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Vacated House - Was this legal? - Page 2

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  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by CageK View Post
    Hey, SMF, today I was driving through an alley and noticed a dump next to the alley of vacuum cleaners, and fans, mixed with misc junk. I went to the door to knock and ask if I could have the garbage, but when I looked the door had "VACATED" written on it. So I figured I could take the scrap. When I tried two neighbors from a street away came out to tell me that the people had moved out and what I was doing was illegal. They were very nasty about it and said the police are gonna get me.

    I don't want to break laws, but this was a pile of garbage, laying about 3 feet from the alley of a vacated house... the vacuum cleaners were full of dirt, as was the rest.

    So am I legally able to take this garbage from a vacated house? I know the garbage wasn't necessarily on the street, but nobody owned the house and it was garbage.

    Was I in the wrong?



    Thanks, guys!



    When scrap metal is located within private property lines it is illegal to take the metal without permission. Yes, that refrigerator or that vacuum cleaner is 2-3 feet away from the alley.. but without permission you do not know the whole story. There are too many unanswered questions.. Maybe the metal was placed there for another scrapper to pick up.. who knows? That is the problem.. I have seen this before and knocked on the door of the home to find out that they put the scrap there so it was easier for their cousin to load when he gets there in an hour.. Funny thing is.. they were watching me whole time.. people are not stupid..

    When the scrap is in the street or in the alley it is FAIR GAME. There are no questions..

    Yes, you may have done someone a favor by removing the scrap.. but you have to get that mentality out of your head. Metal is money and a lot of people know it whether you like it or not. What you did was illegal and if you are ever labeled a metal thief by your local police.. well.. good luck scrapping.. Did those neighbors get your license plate?

    There is too much metal theft and police are cracking down.. the only way to operate your business is the legitimate way. Sometimes, it is too good to be true and you just have to walk away..

    Freedom is much more valuable to me then a 25 dollar load. Just saying..


  2. #22
    gustavus is offline Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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    Quote Originally Posted by azscrapper View Post
    When scrap metal is located within private property lines it is illegal to take the metal without permission. Yes, that refrigerator or that vacuum cleaner is 2-3 feet away from the alley.. but without permission you do not know the whole story. There are too many unanswered questions.. Maybe the metal was placed there for another scrapper to pick up.. who knows? That is the problem.. I have seen this before and knocked on the door of the home to find out that they put the scrap there so it was easier for their cousin to load when he gets there in an hour.. Funny thing is.. they were watching me whole time.. people are not stupid..

    When the scrap is in the street or in the alley it is FAIR GAME. There are no questions..

    Yes, you may have done someone a favor by removing the scrap.. but you have to get that mentality out of your head. Metal is money and a lot of people know it whether you like it or not. What you did was illegal and if you are ever labeled a metal thief by your local police.. well.. good luck scrapping.. Did those neighbors get your license plate?

    There is too much metal theft and police are cracking down.. the only way to operate your business is the legitimate way. Sometimes, it is too good to be true and you just have to walk away..

    Freedom is much more valuable to me then a 25 dollar load. Just saying..
    Very well stated. Even running a legitimate business working with scrap can be a pain in the ass.

    One day coming home from Chilliwhack we pulled into the Husky for a take out lunch when suddenly we were boxed in by three police cars in front of the restaurant. Why well we had the most beautiful load of heavy walled copper pipe used as buss bar in a hydro sub station. The copper came from a large sawmill a buddy was dismantling, I was taking the copper back to his yard for him as a favor.

    Someone had stolen some aluminum irrigation pipe and this is what the police figured we had on board, we were detained until the owner of the irrigation pipe could show up to say hey guys this is copper not my pipe.

    On other occasions I had visits to my scrap yard from security from both the municipal yards and the railway looking for stolen goods.

    Now here is an example of color of right, one neighbor has some junkers parked encroaching onto his neighbors property, in other words the cars were parked illegally on his neighbors property.

    The neighbor gave several notices to have the cars removed, the guy ignored these requests. The absentee owner who's property is cluttered with someone else's junk cars phones me from another Province asking me to remove said derelicts.

    I said aright by me, all I need is a fax giving me authorization, which was sent that very afternoon. I removed the cars to my yard. A week or two later a cop pulls into my yard asking me if I have such and such cars. The cop arrests me, takes me to lock up, As he is booking me in, I tell him about the authorization, he wants it badly.

    I would not give him the original, only a photo copy, gad knows where the original could end up. To serve and protect a big joke.

    Cop makes the call to the landowner who tells him yes he asked me to remove the cars, here's were it gets real funny when the cop drives me back home the gate is closed and locked. He looks at me an smiles then says looks like your locked out.

    Ha Ha idiot the gate is closed to keep you out , I'm free to come and go as I please.

    If I only had a camera for that moment, that picture was worth more than a thousand words.
    Last edited by gustavus; 09-23-2011 at 09:59 PM.

  3. #23
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    I always ask in situations like that. I passed up a lawn mower this week that was on the curb right next to the trash cans. Judging by the looks of it and where it was sitting I was about 90% sure it was junk, but, the doubt nagged me to much. I checked back a couple times, left a card with a note etc but got no reply so I had to let it go. I'm not about to risk my reputation on questionable items.

  4. #24
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    I have to question the cops intelligence, to mistake copper for aluminum.

  5. #25
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    I have to question the cops intelligence, to mistake copper for aluminum.
    It is kind of scary, isn't it? They look nothing alike,, hmmm
    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
    If you enjoy your freedom, thank a vet.

  6. #26
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    I allways ask.
    Once I has seen a copper hotwater cylinder sitting in someones front yard. So Its his.
    A couple of months later it gets shifted a bit, then they fix part of the fence.
    A month later its still there. I would have fingured it would be stolen by then.
    So a week later I ask a guy whos walking onto the property "whats the story with the copper cylinder"

    He gives me a funny look & says "I have replaced my cylinder & thats the old one, I have called the plumber 3 times to remove it & he hasn't so far. So I guess you can have it if you want"

    I say "Sweet (NZ$65) I will grab it later on. If its gone you know its me then"

    I didn't get it that day & I didn't want to do it the next day as I'd showered & was clean & didn't want to get all sweaty.
    So I go back the day after that.

    And its gone...............

    So, The meaning of this post?

    ASK first! & Get it while you can

  7. #27
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    Not only do I question the cops intelligence, but also their integrity. Just sayin......

  8. #28
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    just take it

  9. #29
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    a little late to the party there, lol

  10. #30
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    I say err on the side of caution, my old partner did 90 days in county for dumpster scoring $20 worth of aluminum out of a factory dumpster..the police thought he was dumping illegally! Factory owner found out about and felt very bad for my partner, they printed a" right to salvage" letter to handle future police encounters. Find the owner of vacant properties..they overwhelmingly like free clean-up offers,or even better get the insurance necessary to do foreclosure clean-ups and get paid to take the trash and good stuff!!! This type of hassle is avoidable with communication!!

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by CMHN View Post
    if the items were set on the curb for the garbage man I would take them,
    It's actually illegal to do that in my town. They say, once it's on the curb, it's town property. The owners can't take it back and no one can pick it up - only the town's garbage men can take it. I find that it's a ridiculous rule... But it's there.


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