how long should things be kept for..

[sxturbo]

had a part in for inspection, RCA and repair,

we couldnt repair it as it was uneconomical, and we sold them a brand new one.

they were going through their insurance company as someone else had overhauled the engine and made a balls up of it.

this was 2 years ago and we no longer have the old unit, apparently things have got a bit complicated for the and now they have lawyers etc involved.

they have asked for the old unit back, but we don't have it. we cannot remember whether we binned it or sent it back to them.

We have a feeling we sent it back to them, but we have no records from 2 years ago other than the job, invoicing and the report we done at the time, and them and us have had a number of personnel changes and none of the original people dealing with it are still working for us & them.

i'm just wondering as i cannot seem to find the answer elsewhere, on a legal standing how long should we have to keep unfit units for before being allowed to dispose of them?

 

[EddieM]

You should keep transaction records for 7 years if that helps / has bearing on the situation.

Disposal of unfit units, well I guess the client needs to be informed of disposal and or storage costs in advance of anything.

 

[conny]

As Ed says, transaction records for at least 7 years, even if the company folds they should be kept in safe storage by someone responsible.
When I was in armature winding part of the contract said "All B.E.R. units would be disposed of unless requested otherwise by customer when placing the order for repair/replacement."

Blame it on the Admin team for having a clear out each spring.

 

[mattylad]

2 years later is a bit of a long stretch.
Ask them for more than the unit is worth to pay for the storage fees if they want it returned then if they pay up just buy them a new one. XD

 

[transam]

Could be said that legally it was not your property ?

so there fore if u binned it with out permission u are liable

?? possibly

 

[HERTS P&D]

See below:

https://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/threads/disposal-of-customers-uncollected-goods.276630/

Andy

 

[Doug99]

I would keep all paperwork which relates to anything which is still owned.
15yrs ago I refurbished my kitchen/diner and a recent flood damaged my floor covering.
Fortunately I had retained all my invoices to show the claims assessor that it was it was a 'high end' quality floor which ensured I was able to replace 'like with like'.

 

[sxturbo]

yeah we keep records of literally everything else, couriers only keep delivery records for 6 months. We have now implemented an additional procedure

as luck would have it, we found an old email that details we sent it back to them, so the onus is now back onto the customer.

they wanted to send it of for a 3rd opinion seemingly the company that built the engine didnt like that we advised the failure was down to the non return valve in the oil feed was installed the wrong way round.