Intellectual Property Law

Reclaiming "Stolen" Property?

My husband and I are suspicious that someone in our flat building has stolen a magazine that was posted to us (we have a crap communal mailbox area). He [my husband] saw the magazine in the morning before leaving for work but it was gone when we returned in the evening. Question is, how do we go about finding out what's happened to it without sounding like we're accusing our neighbours of stealing our property?

Public Comments

1. it was a magazine they probably thought it was just junk mail
2. Leave a note in the communal box area asking for whoever borrowed it to please return it.
3. Cancel the subscription & order the magazine via a newsagent. You can't accuse an entire block without any proof. You will just cause ill-feeling for no good reason.
4. Do the note thing. If it doesnt work, cancel it. It is only a magazine after all, not worth the fuss really! :-)
5. kind of crazy idea but if u really wana catch him keep a mazaine &watch over it & hopefully u will get him
6. i lived somewhere with communal post area and some swine stole my friends birthday cards.....took all the money out and then put them back in her box! missing magazine whilst still annoying not really worth getting upset about too much put up a sig asking for anyone else whos had problems to get in touch and you can go to who ever and get it more secure. we did this and they put letter boxes on all our doors. yeay for us, sucked for postie though lol :D
7. You are no doubt paying a service charge. Request a better mail box system. Do you have residents meetings? If so, bring it up. It is a criminal offence to steal someone's mail. It may well have happened to others as well. You don't need to use the word stealing. If you are on friendly terms with others in the building, ask them on passing if they have had anything disappear, as you saw your magazine in the morning, and it was not there when you returned. Maybe others have not recieved mail they have been waiting for. This needs to be knocked on the head.
8. you should set up a hidden camera and 'plant' a new magazine - something hardcore - more likely to be half linched then. You could then dust the magazine for print or do some dna analysis should it contain sticky wee. Hope this helps!