A Huge Cash Discovery, A Big Mistake: Junk Removal Firm Loses Out on €600,000
Burglars Head Towards Liquid Assets Establishment
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A junk removal service found itself in hot water after discovering a small fortune in an apartment, only to be left empty-handed when the Cologne Regional Court ruled it had no claim to the money or a finder's fee. The company had initially sued for €100,000 and a finder's fee.
So, what happened? The company, based in Bavaria, was hired to clear an apartment in the region. Little did they know, they were in for a surprise. Their employees stumbled upon over €600,000 in cash, stashed away in odd places like diaper packages. They also unearthed jewelry and coins worth around €30,000.
The company was quick to claim the cash, pointing to a contract clause that stated all remaining items in the apartment would be theirs once the work began. But the Cologne Regional Court shut down this claim, stating the clause was unfair and gave the company an unfair advantage. The court declared that the firm couldn't assume the clients intended to leave the team with six-figure wads of cash and valuable items.
Adding salt to the wound, the court also denied the firm a finder's fee, as they hadn't technically found a lost item. The ruling, made in early May, isn't binding just yet.
In Germany, when it comes to finding cash, the law is a bit gray. Finder's fees aren't set in stone by specific laws but can be agreed upon through contracts. When it comes to lost items, the law is more straightforward, guided by the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB). Despite the lack of explicit regulations, any agreements for finder's fees should be fair and reasonable. And if disputes arise, they can be settled through legal channels, weighing the terms of the agreement against the principles of fairness and reasonableness.
So, while it's unfortunate for the junk removal team, it seems they might need to chalk this one up to experience!
The junk removal company, being a community institution, could have potentially formed a business partnership with the institution of the place of residence to negotiate fair finder's fee agreements for discovering valuable items like cash and jewelry, as currently, such arrangements are not legally binding but are subject to fairness and reasonableness. However, the absence of such collaborations resulted in the company missing out on a potential €100,000 finder's fee alongside the €600,000 in cash and €30,000 in jewelry found during the course of their business operations.
