Ground off serial number on ebay purchase

[firegrass]

Hi all,

 

I received a MS200t from ebay seller recently. I'm not too happy about the condition, 'wear and tear' looks more like damage to me, but that's not my main concern. The serial has been part ground off. Obviously I'm concerned this is stolen, but I wondered if anyone had experience of this being done for a legit reason?

 

I'm not taking any chances and have got a appointment with the police tomorrow to see if we can part-match what's left of the serial # as stolen.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Edited December 11, 2012 by firegrass

[Kev Stephenson]

I can't see any legitimate reason to grind off a serial number

[Andy Collins]

Nor can I, what a shame.

[Stubby]

Probably stolen . Damage is to make it look more used than when it was stolen s/# ground off for obvious reason. Seen it done on bike frames . The imprint , if stamped in ally goes deeper than what you can see on the surface . With the right equipment it still can be read .

[predator]

YOUR NOT ON YOUR OWN

i won a stihl chainsaw on ebay and never give it a thought untill i learned some saws are built in germany and some in the usa based on the serial number. on checking mine it has non on it all and have had it over 13 months it plays heavy on my mind all the time as i should of checked it when i recieved it etc but was more wanting to use it etc . To be honest the old guy i got it off seemed very decent and trusted him as its ebay etc not the back of a lorry etc make me feel gutted to be honesti wont ever get caught out again though

[firegrass]

Probably stolen . Damage is to make it look more used than when it was stolen s/# ground off for obvious reason. Seen it done on bike frames . The imprint , if stamped in ally goes deeper than what you can see on the surface . With the right equipment it still can be read .

 

Thanks for that info. I'll be sure to mention it tomorrow. It still has 4 digits at the start and 3 digits at the end. Officer suggest that would be enough if it was registered as stolen. I believe from reading on some forum there's also a serial # deeper inside, but it's a dismantle to get at it.

[firegrass]

YOUR NOT ON YOUR OWN

i won a stihl chainsaw on ebay and never give it a thought untill i learned some saws are built in germany and some in the usa based on the serial number. on checking mine it has non on it all and have had it over 13 months it plays heavy on my mind all the time as i should of checked it when i recieved it etc but was more wanting to use it etc . To be honest the old guy i got it off seemed very decent and trusted him as its ebay etc not the back of a lorry etc make me feel gutted to be honesti wont ever get caught out again though

 

Yeah, I'm pissed off and feel an idiot. It would have been a simple thing to ask about. PayPal will give me my money back whether the police want to keep it or not. I hope it can go back to it's rightful owner as are these aren't cheap. If they don't want it, niether do I, as they could turn up after the 45 day PayPal protection window and ask for it back, and then I'd lose out. Proper pain in the arse as I wanted to use it this week!

 

Live and learn I guess....

[Al Smith]

I have a large west coast saw that came through with the serial plate removed as those saws did not have a stamped number .Even so over the years if the saw or whatever would have had replacement parts the item could have a different or no number at all .

 

I don't know the laws in the UK but would assume if you had a form of a bill of sale it should suffice to relieve you of any legalities regarding stolen merchandise .

[Kev Stephenson]

A bill of sale will go towards preventing prosecution for you knowingly handling stolen goods. It does not mean you get to keep the item as it was never the sellers to sell.

[spudulike]

A real difficult one, the seller should have made you aware that the saw had no serial numbers, it may have been stolen at sometime in its past, logic would tell you this.

 

I guess if the police can't put the saw back in the hands of the legit owner then you should be happy to use it but it may effect resale value.

 

Bit of a sod though, I had to inform a member on this site that his saw had no serials on it - he hadn't known in all the years he had owned it:blushing: