Learn our protocols for assisting you should you find yourself in possession of a stolen tool.
I received a locked tool. Now what?
A word of caution: when you purchase goods second-hand — at a pawn shop, swap meet, or online —there will always be the risk that you end up with a tool that belongs to someone else. We hope that sellers do their due diligence, but whether by accident or deliberately, there is a strong aftermarket for power tools and batteries, and stolen property can slip through the cracks.
The good news: One-Key compatible tools have built-in tracking and security capability, which is great for you as an owner if your tools get stolen. If you’re looking to get into One-Key, the safest bet is to do your due diligence when buying second-hand tools or, alternatively, always consider buying new. If you do buy your tools second-hand, and find yourself in possession of a stolen tool, this article outlines our general protocols for handling issues of tool theft. We’ll cover the two most common scenarios:
- Stolen tools purchased on the resale market
- Stolen tools discovered at service centers
*Note: This article discusses the typical process we’ll follow to help you, should you find yourself in possession of stolen One-Key compatible tools.
- Stolen One-Key compatible tools are easily identifiable because they will generally be inoperable (locked out). Newer models feature a blinking red light to further indicate a lock.
- Ownership information is stored in the One-Key app and can be accessed by our customer service team in order to identify who the original owner is, to be used for verification purposes.
As a quick aside: if you suspect you have obtained a power tool that has been stolen, which is not One-Key compatible, we highly recommend you review the return policy at your place of purchase. As a member of the public, you are protected if you buy stolen goods so long as you didn't have a reason to know they were stolen when you bought them. It’s important to consult the return policy at the physical store or online marketplace you purchased your tools from, as each distributor may have a different policy in place for dealing with potential seller fraud. Ours is below.
Stolen Tools Purchased on the Resale Market
If you’ve purchased a One-Key compatible tool on the resale that is inoperable, this is likely because the tool has been physically locked out.
A One-Key compatible tool could potentially be locked out for a couple of reasons:
- The tool has been stolen, or marked missing—and its owner has enabled its tool lock security settings.
- The tool is still in the original owner’s inventory, blocking you from using the One Key app functionality. Tools that are already in someone’s inventory might not appear in nearby devices. Additionally, if you try to add a One-Key compatible tool that is already in somebody else’s inventory, you will see an error message telling you that the tool is in someone else’s inventory. It’s always good practice to remind the seller of the One-Key compatible tool to remove the tool from their inventory before transferring ownership to avoid difficulties later on.
If you’ve purchased a One-Key compatible tool on the resale market and find that it is inoperable and has a red blinking LED, we encourage you to:
- First, review the return policy at your place of purchase to see if it’s possible to return the tool and recoup your investment.
- Call 1-800-SAWDUST.
We will never provide personally identifiable information of the original owner (or you). We will contact the original owner for you and conduct a resolution process.
Resolution Process
The resolution process will differ depending on what we determine to be true:
- Tool was sold properly, but owner forgot to remove tool from their inventory.
- Tool was sold improperly (sold without authorization of the rightful owner), and marked missing or stolen
Tool was sold properly
We will seek to verify that the tool was sold by the rightful owner. If we can confirm that the tool was sold by the rightful owner, and mistakenly remained in their inventory, we will:
- remove the tool from their inventory
- unlock the tool
- contact you once the issue has been resolved
From there, you should be able to use the tool without delay.
Tool was sold improperly
If we confirm that the tool is missing or stolen, we will contact the original owner and request they file a police report and provide us with a copy for verification purposes, including logo, police officer name, contact information, and case number.
If the rightful owner does not reply or a police report is not provided, after 30 days, we will:
- Release the tool by unlocking and removing it from original owner’s inventory
- Contact the possessor of the tool to inform you the issue has been resolved
Stolen Tools Discovered in Service Center
Milwaukee® Tool service centers might encounter an inoperable tool that has been sent in for service after being improperly sold and locked out by its original owner.
We cannot provide personally identifiable information of the original owner (or you). We will contact the rightful owner for you and conduct a resolution process.
Resolution Process
The resolution process will differ depending on what we determine to be true:
- Tool was sold properly, but owner forgot to remove tool from their inventory.
- Tool was sold improperly (sold without authorization of the rightful owner), and marked missing or stolen
If the tool was sold properly
If a service center encounters an inoperable tool, they will:
- Contact you and inform you why the tool is inoperable
- Quarantine the tool for 30 days
- Refer you to this support article regarding our policy on stolen and missing tools
- Contact 1-800-SAWDUST on your behalf to coordinate the stolen tool process with a Milwaukee Tool service agent
The service agent will:
- Contact the original owner to determine if the tool was accidentally marked missing or stolen
- Let them know we will remove the tool from their inventory for them, if the tool was sold properly and they forgot to remove it from their inventory
- Remove the tool from inventory
- Contact service center to unlock, fix, and return tool to you
If the tool was sold improperly
If tool was sold improperly and in fact was marked missing or stolen, the service center will contact the original owner to:
- Ask them for a copy of a valid police report (needs logo, police officer name, contact info & case #)
- If police report cannot be provided, they will inform the rightful owner that they should contact their local police. They have 30 days to provide a police report to us or the tool will be released.
- If police report can be provided
- Milwaukee Tool will help the service center return the tool to the rightful owner
- Possessor of the tool will be informed that the tool was stolen or lost, a valid police report was provided, and the tool was returned to rightful owner
- If the rightful owner does not reply or a police report is not provided, after 30 days:
- The tool will be released by removing it from the original owner’s inventory
- The service center will unlock, fix, and return tool to possessor
Sometimes tools are unwittingly purchased from fraudulent sellers. We generally recommend avoiding altogether circumstances that could result in the purchase of stolen tools: Only purchasing through certified distributors, who receive products directly from the manufacturer, or doing your due diligence when purchasing tools second-hand to ensure they are not stolen. However, should you find yourself in possession of a stolen tool, contact us at 1-800-SAWDUST or visit our support site to fill out a support ticket. We will use the procedures in this article to resolve your issue on a case-by-case basis.