Hello everyone,

This is the most maddening thing I have heard of, and unfortunately it is happening right now to my son.

Approximately 3 weeks ago my sons expensive saxophone & other musical instruments were stolen from his truck (locked). He immediately filed a police report, and notified his expansive musician community to keep an eye out for the items.

This past weekend the most expensive item (a saxphone) was discovered being offered on Ebay by a local pawn shop owner. The detective assigned to his case went to the pawn shop, had a "hold" placed on it, and informed my son that he has to pay the pawn shop owner to retrieve it. (The total cost is what the pawn shop owner paid the thief, and 10% "restocking" charge.)

I am outraged that my son is being victimized twice. First by the initial theft and now having to pay to retrieve his own items. (He can most certainly prove it is his. It is a rare saxophone, with serial number and extensive photos.)

Has anyone ever heard of this before?

Thank you for reading,

Kris

Unfortunately, the law in most states, including Michigan, is that if stolen property is recovered at a pawn shop, the pawn shop is only required to offer the item back to the victim at the price they paid. Ask the detective about the "restocking fee" (allowed in some states - make sure Michigan is one of them). After that, the victim is forced to either sue the pawner for the amount, or if a criminal prosecution results from the finding of the property then the victim can ask the court to order restitution (although in the real world, people who are stealing items to pawn are often doing so to support a drug habit and even if ordered, rarely complete restitution - but it's worth a shot).

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While pointers can be helpful, ultimately the number one lesson in any legal action is: don't take legal advice from books, family, friends, co-workers, police officers, grocery clerks, web sites, or people on legal message boards. The only person who can give YOU legal advice is YOUR attorney.

http://www.aardvarc.org

Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.

Thank you so much for your clarity and help. I will definitely browse the resources, and also ask him to speak to an attorney about his options.