't need or want to have drama-addict coming here to read about some British storage fight.

 

Just stop paying the storage company and tell them to send their letters to her address, not yours.

[Kinsie]

This is traditionally the point where I'd suggest that people seeking professional legal/medical advice probably shouldn't ask a decades old internet forum dedicated to litigating similarly-old arguments revolving around a single videogame.

 

...though I suppose some people here did go to law school, but I think they were all in the US and I dunno if they're even practicing anymore... so the point stands.

[RICHIE B]

It's now deleted. I am already in the process of seeking professional help. I just thought I would put it out there, and thanks to the comments of support, but I might have been wrong.

 

Just delete the thread if you want to, because I can't do it.

[Redneckerz]

3 hours ago, RICHIE B said:

It's now deleted. I am already in the process of seeking professional help. I just thought I would put it out there, and thanks to the comments of support, but I might have been wrong.

 

Just delete the thread if you want to, because I can't do it.

Sure you can, report your own post and request a lock. I just did that for you.