Civil disputes

The refusal of B to give something borrowed from C back to C is not automatically theft. In some cases it might have to be resolved using the Civil Courts and you may need to see a solicitor for advice.

Example:

B borrows C's power drill. B keeps promising to return it, he does not intend to keep it and it is just left in the garage, but he doesn't get round to giving it back. If this is pure forgetfulness, which goes on for a fairly long period (despite reminders) it would not be theft. However, eventually there comes a point where C has been deprived of his property for so long that B has no excuse for not returning it (perhaps a year or more) and the Criminal Courts would consider he had stolen the drill.

If you have a problem with someone who has borrowed your property, keep a record of all the occasions you have asked for it back and then ask a solicitor to send a formal letter asking for the return of the property. If the property is still not returned, there may sufficient to justify making a complaint of theft to the police.

Every case will be different and it may be, for example, that the borrower claims the property was a gift. In circumstances like that, the police may not be willing to take action and you must to go to the Civil Courts to get your property back. In the case of a borrowed power drill this may not be economically worthwhile. Below is a brief summary of the offence of theft, it is not intended to be a comprehensive explanation.

Theft occurs when someone dishonestly appropriates (takes possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself/someone else without permission) some property that does not belong to him or her and treats it as his or her own and has no intention of returning the property to its rightful owner.

Examples:

B is walking along the street chatting on her mobile phone when C runs past and takes the phone from her hand and runs off with it.

B takes an item from the shelf of a shop and leaves the shop without paying for it (shoplifting).

If hired property has not been returned it will only be a theft in certain circumstances.

Example:

B hires a car from C for a week and fails to return it on the due date. This does not automatically constitute a theft. B must have somehow treated the car as if it was his own, sold it on or moved from the area and taken the car with him and in doing so permanently deprived C of the ownership of the car.

In many cases, hired property is returned late or there is some misunderstanding. This is likely to be a breach of contract. It is advisable to make some basic enquiries into the matter (or speak to a lawyer) prior to making a formal complaint to the police, so you can give them as much information about the circumstances as possible. There can be a fine line between a civil dispute and theft.

If you are in any doubt (once you have found out why the goods have not been returned), contact the police or a solicitor who will help to explain the law accordingly. A brief summary of theft is below; it is not intended as a comprehensive explanation.

Theft occurs when someone dishonestly appropriates (takes possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself/someone else without permission) some property that does not belong to him or her and treats it as his or her own and has no intention of returning the property to its rightful owner.

You need to return the item back to the shop and explain the situation to them.

The retailer will probably want to see the receipt as proof of purchase from the shop, but should exchange the item without too much difficulty.

If however this does not happen, then you should seek advice from the Citizens Advice. The Government also offers help and advice in the form of Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06 (certain regions only) and Trading Standards may also be able to help.

Many people are installing CCTV in their properties as a home security measure as it has proved to be an effective tool in fighting crime. However the cameras are limited in what they are allowed to capture. This would include the owner's premises and such areas as to protect their property (e.g. car). If the camera is recording you, your family or your property and you believe that this is causing distress then you may wish to seek police advice.

However, it would be advisable, if you feel safe to do so, to speak to your neighbour to see if it is possible to move the camera so that it does not point at you or your property.

If the vendor told you that the perfume was Chanel and sold it to you as the original and you paid a reasonable price (so that you may not have been expected to realise that it was not genuine) then you should contact your local Trading Standards Office which will take up the complaint on your behalf. Although the vendor could be said to have obtained your money by a criminal deception, Trading Standards are the best people to deal with these matters.

See also the Citizens Advice's website.

This is family law and as such the police have no jurisdiction over the matter. You need to seek further advice from your solicitor. It is likely that the case will go back before the court, who will decide what course of action to take.

However if you have concern for the safety of your child then you should contact Police Scotland by dialling 101 to instigate a missing person investigation.

A cheque can be 'bounced' for a number of reasons which include:

• insufficient funds in the account it's being drawn on,
• it has been cancelled by the drawer (the person who wrote the cheque) or
• a technical reason (unsigned, wrong date, amount etc)
• fraud (maybe it is a stolen cheque).

Usually, if a cheque is 'bounced' the banking institution will write further instructions on the cheque such as 'Refer to Drawer Re-present' or 'Refer to drawer'.

If it states 'Refer to Drawer Re-present' then you can re-present the cheque again up to a maximum of 3 times although the bank does usually re-present the cheque before sending it back to you. Your bank may charge a fee for this.

If it states 'Refer to Drawer' then the cheque is effectively cancelled and cannot be re-presented. You need to get another cheque from the person or get them to give you cash.

If someone you do not know sends you a cheque then you should wait until it has cleared before drawing out the money or releasing any goods.

Be very clear when speaking to your bank about what you mean. The bank may allow you to draw funds on the cheque before it has cleared so should the cheque subsequently bounce you will be out of pocket.

When you speak to the bank about a cheque clearing, make sure they are aware that you mean that there is no danger of the cheque being returned unpaid and it has been honoured. The only way to really ensure that a cheque has been paid is to ask your bank to 'specially present' the cheque, there will be a charge for this and it may vary from bank to bank. If the cheque is a small amount then it may not be worthwhile but if it is a substantial amount and you are releasing goods then it could be beneficial.

If you suspect that a fraud has taken place then you should notify your bank who will advise you to report the matter to your local police station

If a road traffic accident/collision happened on a road or a public place and the other driver failed to stop or there are injuries then you have to report the accident to the police.

Some car parks can be classed as public places, for example, supermarket and multi story car parks. However, car parks belonging to private organisations where the members of the public would not ordinarily be permitted would not be classed as a public place and should be reported directly to your insurance company.

Unless the video or photo is of an indecent nature and of a child or of a criminal offence then the police will not get involved.

If the photo/video is for example, on one of the social networking websites, you could speak to the administrator of the internet site who may remove the material.

Otherwise, you would need to obtain a restraining order from the courts to order the removal of the material. You should seek advice from the Citizens Advice or a solicitor about this matter.