Serial Numbers And Repair Shops

Factual Questions
1

I was watching the episode of All In The Family and Archie buys an expensive watch really cheap from “a guy.” Mike assumes since it’s so cheap and “the guy” works by the docks, it’s a hot watch. Actually it turns out to be a cheap fake knock off.

Anyway the watch stops working so Edith takes it in to a repair shop. Mike says the repair guy will check the serial number of the watch against a list of stolen watches and the cops will get Archie.

Over the Christmas holidays I worked at a computer store and we also checked the serial numbers of computers that people brought in to be repaired against a list of stolen computers the police gave us.

So my question is, is this the law? Or is it something stores just do?

I don’t necessarily mean watches and computers only, I mean repair shops or even a repair person running a private business fixing any old thing, from a car to a table.

2

It’s common for companies (usually the insurance company) to give rewards to shops that identify & recover stolen goods. That’s in addition to the goodwill from the owner who was robbed of his property. So this might be enough to keep shops checking the lists.

I don’t know that there is any law requiring this.

Credit Card companies used to do the same – if you called in for approval on a card and it was stolen, they would ask you to try to keep the card and not give it back to the presenter. If you managed to do so, they gave you a reward.