Did i just get a free tv

W

Worried Consumer

New Member
Jurisdiction
North Carolina
So i purchased this bundle from Rent-a-center , it has been delivered. No contract has been signed to verify any payments or proof of receiving, which was supposed to be brought with the delivery. I was wondering if there were any laws pertaining to this situation, or if I just received a free TV and laptop from Rent-A-Center due to the workers negligence.
 
Worried Consumer said:
So i purchased this bundle from Rent-a-center , it has been delivered. No contract has been signed to verify any payments or proof of receiving, which was supposed to be brought with the delivery. I was wondering if there were any laws pertaining to this situation, or if I just received a free TV and laptop from Rent-A-Center due to the workers negligence.
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No. You don't get free stuff for a worker error. If you attempt to keep these items without paying for them at the VERY LEAST you will be sued. There could be possible criminal charges.
 
I would suggest going to the store you're purchasing these items from and talking with them in the morning, so you can take care of any paperwork.
 
Taking it all in guys
justblue said:
No. You don't get free stuff for a worker error. If you attempt to keep these items without paying for them at the VERY LEAST you will be sued. There could be possible criminal charges.
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As far as consequences go are there any notable precedents. Definitely trying to avoid trouble yet free items worth thousands seem worth while. I know that makes this risk more..... risky but this is literally one of the first items in my home. Could be a nice house warming gift from Rent-A-Center
 
Worried Consumer said:
Taking it all in guys

As far as consequences go are there any notable precedents. Definitely trying to avoid trouble yet free items worth thousands seem worth while. I know that makes this risk more..... risky but this is literally one of the first items in my home. Could be a nice house warming gift from Rent-A-Center
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You know better than that.

You "purchased a bundle" - they know where you are, what you have, and other info. Expect to pay.
 
Worried Consumer said:
Could be a nice house warming gift from Rent-A-Center
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It could also be a GIFT you come to regret and a ticket to an extended stay in some musty, nasty, jail cell.
 
Worried Consumer said:
As far as consequences go are there any notable precedents. Definitely trying to avoid trouble yet free items worth thousands seem worth while. I know that makes this risk more..... risky but this is literally one of the first items in my home. Could be a nice house warming gift from Rent-A-Center
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Perhaps you're right - maybe it is a nice house warming gift. So to be prudent and a good renter, it might be a good idea to thank them for their gift. ;) Honesty is most often the best policy.

Understand that you may also get billed for a rental since there is no indication that the center was intending to give you a gift but had included more items than was agreed for a rental. To prove a gift in court (let's assume small claims) you appear to bear the burden of proof that the television was a gift. That is an argument you are likely to lose.

You should also consider this federal statute if you weren't the addressee for the item.

18 U.S. Code § 1702.Obstruction of correspondence
Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
 
Michael Wechsler said:
You should also consider this federal statute if you weren't the addressee for the item.

18 U.S. Code § 1702.Obstruction of correspondence
Whoever takes any letter, postal card, or package out of any post office or any authorized depository for mail matter, or from any letter or mail carrier, or which has been in any post office or authorized depository, or in the custody of any letter or mail carrier, before it has been delivered to the person to whom it was directed, with design to obstruct the correspondence, or to pry into the business or secrets of another, or opens, secretes, embezzles, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
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I don't believe that would apply. The items were not delivered by mail.
 
Zigner said:
I don't believe that would apply. The items were not delivered by mail.
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It seems that they were delivered by the rental center, agreed. But I'm not entirely sure of that assumption since there isn't an indication as to exactly what the worker did, e.g. label an additional item for delivery and/or was the person/party also delivering the item. Regardless, I mention it just in the event it might apply (or for someone seeking information on a similar but not identical set of facts.
 
Michael Wechsler said:
It seems that they were delivered by the rental center, agreed. But I'm not entirely sure of that assumption since there isn't an indication as to exactly what the worker did, e.g. label an additional item for delivery and/or was the person/party also delivering the item. Regardless, I mention it just in the event it might apply (or for someone seeking information on a similar but not identical set of facts.
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Fair enough :)
 
I thought the contract was the deal. Like without it they cant harass me, my home, work place or family about payment because without the contract i didn't agree to pay or be harassed about late payment (in this case a unsigned contract). In my mind i feel i legally didn't seal the deal with my signature. So in my eyes payment or harassment on such items wouldn't make much sense because i legally didn't sign up for any of this. So with that being said the facts are that i did sign up for the items received through their website but i was told i would need to sign the contract to finalize everything before receiving product. The guy just wanted to quickly seal the deal and forgot to the bring the contract with the bundle. However i made this post to see if this would be a case of theft since the correct procedures weren't implicated.
 
Worried Consumer said:
I thought the contract was the deal. Like without it they cant harass me, my home, work place or family about payment because without the contract i didn't agree to pay or be harassed about late payment (in this case a unsigned contract). In my mind i feel i legally didn't seal the deal with my signature. So in my eyes payment or harassment on such items wouldn't make much sense because i legally didn't sign up for any of this. So with that being said the facts are that i did sign up for the items received through their website but i was told i would need to sign the contract to finalize everything before receiving product. The guy just wanted to quickly seal the deal and forgot to the bring the contract with the bundle. However i made this post to see if this would be a case of theft since the correct procedures weren't implicated.
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If you don't agree to the contract, then you tell them to take the stuff back. You don't get to keep it because, yes, that would be theft (or possibly some other closely related crime). You're playing craps, but you don't even have any dice.
 
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Worried Consumer said:
I thought the contract was the deal. Like without it they cant harass me, my home, work place or family about payment because without the contract i didn't agree to pay or be harassed about late payment (in this case a unsigned contract). In my mind i feel i legally didn't seal the deal with my signature. So in my eyes payment or harassment on such items wouldn't make much sense because i legally didn't sign up for any of this. So with that being said the facts are that i did sign up for the items received through their website but i was told i would need to sign the contract to finalize everything before receiving product. The guy just wanted to quickly seal the deal and forgot to the bring the contract with the bundle. However i made this post to see if this would be a case of theft since the correct procedures weren't implicated.
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Let's stick to civil law. You made an oral contract, which most certainly may be enforceable but more difficult to prove. The fact that you accepted all the items for delivery places the burden of proof on you that you didn't accept the agreement. Your willful acceptance and taking possession of the items would seem to seal the deal. And they can and probably will come after you if you don't fulfill your end of the agreement.

Now let's say you didn't want to sign the contract and the vendor agrees that there shouldn't be any binding contract.. Clearly the items are not yours and everything, including the TV, goes back to the vendor. It wasn't a gift. So we're right back to where we were before. Is there an open issue?
 
Worried Consumer said:
i made this post to see if this would be a case of theft since the correct procedures weren't implicated.
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No one but the prosecutor or district attorney (whatever title is used in your state) can answer that question for you.

I suggest you visit the office of the prosecutor, state's attorney, or district atorney tomorrow morning and ask to speak to the "duty DA" or "duty prosecutor".

You'll have an accurate legal answer within 60 seconds after you ask your question.

You'll also have the legal clarity that you seem to crave.

If you have the time and are allowed to leave the office, please update us when (and if) you can.

Thank you.
 

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