(c) That's right. Section 40 of the ACL prohibits a person from demanding payment for goods that have been sent to a person who did not ask for them. The same prohibition applies to unsolicited services. Pecuniary penalties can be imposed for such conduct. It is a defence for the person who is demanding payment to show that they had a reasonable belief that they were entitled to payment.

However, the provisions of s 41 make clear the limitations of this defence. Section 41 states that a person who receives unsolicited goods is not liable to pay for them. Nor are they liable for any loss of or damage to those goods, unless that loss or harm results from a willful and unlawful act by that person (for example, deliberate destruction of the goods). In the present case, although B has not taken good care of the book, he has not willfully and unlawfully destroyed or damaged it.

Further, s 41 provides that, three months after the delivery of unsolicited goods, the person who sent them is not entitled to recover them (and this period can be shortened by a recipient who gives the sender written notice to remove the goods).