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The lien no longer exists against a person if the warehouser does not give notice to that person, as section 3 requires. For example, if a warehouser knew that a person who is not the owner of the goods (or a person acting with the owner’s authority) left the goods for storage—and the warehouser does not give notice of the lien to the owner—the lien no longer exists against the owner after 2 months from when the warehouser knew who the owner was. Similarly, if the warehouser knew that a financing statement had been registered against the goods when they were left, but does not give notice to the person with the security interest in the goods, the lien no longer exists against that person after 2 months from when the warehouser knew who the person was.
==Notice that warehouser intends to sell the goods—section 4 of the Act==
Warehousers who want to sell the goods to pay off the debt must use a public auction. First, they have to give written notice to the following four parties (using one of the two methods in section 8) that they intend to sell the goods:
*the person who owes the debt to the warehouser for the goods.
*the owner of the goods.
*anyone who has registered a financing statement of their security interest in the goods by the time the goods were left at the warehouse.
*anyone else the warehouser knows to have—or claim to have—an interest in the goods.
This notice must have all the following information:
*a brief description of the goods;
*the location of the warehouse where the goods are stored, the date they were left there, and the name of the person who left them;
*an itemized statement of the warehouse’s charges, showing the amount due at the time of the notice;
*a demand to pay the amount due (and other charges that may accrue) by the date shown in the notice, not less than 21 days from the delivery of the notice if it is personally delivered (if the notice is mailed, then 21 days from when the notice should reach its destination by regular mail); and
*a statement that, unless the charges are paid by the date in the notice, the goods will be advertised for sale and sold by public auction at a time and place set in the notice.
This is described in section 4 of the Act. If the charges are not paid by the date in the notice, the warehouser must advertise the sale before holding the public auction. The advertisement must be published at least once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the local area where the sale is to be held, and must contain all of the following:
*a description of the goods to be sold;
*the name of the person who owes the debt for the charges covered by the lien;
*the time and place of the sale.
The warehouser must wait for at least 14 days after the first advertisement is published to sell the goods.
==Ways to give notice==
This is described in section 8 of the Act. The written notice required under the Act must be given in one of two ways:
*delivering the notice to the person; or
*mailing the notice to the person at the person’s last known address, by registered mail.
No—only a warehouser can claim a warehouse lien. The Act defines a warehouser as a person in the business of storing goods as a bailee for hire. Self-storage operators are not bailees for hire, meaning that they cannot claim a warehouse lien.
A warehouse lien is only one type of lien. Other types exist, in both common law and under other statutes, and a lien is only one type of remedy. Other remedies are available for collecting debts, including hiring a collection agency, suing, seizing and selling assets, and garnishing wages. Consult script [[Collection of Debts (Script 250)|250]], “Collection of Debts”, for more information. The law in this area can be complex. For legal advice, consult a lawyer.
The ''Warehouse Lien Act'' is available at [http://www.bclaws.cawww.bclaws.ca], along with the ''Warehouse Receipt Act'', which may also apply in these situations.