Moral Dilemma (Hypothetical)

REJP

If I knew the loser I would return it.
Otherwise I would hand it in to police station if I could find one open.  The money might belong to someone desperately hard up financially.  Otherwise I would post it to police station in the area where I found it.
I have found various amounts of money in the past, always handed it in, and always had it given back to me by police except some claimed by a financially struggling family.
Perhaps my upbringing was along the lines of "do as you would be done by".
Works for me.

williamro

Years ago as a student I found a wallet stuffed with cash in the post office. I handed it in to the police and I think that months later I got a thank you note from the owner.

badmemory

People are going to have to be a lot more careful with their cash now they are all going to be plastic.  If you keep notes in your pockets & it is surprising how many people do, then put the notes in with the folded edge up.  If you put them in folded edge down they will literally fly out of the pocket.  So far spotted 5 times in supermarkets & 3 times in bars & now we have £20s in the mix too!

savik2

If it was a loose banknote or coin and there was no way of identifying the owner, I'd probably just keep it.  If it was in an envelope/wallet/purse/handbag, I'd take it to the police.  (I once found a nylon shopping bag in the middle of a busy road.  It had nothing in it apart from a little purse containing small change.  It took it to the local Police Station, and they treated me as though I was nuts for bothering them with this pathetic little bundle.  Turned out the bag belonged to an elderly lady who had fallen in the street earlier that day and had been taken to hospital, and the little purse was a treasured possession.  Her daughter sent me a lovely Thank You card explaining what had happened and why the purse was so precious.  I doubt this would happen today, though, because the Police probably wouldn't be allowed to pass on details of the finder.) 

JReacher1

maisie_cat said:

I found a £20 outside our local Sainsburys & handed it in to staff, found out a few months later that staff keep handed in money if it's not claimed. If I'd known I would have taken to the police station, but I would never have kept it. Even if it belongs to a criminal the chances are that they wouldn't go into the police station and claim it so the finder would get it anyway legitimately.

If you hand £20 into the supermarket there is a reasonable chance it will be claimed by the person who lost it as they could ask in store if anyone handed in £20. 

If you instead took it to a police station there is no chance of the owner claiming it!  I’m not sure who would go to their local police station to ask if anyone handed in a £20 they had found in Sainsburies!

KxMx

I once found £20 in Debenhams, handed it in to staff and asked it be given to charity if unclaimed.

Change like pound coins in the street or self checkouts I put in a charity box.

My attitude is it's not my money. And if there isn't a prospect of a reunion I like to think the owner wouldn't mind too much that it goes to charity.

Fireflyaway

My child took out £20 and put it in a trouser pocket. Upon going to take it out about 20 mins later it was gone. We were in a crowded shopping centre. I'm fairly sure someone would have seen it fall out. It was those horrible plastic notes that spring out of wallets! I felt sad that someone could have seen it happen and just take the money. It's possible nobody did, but if they did it's just horrible.

SadieO

badmemory said:

People are going to have to be a lot more careful with their cash now they are all going to be plastic.  If you keep notes in your pockets & it is surprising how many people do, then put the notes in with the folded edge up.  If you put them in folded edge down they will literally fly out of the pocket.  So far spotted 5 times in supermarkets & 3 times in bars & now we have £20s in the mix too!

I saw a £10 note fly out of a cyclist's pocket in a busy city centre street. A pedestrian caught it but the cyclist was going so fast he was already out of sight. The pedestrian immediately handed the note to a homeless man sitting nearby, which I thought was a nice thing to do. I think the police have enough on their plate. 

Spendless

Surely both the amount and the circs play a part in the answer. Eg I am walking through a muddy field when I spot 10p. I pick it up, I don't know who it belongs to, no one saw me, I'm not going to waste police time over loose change, I keep it.
Alternatively I am in a  small supermarket when I spot 10p. I am down an aisle by myself but a few seconds earlier I saw someone spill the contents of their purse accidentally by the tills. The liklihood is the 10p has rolled there the person is still in the queue, in that case I'd hand it back. 

















 
 

JReacher1

SadieO said:

badmemory said:

People are going to have to be a lot more careful with their cash now they are all going to be plastic.  If you keep notes in your pockets & it is surprising how many people do, then put the notes in with the folded edge up.  If you put them in folded edge down they will literally fly out of the pocket.  So far spotted 5 times in supermarkets & 3 times in bars & now we have £20s in the mix too!

I saw a £10 note fly out of a cyclist's pocket in a busy city centre street. A pedestrian caught it but the cyclist was going so fast he was already out of sight. The pedestrian immediately handed the note to a homeless man sitting nearby, which I thought was a nice thing to do. I think the police have enough on their plate. 

He probably spent it on drugs/alcohol. You shouldn’t give money to homeless people but instead should give to the charities who support them.