MONEY MORAL DILEMMA: Would you intervene?

Davesnave

As a matter of interest only, it is easier in my area to report lost property than something found, because the police have a web site for lost items. If you find a valuable object, as I did this week, you have to wait in a telephone queue and pay for the call.

Something not quite right there!

Susan_Frost

If the money is on the floor of a fast food store, then it has probably only just been lost, as I imagine it would have been noticed pretty quickly, therefore the owner is probably in the queue, or certainly in the store. I would always pick it up myself, not point it out to others. If someone obviously seems to have lost something I would approach them but not say how much it was. If not, then I would tell the manager I have found 'an amount of money' and have it announced. If someone came forward, while I was in there, fine, if not I would leave my name and contact details, but keep it because it is unlikely to be claimed after that time. Spend it after a month. It has to be remembered that if you involve someone else, they may not have your level of honesty. However, the main dilema for me would be, accurate identification of the owner. I would have no problem handing it to them. But to hand cash over to anyone else, no chance. You only have to read these pages to know that many people are 'chancers' and would just keep it. And I certainly dont think that cos it was lost in the store, it belongs to them. That does seem strange reasoning.

kymi

special_k83 wrote: »

You got someone sacked for 20 quid, nice :rolleyes:

Would you want someone dishonest working in your local bank!!

Not sure what I would do with a tenner (probably pocket it or if there is a charity box, stuff it in there)

If it was a wallet I found, I'd go up to the manager/assistant in the shop, look thru it for a name and addy and if I couldn't find one, tell her/him I was taking to the police station and to let the owner know if they came in looking for it.
(Done this before)

Kymi

quack

Unless there is nobody around to claim it i say let them take it as they might place it in a charity box, they might need it, they might know someone who needs it you never know. Lets have some faith in the Human race

kittysgremlin

I used to work in a cash office for a large company & company policy was if any amount of money hadn't been claimed within a week (!) then it would be absorbed into company profits. I'd never hand money in again now!

Then again, the few times I have found money I've waited until I can see someone either panicking as they look through their purse or heard them talking to their friend & I've always given it back to them.

But with that situation, I'd probably just say in a very loud voice "So are you going to ask the cashier who has lost that money?"

Blakey

Yes it's my first post because I had to say something having read the comments above.

First, the question was not about whether you would pocket the money but whether you would say something to a person who pocketed it having said that it wasn't their money and that they would check with the counter staff. Ie A thief and a liar (or maybe just forgetful!)

More worringly I am amazed at how many people are afraid to say anything. You are in a public place, in a queue so other people are there, and as someone mentioned there is probably CCTV too. "Excuse me, you said you were going to tell the staff about that tenner you found on the floor that wasn't yours".

Yes a small minority will give you some advice involving sex and travel - sadly they are lost to the civilised world already. (Others have mentioned ways of dealing with this, pointing out the CCTV and mentioning theft - but there is no point in getting knifed for a tenner).

However the vast majority will react positively to a "polite but public reminder" which leaves them publicly embarrassed if they ignore it but gives them an embarrassment free way out without being cornered and humiliated.

I am saddened in our modern world how many people turn a blind eye to things that are wrong but which don't effect them: people using disabled and infant parking (it doesn't say LAZY parking), litter louts, queue cheating, phoning and driving. The list is endless but you'll notice I've left violence out of this as I intend to live long enough to collect the pension I've paid for.

I'm no saint, but I remember the words of Edmund Burke:
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing"

sparrer

I'm flummoxed, what a theiving, conniving lot of poor examples to MSE some of the posters are :mad: . The site is about money saving, not money stealing..

Aged 8 I found a £1 note in the street and took it to the local police station. It's just what we did, didn't think twice about it. Three months later I was rewarded with the £1, a bag of sweets and a letter from the station sergeant.

Aged 60, last year I took my 3 DGC into McDonalds in the school holidays. I dropped the £20 I was holding and before I could bend down to pick it up again the woman behind me had it in her hand, grabbed her son and marched out. I went to go after her but she was obviously younger and faster (and a lot bigger than my 5 feet nothing).

Sadly, what goes around doesn't always come around. Call me a fool, however I won't change my values for anybody.

Biker62

Sorry to be a bore, but the correct and LEGAL thing to do would be to pick it up and take it to the nearest Police station to hand in as lost property. After 3 months (I think) you can legally claim the money.

Picking up money someone has dropped is "stealing by finding"!!! You could be prosecuted!

sandieb

I've found quite a lot in my time.

I found £10 on the floor in M&S Taunton - handed it to them and was able to claim it after 3 months.

I found a handbag on the back of a portaloo at an outdoor concert - handed it to police patrolling who later told me the lady in question was extremely grateful to have it back .

I found someone's wage packet at the till in IKEA and managed to run after them with it.

Many years ago my daughter found a full wallet at a large swimming pool and was told when handing it in that it was unusual that someone was so honest.

Phyre_Faerie

I would never hand in loose notes to a shop worker and that is as experiance as a shop worker. We would hand it to the manager and if it wasnt claimed it would go in the safe. Worse yet I have experianced twice the people finding it being told its been claimed.
You are much better off keeping the pennies from heaven if you can really see no obvious owner. The only exception to this is wallets. These very obviously have an owner who try to track them down and in my experiance are usually left intact.
Did used to know someone who worked in a cinema once though who knew someone (again a manager) who would empty the wallets then throw whats left in the rubbish compactor. gits. I've tracked down a wallet owner before from the mobile number on a top up reciept. Always a way