I received in the mail a brand new phone from Cingular. Along with the
phone was a paper that read "send us your old phone to avoid charges
to your credit card" It was addressed to my mailbox but there was no
name on the address. For me it was quite a surprise to see the phone,
can I keep it? What does the law have to say about a situation like
this.

What if I am contacted by Cingular's intended recipient, and he told
me it was Cingular's mistake to address it to me, and that I should
give it to him. Am I legally obligated to give the phone to this
person, even if his name or address appears nowhere on the packaging or
in the documentation that arrived with the package?
I live in Wellesley, MA

Dear curiousorl,

You need to send it back to Cingular, or deliver it to one of their
offices. It is unclear from the facts, but chances are the package is
the personal property of the intended recipient.  Here's why:

You stated that "send us your old phone to avoid charges to your
credit card" which implies that the intended recipient (let's call
him/her "IR") ordered the phone, probably through some promotion, gave
Cingular their credit card number, and promised to send the old
"trade-in" phone upon receipt of the new shiny phone.

That agreement between IR and Cingular created a conditional sales
contract and, under the Uniform Commercial Code of Massachusetts,
transferred legal title to the phone upon shipment. IR owns the phone.

Either Cingular mis-addresses the package, or IR gives Cingular the
wrong address - in either case it is a simple mistake.

The package is delivered to you. IR's phone is delivered to you. IR's
property is delivered to you. By retaining the phone you are
committing one or two civil wrongs, either: "trespass to chattels" or
"conversion."  (A "chattel" is a piece of personal property."

Trespass to Chattel is the temporary deprivation of another's
property. See http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/t047.htm  Damages are
limited to the costs incurred during the temporary deprivation.

Conversion is the permanent deprivation of another's property. See
http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c309.htm  Damages are only limited to the
costs of the good.

Now, Joe916 cites a very nice law that says if unordered goods are
sent to an individual, you can keep them. But that law wouldn't apply
here since the phone ended up in your mail box by mistake, not by the
intentional act of Cingular.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

What's it all mean?  If you hang on to the phone, IR could sue you,
probably in small claims court, for the value of the phone, probably
under the theory of tortious conversion of personal property.
Conversion is a civil wrong that is entrenched in the common law and
has been an available cause of action for centuries.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Again, I would give it back to Cingular and let them figure it out. 

YOU are entitled to your costs that may be incurred in making that return. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

If you need anything else, please hit the CLARIFICATION button and
I'll get right back to you.

Thanks for visiting us!

weisstho-ga

Search Strategy:

"tortious conversion"
"trespass to chattel"

Its legally,in my opinion, a free gift.
"if I am contacted by Cingular's intended recipient" Tell/him her to
contact cingular. Or let them have the phone.
You might want to check Question ID: 706807 also.

39 USC Sec. 3009

-EXPCITE-

    TITLE 39 - POSTAL SERVICE

    PART IV - MAIL MATTER

    CHAPTER 30 - NONMAILABLE MATTER

-HEAD-

    Sec. 3009. Mailing of unordered merchandise

-STATUTE-

      (a) Except for (1) free samples clearly and conspicuously marked

    as such, and (2) merchandise mailed by a charitable organization

    soliciting contributions, the mailing of unordered merchandise or

    of communications prohibited by subsection (c) of this section

    constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair trade

    practice in violation of section 45(a)(1) of title 15.

      (b) Any merchandise mailed in violation of subsection (a) of this

    section, or within the exceptions contained therein, may be treated

    as a gift by the recipient, who shall have the right to retain,

    use, discard, or dispose of it in any manner he sees fit without

    any obligation whatsoever to the sender. All such merchandise shall

    have attached to it a clear and conspicuous statement informing the

    recipient that he may treat the merchandise as a gift to him and

    has the right to retain, use, discard, or dispose of it in any

    manner he sees fit without any obligation whatsoever to the sender.

      (c) No mailer of any merchandise mailed in violation of

    subsection (a) of this section, or within the exceptions contained

    therein, shall mail to any recipient of such merchandise a bill for

    such merchandise or any dunning communications.

      (d) For the purposes of this section, "unordered merchandise"

    means merchandise mailed without the prior expressed request or

    consent of the recipient.

-SOURCE-

    (Pub. L. 91-375, Aug. 12, 1970, 84 Stat. 749.)

I suspect that you are a 'test' for a test of a marketing strategy

http://www.cingular.com/indexc
Looks as if they are really selling air time
- the old trick for that was to give away the handset.

If the address label was not mis-printed (eg: white stick-on, where
the name could be above the label) and the address is /uniquely/
yours, then I doubt if it has been sent out in error.

The handset has a unique code, even if you stick in another SIM, they
can watch you play with it.

My guess is that it is a 'marketing initiative' and that they are
watching what you do with a 'free phone'.

If you really want to keep it then it will mean ringing them and
changing networks (well billing account)

Personally I would go for a walk and sling it off a bridge, in bits.

It is quite a good way of testing the 'sex appeal' of a mobile
- blag 100 samples from 5 manufacturers
- send them 'in error' to 500 likely addresses
- watch the usage - and the 'buy in to call charges' factor

Interesting market research
- if they did it in house then they are smart.