MONEY MORAL DILEMMA. Would you keep a mistaken 'double refund'?

julie777

Just a few thoughts:-

Their faulty workmanship has potentially caused you embarrassment from a split seam at a posh do, the cost of buying a suitable coverup to hide your shame, the hassle of going back, the cost of travel and valuable time to go back to the store, hours trawling shops for a suitable replacement, plus the cost of same etc, etc........

Is £70 compensation enough???:p

I am quite an honest person really!

Tiddles12

Last year I was mistakenly sent two cashback cheques (£120 each) from my mobile phone company instead of one. I decided to keep half of the extra money and gave the other half to charity.

Part of the reason was because I had forgotten to claim a previous cashback and the date by which I was able to claim had passed. So the mobile phone company was no worse off than if I had actually managed to get my backside into gear and the claim the original cashback.

mrcol1000

I wouldn't because how much money does a dress cost to make? Unless its handmade in the UK of the finest silk it doesn't cost anything to make with cheap labour and cheap materials just look at the stuff they have in Primark. Therefore if a store is going to sell a dress for £140 then hard cheese if they screw up and refund too much money.
In shops it clearly says you must check your change before you leave the store. So its up to store to check they have refunded the right money. If they don't check they have then tough luck.

chelleapps

It's interesting reading that most seem to think it's ok to keep the money from a high street chain, seemingly they are 'better off' - but think about how many high street stores are closing/have already closed as a result of the credit crunch.

All respect to Woolies workers - still smiling as they left work for the last time this weekend. I'm slightly biased as my husband works for a major high street chain - which as a result of the credit crunch is struggling - and he might not have a job tomorrow, next week, whatever.

Maybe when everything was rosy I would have 'overlooked' their error but at a time like this I would have second thoughts.

ShaneUK

chelleapps wrote: »

It's interesting reading that most seem to think it's ok to keep the money from a high street chain, seemingly they are 'better off' - but think about how many high street stores are closing/have already closed as a result of the credit crunch.

All respect to Woolies workers - still smiling as they left work for the last time this weekend. I'm slightly biased as my husband works for a major high street chain - which as a result of the credit crunch is struggling - and he might not have a job tomorrow, next week, whatever.

Maybe when everything was rosy I would have 'overlooked' their error but at a time like this I would have second thoughts.

Well put, I was just thinking similar myself whilst reading through this. Normally, I would be of the attitude "big shops make a huge profit", but this current way of thinking is changing quickly with seeing so many shops and big companies struggling in such a big way.

spora

i think most people probably think of it as a 'victimless crime' with the big shop whereas with a smaller shop they know it will have more of an affect on their business. Feels more like stealing if its from a small shop then it is a big shop

cherrian

I'd give it back. It's not mine.
And we all need all the help we can get these days.

superbabe612

Slight variation on this theme - Last month I amended a standing order with my bank online so that it would be debited from my bank account after pay day. Unfortunately the amendment wasn't done but luckily I checked my account online on the day it was due to go out, so I phoned up and asked for it to be re-credited. Since it was due to be returned unpaid and I would have been charged, I also asked for the charge to be credited. This was agreed by a manager, who assured me she would check the following day and credit back the charge if it had been processed. When I checked my account after the weekend, the charge had been debited but not refunded - but the standing order had been refunded twice in error! If the manager had done as she promised and checked my account, she would have seen the charge and the double refund. I'm not owning up to their mistake but I'm not counting the money as mine. If they ask for it back, no problem, but only after they refund the charge as they should have done originally! I do feel slightly guilty but if they'd done their job properly, it wouldn't have happened.

cjjohnson

I returned a number of items, including wall paper, some of which had been at half price. As I was leaving I thought that the refund was higher than I expected and went home. At home I went through everything and found I had an extra £40. I really wanted to keep it but could not feel comfortable and so phoned the store.

Joyously the manager thank me for letting them know and told me not to worry, so my wallet was happy and I could still sleep at night!

csm888

From my days in Law school I seem to remember that there is case law to the effect that once you become aware of a mistake such as this, you become dishonest if you dont notify the other party of their mistake.
This then leads to "dishonest appropriation with the intention to permanently deprive" which is the offence of Theft. So simply, if you dont tell the shop of their mistake you are guilty of stealing.