Legal information regarding lost and found items on suchen.expert
1. No verification by suchen.expert
suchen.expert does not conduct any substantive or legal review of whether an item reported as found through the platform was lawfully found or whether the finder has possession or ownership rights.
In particular, ownership and the circumstances in which the item was found are not verified.
2. Not an official lost property office (Section 965(2) BGB)
suchen.expert is not a lost property authority or an official lost property office within the meaning of Section 965(2) of the German Civil Code (BGB).
The platform is not authorised to receive statutory reports of found property or perform official duties.
3. No fulfilment of statutory reporting obligations
Publishing a found item on suchen.expert does not replace the statutory report of found property under Section 965 BGB.
Finders remain obliged to report found property without delay to the competent authority (e.g. a lost property office, municipality or the police), where required by law.
4. Purpose of the platform
The purpose of suchen.expert is to provide a supplementary digital information and contact platform that connects finders with people who have lost items and helps recover lost property.
No legal review or decision is made regarding claims for the return of property, ownership or possession.
5. Statutory rights and obligations (Sections 965 et seq. BGB)
The statutory rights and obligations of finders and people who have lost items under Sections 965 to 984 BGB remain unaffected by use of the platform.
This applies in particular to:
- the finder’s reporting obligation (Section 965 BGB),
- duties of safekeeping and care (Section 966 BGB),
- entitlement to a finder’s reward (Section 971 BGB),
- and other statutory rules on acquiring ownership.
6. Disclaimer
suchen.expert is not liable for disputes, claims or damage arising in connection with use of the platform, in particular:
- disputes over ownership or possession rights,
- false or abusive reports of found property,
- users’ failure to fulfil statutory obligations.
Liability exists only within the framework of statutory provisions, particularly in cases of intent or gross negligence.
7. Users’ responsibility
Users must provide truthful and lawful information about found property and comply with the relevant statutory provisions.
If there is uncertainty about legal matters, users are advised to contact the competent authority or a legally qualified adviser.
