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

naedanger

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.

I doubt this is the full position. According to the website below, you need to take reasonable steps to find the owner of the goods. If you found £5 or £10 then asking aloud perhaps might be deemed reasonable, but if you found £10,000 in a remote spot, with no-one around, I very much doubt that asking aloud would be sufficient.

http://www.themix.org.uk/crime-and-safety/your-rights/lost-property-9126.html

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.

I agree that a cash machine might well be different, and it does not obviously sound like a typical lost property or a typical involuntary bailee situation to me either.

Littleredteapot

I used to work in a bank and if a link customer had used our atm we had no way of seeing their details or knowing who had used the machine. If our customer had then yes we had a record of it. What we did have was a branch account where any cash found, like in this situation, or excess cash when the machine was balanced, was deposited. The person who left the cash should make a claim through their own bank, who will in turn contact the atm owner to check for excess funds in the machine which will then be credited back. If the bank does not have that cash their claim will be turned down. To be honest the best thing to do in that situation is to let the atm retract the cash then there is a record of it along with date and time etc. If it is that banks own customer that has left it, retracted cash is often paid back into their account automatically within 2 working days.

JReacher1

Littleredteapot wrote: »

I used to work in a bank and if a link customer had used our atm we had no way of seeing their details or knowing who had used the machine. If our customer had then yes we had a record of it. What we did have was a branch account where any cash found, like in this situation, or excess cash when the machine was balanced, was deposited. The person who left the cash should make a claim through their own bank, who will in turn contact the atm owner to check for excess funds in the machine which will then be credited back. If the bank does not have that cash their claim will be turned down. To be honest the best thing to do in that situation is to let the atm retract the cash then there is a record of it along with date and time etc. If it is that banks own customer that has left it, retracted cash is often paid back into their account automatically within 2 working days.

The bank must have a record of which of their customers have withdrawn cash from a machine at a certain time. I am an HSBC customer and if I take £50 out of a link cash machine my balance is automatically reduced by £50 instantly. Therefore the bank must be able to track down a withdrawal request from a specific cash machine at a specific time.

bod1467

Littleredteapot wrote: »

To be honest the best thing to do in that situation is to let the atm retract the cash then there is a record of it along with date and time etc.

Did you read the OP? In there it is said that a reasonable period of time was left yet the machine did NOT retract the dispensed cash. (Maybe the machine was faulty?) That's why OP took it out.

How long would a machine normally wait before it retracts the cash? (A quick Google seems just to return results about how long it takes for the cash to return to your bank account, not how long the machine waits before it retracts).

arcon5

Put it in your pocket and keep quiet.

sheramber

http://www.newspostleader.co.uk/news/local/police-warn-about-theft-by-finding-1-6711267

Police are reminding shoppers that taking cash which is left in a self service checkout is a crime.

Officers in Blyth have received a number of reports where people have taken money from a self service checkout that has been left by a previous customer.

Police said the offence – theft by finding – is a crime and people could find themselves with a criminal record if caught.

Blyth Neighbourhood Inspector Dave Simpson said: “There have been a number of incidents where a customer has left cash at a self service checkout which has then been taken by another customer.

“In most of these instances the customer who has taken the money is not a thief and would not dream of stealing, instead they’ve seen an opportunity too good to refuse without being aware that what they’re doing is actually a criminal offence.

“Unfortunately, those who are caught will be dealt with and we are seeing honest people of good character end up with a criminal record because they’ve made a bad decision.

“The impact this can have is massive on offenders’ futures including employment prospects.”

“The right thing to do is to hand the cash in, the wrong thing to do is to steal the money and face prosecution and humiliation,” added Insp Simpson.

unholyangel

JReacher1 wrote: »

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?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8129534.stm

However, if finders want to abide by the law, they need to think carefully about who owns lost property - including cash, says Robert Chambers, professor of property law at University College London.

While losers may no longer have physical possession of an item, they still retain legal entitlement to it.

Therefore, in England and Wales, as well as in most other countries across the world, the onus is on the finder to take what the law describes as "reasonable steps" to track down the loser.
"And that depends on where it has been found," says Professor Chambers. "In the airport you should go to the authorities, if it is in the street you should go to the police."

...

Furthermore, a finder may eventually earn the right to keep discovered property if they take the correct steps to find whoever lost it, says Professor Chambers.
"If you find something in the street, the law says you have more right to it than everyone else - except the owner. If the true owner doesn't turn up, you can take ownership."

A couple were also convicted after finding a lottery ticket worth £30.000 and spending half of it (and ordered to repay it at a later court hearing). Although I appreciate its not directly money, there is also this:
http://www.caerphillyobserver.co.uk/news/950180/police-appeal-after-theft-from-asda-caerphilly-cashpoint/

Money was stolen from a cashpoint at Asda in Caerphilly town after it was left at the machine by mistake.

But I suppose what you're really after is this:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58

Time limit for actions founded on tort.

An action founded on tort shall not be brought after the expiration of six years from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

JReacher1

unholyangel wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8129534.stm


A couple were also convicted after finding a lottery ticket worth £30.000 and spending half of it (and ordered to repay it at a later court hearing). Although I appreciate its not directly money, there is also this:
http://www.caerphillyobserver.co.uk/news/950180/police-appeal-after-theft-from-asda-caerphilly-cashpoint/


But I suppose what you're really after is this:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/58

Although I appreciate the links I don't see anything here which says that if you lose cash you've got 6 years to make a claim against the finder.

What you are basically saying is if you find £100 in the street, hand it into the police then after a set period (6 weeks) the police give you the cash (as nobody has claimed it) then the actual person who dropped it has 6 years to go to the police, find your details and then claim the money off you.

I don't believe this is true.

unholyangel

JReacher1 wrote: »

Although I appreciate the links I don't see anything here which says that if you lose cash you've got 6 years to make a claim against the finder.

What you are basically saying is if you find £100 in the street, hand it into the police then after a set period (6 weeks) the police give you the cash (as nobody has claimed it) then the actual person who dropped it has 6 years to go to the police, find your details and then claim the money off you.

I don't believe this is true.

Thats not what I said at all - its actually the opposite of what I said. I said the OP could shorten that 6 years by giving it to the police - because that is (imo anyway) taking reasonable steps to find the owner given there was no identifying details found with it.

However none of that would stop the owner from bringing a claim against you (as the limitation period is 6 years). Just you would have a valid defence if they did.

I posted the other links first as I thought that might establish the relevance of the last link. When they talk of legal ownership remaining with the person who lost the money regardless of who has possession of it.

JReacher1

unholyangel wrote: »

Thats not what I said at all - its actually the opposite of what I said. I said the OP could shorten that 6 years by giving it to the police - because that is (imo anyway) taking reasonable steps to find the owner given there was no identifying details found with it.

However none of that would stop the owner from bringing a claim against you (as the limitation period is 6 years). Just you would have a valid defence if they did.

I posted the other links first as I thought that might establish the relevance of the last link. When they talk of legal ownership remaining with the person who lost the money regardless of who has possession of it.

I'm getting confused now.

This post says what I posted is the exact opposite of what you said but then you post the same thing that I posted e.g. you are saying that if I found £100, handed it into the police, then received it back as it wasn't claimed then the person who lost it had 6 years to make a claim against this money.

Can you provide a link proving this?