[LawyerRon]

There are several legal issues at work here;

One legal issue here is whether or not you are obligated to pay for something you did not order. The narrow answer is “no”. Under State and Federal laws, vendors cannot force customers to pay for something not ordered.

Another legal issue at work here is “unilateral mistake”. That’s where one party to a contract or an agreement is honestly mistaken. Example, you agree to buy my Seiko watch for $50 and I accidentally send you my solid gold Rolex worth $20,000.00. You are obligated to return the Rolex based on my “unilateral mistake”.

A third issue here is actually a defense (for you) and it’s called “laches” or “equitable estoppel”. These legal terms basically mean a person “sat on their rights” and are not deserving of a remedy. In other words, if I knew I accidentally sent you my Rolex and did nothing about it for a year or two, you could raise the defense of “laches” and argue I sat on my rights and don’t deserve the Rolex back.

So what’s the answer?

I would send the company written notice by mail, certified, receipt requested, informing them of their mistake. Tell them if they do not respond within 30 days they will be barred from recovering the extra equipment not ordered.

The legal basis for your claim is 1) You did not order the extra equipment, and 2) They “sat on their rights” and are therefore barred from recovery by principles of laches and equitable estoppel.

Also, there really is not a "statute of limitations" here, as the courts would imply they only have a "reasonable time" to discover and correct their mistake. I would deem a "reasonable time" to be maybe 30-60 days.