.......
As an aside, the all of us here are admittedly eyeing his stuff and wanting to keep some of it. It's not everyday you come across a nice flat screen and bike..
.......
Any advice? I can't help but wonder what the legality of all this is?
Greed.....such greed.....what a singularly unpleasant original post. Really? You don't come across "a nice flat screen and bike" every day? How unfortunate for you. Seize the day, and all that....
Buy a storage unit and put his stuff in there so the new guy can move in. Call the guy and text him or send him a letter that his stuff is available to be picked up and he has three months to claim it. If he doesn't respond or try to contact you, the stuff is yours. Just keep recordings and copies of emails/texts/letters.
Good advice.
..... We thought about moving his stuff into a unit but that costs money and considering we've not heard a peep from him fear we'd never get the money back.
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... but he does have a nice bike which I would love to have... but still, nothing is happening, its just sitting here and figured i'd ask the question.
Sigh.
Has anyone contacted LAPD? Might be a good idea. IMHO
Exactly.
Personally, I think he dropped out of school and just went his own way. Perhaps moved far away, but it seems odd considering all the stuff he's has here...from DJ equipment, vinyls, laptops, printers, etc. etc.
How do you know that he 'has dropped out?' You are merely making this assumption without any knowledge of the guy or his situation.
As other posters have said, he could be dead, comatose, suffered a mugging, a murder, a breakdown, you don't know, and, until you make a serious effort to find out you will have no way of knowing. To say 'I think he dropped out' is - I think - mentally lazy and, frankly, extremely self-serving in this instance.
I hear you but I think his parents should be notified of the situation. Just because no one has visited doesn't mean he that there isn't a family somewhere that cares about him.
Exactly.
You may not have any info but I'm sure the school does. I personally would be more concerned that nothing bad happened to him and I think the school and authorities would want to look into it that too. If the school can contact the family I think they should be the ones to decide what happens with all his stuff.
I'm astonished that no effort has been made to contact the administration in the school. Of course the administration/college bureaucracy/college authorities have his contact details. And, of course, they won't give them out to you, but they will most certainly attempt to contact him themselves and seek an explanation for why he has - apparently - vanished into thin air.
I have taught in universities for decades; if a student fails to show for classes, or turn in essays and assignments, questions get asked.
So get a storage unit and put all his stuff in it, problem solved.
Then find out if you can get his name off the lease.
That seems like a good solution....
We won't get the money back. We won't. As college students we don't have the extra cash to put some guy's stuff in storage and pay a recurring fee.
So, deep down, you want approval - or permission - or sanction from anonymous contributors to support a course of action which will allow you (in your own mind) to take the guys stuff, and divide it up between you, but you cannot be bothered (I was about to write a considerably ruder word) to 1) contact the college authorities, 2) or contact the police.
OP, you are not covering yourself in glory here. I have to say I am not impressed by your justifications, or prevarications. Pathetic, in fact.
I am getting on your because your thread says you want to steal your missing roommates stuff that you have no idea who he is or where he is.
Exactly.
Exactly this.
I understand that may not be your end game but from your replies it make it seem like your looking for the right answer that allows you guys to split up his stuff. I'm giving you the befit of a doubt but, I'll repeat myself one more time. The school will have information on his family. They will know how to get in contact with them. Once they do I'm sure you'll hear rather quickly regarding their wishes.
In the meantime put all his things in storage to make room for the new guy.
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You're right they won't give him any information but if he explains the situation I'm sure the school will want to contact the family themselves. Especially if they are due any tuition.
This is a very good post, and makes
total sense in the circumstances.
...As for the storage unit idea... it's too much hassle and effort. Hundreds of pounds worth of books, clothing etc. We don't have time to handle this especially during the middle of the quarter. I would much rather leave his stuff as is, but if I speak with both the landlord/owner of this complex and the leaser holder of this apartment, i'll make sure to cover my ass by having them sign papers saying at their discretion that we can throw or keep this guy's stuff. Perhaps because i'm living here within this guy's stuff that I feel it's his fault for not having dealt with this before hand, or at the very least communicating with us that he would be somewhere out and about for months on end.
Differently however, if something did happen to him then obviously all of these items will and should go to his family.
The tone of this post is depressing. Really depressing.
So keep his stuff.
It sounds like you don't really want advice - you just want everyone make you feel better and tell you it's cool to keep everything.
Nicely-phrased. Seriously, OP, your thread strikes me as a particularly pathetic attempt to persuade yourself (by persuading those posting) that you have permission to treat yourself to these effects.
You don't.
If the guy has died, or is incapacitated for any reason, his effects fall to his family, not you or your mates. While I'm astonished that you have done next to nothing about attempting to find out what may have happened, I'm even more astonished that you are looking for excuses to keep what you have described, over the course of several posts, as 'pretty good stuff'.
No, not truly. I could care less about that. I just want to be legally protected should issues arise.
Fine. See your school's legal department, then. Inform them what has happened, and seek their advice. Simple.
... I do want a bike, but only if I can appropriately attain it.
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But I can still come up positive in this situation. I just have to approach it correctly, which explains the infancy in this thread.
Really? You want a bike? And what exactly explains the 'infancy in this thread' - the mind boggles - your outlook, or the considered responses of those who have suggested that you approach the relevant authorities?
Yeah, i'm not lie that a new bike would be killer.. and the situation may or may not allow me to get it.....
The 'situation' won't allow you to get it. This is not your property...and seeking permission to help yourself to the good of someone missing, injured, dead, or absent for good (or bad) reasons is disgraceful behaviour.
