Found a big chunk of cash in a cashpoint...

flightboy

Not sure about other parts of the UK but in essex you cant hand in cash to the police unless it has some form of ID with it ( cards in a purse etc ) but you can give them your details in case someone comes and asks for it

Ironically they wont take cash or any items that dont have ID with it to...save money! ha

Nebulous2

I had a similar situation a few years ago. Found £200 in a supermarket cash machine. Pulled it out without thinking. Phoned the bank there and then, who said hand it in to the supermarket.

I got home and my wife was convinced the supermarket staff would keep it. Two weeks or so later I got a letter saying it hadn't been claimed and they had passed it to the police. Some time later (6 weeks?) I got a letter saying it hadn't been claimed and I was free to come and collect it.

I protested to everyone; bank phonecall, supermarket staff and police that they should be able to track down the owner, but no-one seemed interested. The policeman just handed it over and said it was mine now.

So I kept it.

melanzana

This happened to my sister. She found €300 at an ATM while on holiday visiting us. Didn't know what to do!

She took the money down to the local police station. They gave her a receipt and said if it wasn't claimed within X months (sorry can't remember now how long) it was hers.

And she got it for herself eventually, as it hadn't been claimed within the time frame.

Is this an option in the UK?

boo_star

geordiestory wrote: »

It's not some weird assurance. The bank said they're unlikely to be able to trace who was using the ATM (and Google searches suggest that unless it was one of their customers using that bank's card then they can't).

Of course they can. Even if it wasn't a customer of theirs they'll have the persons card number, so they'll know who they banked with.

Then they simply contact the bank, giving the card number which will enable the bank to contact the customer...

It's not rocket science.

esuhl

It's not the bank's money (assuming the machine wasn't faulty and just spitting out money at random). If they say they won't necessarily be able to return it to its rightful owner, I'd hand it to the police and the bank know that anyone wanting to claim the money should contact the police.

As above, if it's unclaimed after a certain time, you get to keep it. And I'd trust the police more than the bank!

unholyangel

Really, its no different to any other involuntary bailee situation. OP needs to take reasonable steps to find the owner and the owner has 6 years to chase for their money.

OP can shorten this by handing it to the police.

JReacher1

unholyangel wrote: »

Really, its no different to any other involuntary bailee situation. OP needs to take reasonable steps to find the owner and the owner has 6 years to chase for their money.

OP can shorten this by handing it to the police.

I dont think this is true.

Can you please provide a reputable link that says if a private individual loses/drops money you have 6 years to reclaim this money?

Zandoni

A police officer friend of mine once told me that if you find cash all you need to do is ask out loud if anyone has lost any money. If there's no reply you can keep it.

A cash machine might be different though. How about letting the bank know you have an amount of cash and tell them when what time you picked it up. If the rightful owner asks for it the bank will know the exact amount lost and ask you to return it.

agrinnall

Zandoni wrote: »

A police officer friend of mine once told me that if you find cash all you need to do is ask out loud if anyone has lost any money. If there's no reply you can keep it.

It's a nice story but as police officers often have little real knowledge of the law I suspect that's all it is.

Zandoni

agrinnall wrote: »

It's a nice story but as police officers often have little real knowledge of the law I suspect that's all it is.

This is not your average police officer, he is high ranking and is renowned in the force for his knowledge.