Uncollected Phones and Repairs in the UK: What a Repair Shop Can Legally Do

Short answer. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a repair shop can sell a device the customer has abandoned, but only by following the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. Send a written notice asking the customer to collect. If they still don't come, send a written notice of your intention to sell by registered post or recorded delivery. If they owe you money, give them at least three months. After the sale you keep what they owed and the cost of selling, and the rest still belongs to the customer. Scotland has different rules.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The law quoted here was checked on legislation.gov.uk on 31 October 2026. For a valuable device or a disputed bill, speak to a solicitor.

Every phone repair shop has a drawer of devices nobody came back for. Some were never fixed because the quote was too high, some were fixed and never paid for, and some customers simply stopped answering. The phone is not yours just because it has been sitting there for months. Here is what the law lets you do, in order.

Where this applies

The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It does not extend to Scotland (section 16). If your shop is in Scotland, see Citizens Advice Scotland or a Scottish solicitor.

In the Act, your shop is the bailee (you hold someone else's goods) and the customer is the bailor.

The steps at a glance

Step	What you send	How	When
1. Ready message	"Your phone is ready" by WhatsApp, SMS or a call	Any way you like	As soon as the repair is done or the quote is refused
2. Notice to collect	A written notice that the device is ready and must be collected	Handed over, left at their address, or posted	Any time after the repair is done
3. Notice of intention to sell	A written notice giving the date from which you will sell	Registered post or recorded delivery	Give at least 3 months if money is owed
4. Sale	Sell for a fair price and keep records	The best method reasonably available	On or after the date in the notice
5. Account for the money	Keep the balance for the customer		After the sale

Step 1: Tell the customer it is ready, and keep a record

The law does not require a ready message, but it is the cheapest way to get the phone collected, and it gives you a dated record. Send it the day the repair is finished or the customer turns down the quote, and send a reminder a week later.

Step 2: The written notice to collect

Schedule 1, Part I of the Act lets you make it the customer's duty to collect by giving them a written notice. For goods left for repair, you can send it any time after the work is done. The notice can be handed to them, left at their address, or sent by post.

It must say:

• your shop's name and address,
• which device it is and where it is kept,
• that the device is ready to collect,
• any amount the customer owes you for it.

A WhatsApp message is a useful reminder, but the Act talks about notices that are delivered, left at the customer's address or posted. Do not rely on a chat message as your formal notice.

Step 3: The notice of intention to sell

If the customer still does not collect, Schedule 1, Part II sets out the notice of your intention to sell. It must:

• be in writing, sent by registered post or recorded delivery,
• give your shop's name and address,
• say which device it is and where it is kept,
• give the date on or after which you plan to sell it,
• state any amount the customer owes for it.

The date must give the customer a reasonable chance to collect. If the customer owes you money, the period cannot be less than three months. Send it to their last known address. Keep the proof of postage and a copy of the letter.

If the customer disputes the bill, stop. The Act says you cannot give this notice, or sell, while the customer is disputing that the amount is owed. Sort out the dispute first.

If you cannot find the customer

Section 12(3) also allows a sale when you have failed to trace or contact the customer after taking reasonable steps to do so. Reasonable steps means more than one unanswered text. Call, message and write to the address you have, and keep a dated record of every attempt.

Step 4: Selling the device

Section 12 says you may sell the device if you have given the notice (or could not trace the customer) and you are reasonably satisfied the customer owns it. Two points matter in a phone shop:

• Ownership. If the person who left the phone did not own it, the sale does not give the buyer good title against the real owner (section 12(4)). Be careful with phones that were dropped off by someone other than the account holder.
• Price. Your account to the customer is worked out as if you had used the best method of sale reasonably available. Selling a working iPhone to a friend for £20 is a risk.

Phones hold personal data. Erase the device properly before you sell it. A phone still locked to the customer's Apple ID (Activation Lock) or Google account (Factory Reset Protection) cannot be set up by a buyer, so it may only be worth its parts.

Step 5: What happens to the money

Under section 12(5) you keep:

• the costs of the sale, and
• the amount the customer owed you before you gave the notice of intention to sell.

The rest belongs to the customer. Write it down and keep it for them in case they come back.

Mistakes that cause problems

"My terms say 30 days, then it's mine." The Act works subject to the terms you agreed with the customer (section 12(8)), so clear terms help. But under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a term that is unfair to a consumer is not binding on them (section 62). The safest route is to send the notices even if your terms have a time limit.

Stripping it for parts without notice. Taking apart or selling someone else's device without following the Act can be conversion. The customer can bring a claim for up to six years (Limitation Act 1980, section 2).

Binning it. Throwing a device away has the same problem as selling it without notice, and you also lose the money you could have kept.

How to stop it happening

Most uncollected repairs come from a few situations: a quote the customer never accepted, a repair that took too long, or a customer who paid nothing up front. These habits cut the numbers down:

1. Take a deposit or an advance for parts you order in.
2. Get the customer's address at drop-off. You cannot send a notice without one.
3. Put a short collection line on the receipt, for example: "Please collect within 30 days of being told your device is ready. Uncollected items may be sold under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 after written notice."
4. Send the ready message the same day, then a reminder.
5. Review your Ready list every week and start the notices for anything older than a month.

Doing this in RepairFlow

RepairFlow does not send notices for you, but it keeps the record you need:

• The customer's name, phone number and address are saved with their record, and any advance payment taken at drop-off is on the repair ticket.
• When a repair is marked Ready, one tap opens WhatsApp or SMS with the pickup message already written. Staff press send.
• The Ready tab on the repair list shows everything waiting to be collected.
• Your footer text prints under "Terms" on thermal receipts, and your terms and conditions print on invoices and estimates.
• With customer self check-in (Beta, Web Pro), the customer signs your terms at drop-off, and the A4 receipt shows which version they agreed to and when.

Start a 14-day free trial of RepairFlow Web or see repair shop software for UK shops.

Example letters

These are examples to adapt, not legal documents. Fill in the brackets.

Notice to collect

Notice of intention to sell (send by registered post or recorded delivery)

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to keep an uncollected phone in the UK? There is no single number of days. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you can sell it once you have followed the notice steps in the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. If the customer owes you money, the notice of intention to sell must give at least three months.

Can I just send a WhatsApp message as the notice? Use WhatsApp for reminders. The Act describes notices that are handed over, left at the customer's address or posted, and the notice of intention to sell must go by registered post or recorded delivery.

Can I charge storage fees? Only if they were part of the terms the customer agreed when they left the device. Any amount you claim must be stated in the notices.

What if the customer turns up after I sold it? They are entitled to the sale money minus your costs of sale and what they owed you before you gave the notice of intention to sell. Keep records of the sale price and costs so you can show your working.

Does this apply in Scotland? No. The 1977 Act does not extend to Scotland. Get Scottish advice.

Sources

• Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, section 12 (power of sale)
• Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, Schedule 1 (notices)
• Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, section 16 (extent)
• Limitation Act 1980, section 2
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 62