These are a dreadful set of posts......seriously, if I was a tutor or lecturer or yours, and such a situation arose, I'd
roast your miserable backside.
I can (just about) handle your casual disregard for a mysteriously missing room-mate, but your naked opportunistic greed is, to be candid, quite disgusting and rather nauseating.
I never once said you should try to get information from the school. I'm fairly certain that once you explain the situation to the school they will want to get in touch with his family. That should not be difficult to understand. Considering the value of the things he left behind it's possible that something has happened to him that makes it impossible for him to come and get his things.
Could be anything, dead, in jail or touring Europe on a bike. I guess I'm just the guy that will go to any possible length to have his family notified that he's diapered. Hey, they may turn around and say "Good we don't care". But under the circumstances I think it's the right thing to do. If he didn't leave any family contact info with teh landlord then the only other place is the school.
And again, I'm not telling you that you should try to get info from the school but rather give the info to the school. Tell them he has disappeared and left all his belongings behind. If they act responsibly they will contact his family.
Is it just me or does that sound like the logical thing to do?
No, it is not just you. It is what I think, also. Excellent and thoughtful post, by the way.
No, truly I've expected him to return at some point and wanted to offer to buy his bike off him. I would imagine he would let me since he's not used his in the 2-3 months he's been gone...
..but here we are.
As for this guy missing in particular, I'll call his family if the lease holder of this penthouse has that info... but further than that i'm fairly certain popping onto campus and explaining the situation won't do much. They won't give me any info and I'm sure no one one campus will call anyone. Or they may, who knows. It's not that big of a hassle to pop into admissions and ask..
But I'm fairly certain this guy ain't coming back. His stuff is here and am confident he dropped outta school. My best guess is he went back home, which all I know is about 20 miles away. Which assists in understanding why not one person has come looking for him. Anyways, thats speculation.
What a self-serving post. Why are you sure dropping into a campus office 'won't do much'? And how are you 'fairly certain' he isn't coming back, and 'confident' he dropped out of school? Really? You have evidence? Or are you just looking for excuses to take his stuff?
If this guys has such expensive stuff and only lives 20 miles away why would he not come back for it?
Yes, indeed.
Go to the police and file a missing persons report. Considering you have not done that yet is pretty sad.
You know he is missing. Good idea to file the report.
Absolutely, couldn't agree more.
.....they've assumed he just dropped out.. but doesn't explain his stuff still being here. I can only now wait for the guy in Africa to reply to me, but different time zones and all.
Oh, tosh. Utter tosh. Utter and total tosh. I'm amazed at how Twitter, FB and Skype make mincemeat of time zones and distance.....and yet, when ever so slightly inconveniencing to you, 'time zones' suddenly emerge as a salient and serious argument. Ridiculous.
Yes. Exactly.
...Nearly every school has Student Legal Services, it's surely a better option than asking for opinions here.
They have and you should contact them and pay close heed to what they have to say.
It's not your stuff op plain and simple
If anyone has a claim to it, it's the landlord. Assuming the owner or family don't pick it up
At any rate contact the cops. Can't believe this hasn't been done yet
Amen to that. I couldn't agree more.
hell you should even have access to free ones threw your schools legal aid.
Yes. This is also true.
How do you know he's not going to class?
I have also asked this question.
^^^
While you and your roomies plot the distribution of this individuals belongings, he could have had an accident, a breakdown, be lying dead someplace anything could have happend.
I'd contact missing persons, he's been gone long enough for them to take it seriously.
And no, you can't just take his possessions either.
Another answer with which I'm in complete agreement.
Another vote to report him missing. You don't know anything about his family? His friends? Nobody just leaves these kind of things around.
True.
Sounds like OP is trying really hard to justify taking someone's stuff without even a good faith effort to resolve the problem. Lots of good advice so far, which OP just dismisses while salivating over a bike.
Very well expressed. Couldn't agree more.
That's how I read the thread. The fact is, the guy could very easily call the police who will find out who his roommate is and take action. The stuff is just stuff and I can't believe the OP is so insensitive to focus on stuff and not a human being.
This is my view, as well.
This. Call the police and let them track down his next of kin. What if he was killed or kidnapped? Or is lying in a hospital somewhere in a coma?
Exactly. The well-being of your missing roommate is more important than whether or not you get to keep his stuff. If you suddenly went missing for months, would you want your roommates to do nothing but eye your stuff instead of contacting the police to figure out what happened to you?
And again, another excellent post, with the right priorities.
Sounds like the OP is trying to establish an alibi.
Did you have anything to do with this persons sudden disappearance?
Would explin why Police havent been contacted
Yes. A good question.
Seriously, OP, your conduct leaves a lot to be desired. Indifference to the possible fate of your absent room-mate is quite unpleasant, and most certainly not to be applauded, but the sheer naked greed all too evident in your posts is most unsettling. Not at all to your credit.
Go to the college authorities if you cannot or prefer not to, rent storage space. Go to the police if that doesn't appeal. Do not divide up his possessions. Do not cast longing eyes on them, either. Do not seek permission to do so from an anonymous internet forum - I'm certainly not about to sanction such disgraceful behaviour. They do not belong to you. You have no right to them. None.
Try to develop a little empathy, or sympathy. And maybe, just maybe, try to cultivate a slight sense of the responsibilities that come with being an adult - you know, that time of life when you are allowed to wield a gun, drive a car, (God forbid) vote, or cast a ballot, father a child, buy a drink......and seek to find out what may have happened to someone who may have been unfortunate to fall through the cracks in life before you divide up his possessions with a gleam of greed in your eye.