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Finders Keepers | Finders Law
Ever since the phrase came into being in the early nineteenth century, documented as no halfers-findee, lossee seekee, which sounds more like something from a comedy sketch than something that has probably been said by most of us, but what does it mean? Has it got any foundation in law today?
My earliest recollection of the phrase was when used by my friend Gary to claim ownership of my Kevin Keegan England football card, very rare, it did seem a bit unfair that he kept it because he could chant the silly phrase repeatedly and to this day I have not forgiven him, but was he in the right and 30 years on, is it now to late to get it back, I suspect so.
But what does it mean, to most, finding £1 coin in the street picking it up and popping it in your pocket is fine and exactly what the keepers rule is for, what if it was £500 or a purse with some ID in it, does that change anything, a lot of people would say the chant is the law and that's that, it didn't help a recent couple who claimed £30,000 on the lottery from a ticket they found, it was proven in court that they did not purchase the ticket and were given an 11 month suspended sentence, in summing up it was said, that 'finders keepers, losers weepers' is not true .
So has this phrase only come about because of frequency of use, convenience, may be because it rhymes or does it have some roots in common law?
In some ways it alleviated guilt, if you found £20 in the street most people will pop it in their pocket, as they have no easy way of finding out who lost it, but if that £20 was in a wallet people are more likely to hand it in to the police, so most people make a decision based on ownership.
So what it the Legal standing on this? It does all come down to who are the true owners, whilst an item may not be in the owners possession, they do still have ownership of it, so the finder must take 'reasonable steps' to fine the true owners.
Where the items were found, will decide where they need to be reported, if in doubt contact the police, the most common are finding something in the street or a public area which you report to the police, except on a beach where you must report it to the coastguard's receiver of wrecks and if you dig some think up you must advise the coroner.
So if you find the £20 in the street you must advise the police, otherwise you will be guilty of theft, but your bounty as a finder may not be lost, if you have taken the correct steps to reunite the lost item with its owner, and they never claim it, it's yours, you have more right over ownership than anyone else except the true owner.
If you have a question about ownership we would recommend that you contact a firm of solicitors for Legal advice.
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