Hi everyone,
Maybe someone ha some wise advice around here:
I left Switzerland before the first Covid lockdown, when I left I was not able to bring with me all my belongings to France, that have value to me.
My boyfriend at the time encouraged me to leave the belongings behind that with time he would help me moved them to France.
We broke up during the pandemic crise and now he refuses to send it by Swiss post (at my expense) or to be present when I send someone to pick it up.
if I go myself I have zero confirmation that he is there to give me the belongings either as he replies to my messages very aggressively and uncooperative.
Plus he changed address that it is unknown to me.
Any advise if I should file a complaint with police, how to proceed usually it by talking doesn’t not work?
Thank you for your help!
He can't legally dispose of you belongings and he can't withhold them from you.
If you don't have his address though, how can you do anything?
Hire some goons to go to his place and retrieve your stuff.
Do you have any proofs that those belongings are yours and not his or some form of shared property ?
Do you have a mutual friend that could intervene on your behalf? If not you are going to have to deal directly. Ask nicely, no threats.
As there has been some communication regarding, let's call it 'her stuff', there's evidence that the stuff exists or existed but not what it is/was.
A registered letter demanding the items be returned in good order or are made available for collection within a certain time frame would be reasonable.
If that doesn't work you could demand a monetary value for the items if not the items themselves and if that doesn't work you file a formal demand for that money or the items. As there's no evidence that we know of, whoever adjudicates any decision would need to figure out what the worth is.
Ah, without an address it's going to be difficult! Maybe send to the old address and see if it gets forwarded or returned.
I still have stuff from a former tenant, 3 years after he moved out.
I would contact the Swiss Police and find out if there is anything they can do. Perhaps they could also advise you on how to go about finding his new address. I believe that everyone in Switzerland needs to register their address when they move.
Also, be sure to keep any texts and emails, etc. where you have talked with him about your things and wanting to retrieve your things and, of course, any proof via emails, etc. that you have of his refusal to return them to you as well as when he had promised you that he would return them.
Good luck!
I can ask friends to find the correct address that can be the easier part. So far I have been trying to be civilised and ask him for collaboration on sending at my expense all the belongings. But he is not collaborative neither respectful.
I have no proof that the stuff is mine, maybe a suitcase has my name on the travel tag but is about it. On the text messages he listed all the stuff and I agree on so this qualifies somehow to prof but is not a prof of buying...
I will send the registered letter as suggested demanding the sending of all the objects in a time frame, I will organise how to send to facilitate somehow his life.
Otherwise the second suggestion of contacting the police will be the step after.
Thank you very much for all the help
It is an awkward situation. Maybe you can ask a mutual friend to mediate?
People get irrational after break-ups, unfortunately.
Text message with stuff is good, make a copy of it. If this ever goes to court, I would imagine you will need this.
I would be very surprised if Police would get involved here. He didnt steal anything, you lived together, you had shared stuff thats normal.
I would imagine this needs to go via somekind of mediator/court in the worst case, only after Police can get involved if he refuses to comply with court order if its in your favor.
On top of the advice you've been given, make an exhaustive list of all the "stuff". That sounds tedious, but even if you ask someone to collect it on your behalf, they're going to need to know what they're collecting. And it things become ugly, the list will be essential.
This.
Being lazy is not against the law.
Tom