Money Moral Dilemma: What should I do with the lottery ticket I found in a charity shop coat?

MSE_Kelvin

This week's MoneySaver who wants advice asks...

I bought a coat in a charity shop and, when I got it home, found a lottery ticket in one of the pockets. I checked the numbers and it's for a £5,000 win. But I'm not sure what to do now - should I return to the charity shop and ask if they know who donated the coat, give half the amount to the shop and keep half for myself as a way of sharing my good fortune, or keep it all as the coat and what it contains is now mine?

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Niki4r

I think it would be worth contacting the shop and telling them you found something in the pocket (without specifying what it is) and asking if anyone has been in contact. The chances of them actually knowing who brought it in are slim. Maybe give them your phone number and let them call you if anyone does contact them looking for it. Wait a few weeks and then if you hear nothing cash it in as yours. Maybe consider donating some of it to the shop for good karma. 

William_Joseph

Its yours unless the original purchaser has put their name and address on it. The shop should have checked the pocket. It is very doubtful the purchaser could be traced at this stage and even if they could they were very careless to have left it there.

Mojisola

William_Joseph said:

It is very doubtful the purchaser could be traced at this stage

Not necessarily.  The charity shop we donate to records everything we take in and when it's sold so that they can claim the tax back.

mancfrank

Claim the prize. Keep half. Donate the other half to the charity.  Karma.

redrumgalaxy

11. Found Tickets

11.1 If You find a Ticket that:

(a) does not have a name or address or other indication of ownership (or it does, but the information cannot be read, is inaccurate or is incomplete so You are unable to return the Ticket to its rightful owner); and

(b) is for a Draw that has not yet taken place, or is a winning Ticket for a Draw that has taken place but for which the Claim Period has not expired,

You should send the Ticket to Camelot's Player Services Department at The National Lottery, PO Box 287, Watford, WD18 9TT (or any other address advised by Camelot from time to time). The Ticket should be sent with a covering letter or note that states Your name, address and contact number as well as any information about how and where the Ticket was found and what steps You have taken to return the Ticket to its owner. Camelot must receive the Ticket and accompanying documents within the Claim Period for the relevant Draw.

11.2 If the process in Rule 11.1 has been followed and the Ticket is a valid Winning Ticket (or becomes a Winning Ticket on or after Camelot receives it), provided that:

(a) Camelot has not received a valid notice from anyone claiming they have lost that Ticket or that it has been stolen (see Rule 10); and

(b) Camelot is satisfied in its discretion, after carrying out any appropriate investigations, that You took all reasonable steps to return the Ticket to its owner before sending it to Camelot; and

(c) Camelot is satisfied that the Ticket was lost by or stolen from the rightful owner and then found by You; and

(d) You are acting in good faith,
Camelot may, within a reasonable time after the end of the Claim Period for the relevant Draw (but without limiting the effect of Rules 9.1(c) and (f)), at its discretion pay You the Prize.

i.e. its likely to be fraud if you don't follow the process because it is dishonest.

cardriver98

Is it still within the time frame ??  there will be questions asked if it was bought in another area, and you cant tell where it was bought.  Be honest.  Greed is a dreadful sin !!! 

RobM99

Mojisola said:

William_Joseph said:

It is very doubtful the purchaser could be traced at this stage

Not necessarily.  The charity shop we donate to records everything we take in and when it's sold so that they can claim the tax back.

They take the name of every donor and every item?

Peter_Vince

Return it to the charity shop, but ask if whoever claims the prize (the original donor, or the charity themselves) will pay you a 10% "finder's fee".

nieceypiecey

I would contact the charity shop, it's possible that the person donated as a gift aider in which case they would have their name and address. 

keithyno.1

It purely depends on your own personal conscience. Some options:

1) You could make enquiries at the charity shop to see if they have a definite record of who donated the coat, as others have suggested. DON’T tell them exactly why and hand over the winning ticket, as the person you’re handing it to could easily pocket it and then claim the £5,000 themselves.

2) If they don’t have a definite record, you could follow the procedure for Found Tickets with Camelot as outlined by redrumgalaxy above, and hope nobody claims it so they eventually pay you the prize.

3) “Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers” - it’s one of the oldest sayings known to mankind (sources put the earliest written uses of this expression at 200 B.C., by the Roman playwright Plautus). Cash the ticket in and enjoy the £5,000!

Ultimately it doesn’t matter what anybody says on here is morally the right thing to do - there’s no hard and fast definition. Just follow your own conscience. I’d say it’s a lucky dilemma to be faced with!