Hi again,

Wanted to ask the legal responsibilities a business owner has when chasing people to pick up the work they have asked us to do.

In 2009 we were given a camcorder to take from it the vision of a family that were killed in a motor vehicle accident. Their family wanted the last vision of their loved ones copied to DVD, which we did. This was organised through a family friend who had known us for years. At the same time we were asked to copy our old friend's wedding video to DVD.

Several phonecalls, SMS's and emails later, still no response fro either family. Here we are three years down the track.

We still have the camera (I have threatened selling it to recoup costs without response) and the wedding DVD's.

Any advice?

Family 1.

Maybe it is a combination of somebody having forgotten about it and not wanting to pick at the trauma sore. It depends on how hardnosed business-wise you want to be about this one whether you really want to sell off their camera. I think you may need to seek some sort of court order before you go doing that, otherwise you could be stealing.


Family 2.

Has there been a divorce. In that event, the wedding video is the last thing anyone is going want to keep as I have myself discovered. As a motivator or attention getter, maybe send a registered letter to both partners, suggesting that recourse to legal action is being considered or that you intend to sell the debt off to a collection agency.


Whatever transpires, the endurance of friendship will likely come to an end. I doubt that the legal costs involved in recovering this debt are going to be worth pursuing it.

It happens to me from time to time. After about a year I put it in a box, hide it, and forget about it. When I come upon the box ten years later, I pitch it.

This is why people charge 50% up front. At least you could have made 50% on this deal.

Strange how it includes their original wedding video and a dvd copy of the same AND a pretty darned good video camera!

You would at least think they would want the camera back! :-)

Send it back to them with registered post and an invoice. Simple.

Yes. Simple if you know where they live.

Mike's solution is the same as what I'd probably do. Stick it away and forget about it. At this point it's not worth thinking about.