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

Hadenoughofitall · 30 August 2022 at 10:57PM

You bought the coat including the contents of the pockets so the ticket belongs to you.

Bonnypitlad · 30 August 2022 at 10:58PM

Yeah, like redrumgalaxy said.....you’re stuffed!
I believe some geezer had a winning lottery ticket in his suit jacket pocket when they buried him, so they dug him up , or was that an MSE money moral dilemma a few months ago?

MrDisney69 · 30 August 2022 at 11:02PM

You have to make "reasonable steps" to find an owner. So if you found a fiver in a football ground you wouldn't shout out who's lost it as many would say it was them, not reasonable.
Likewise if you found it in the street with Boone around how can you find it's true owner, again keep it.
However, you have a good line of enquiry with the shop, if they can get the owners details then you can return it to the rightful owner, if not it's yours as you have taken "reasonable steps".
If they do find the owner from the shop and they keep it without sorting you out then it will feel like wetting yourself in a dark suit, you'll have a warm feeling but nobody will notice!

SavvySlut · 30 August 2022 at 11:17PM

I think you have to at least try to find the owner via the charity shop. They have donated a nice coat to charity so they are a giving type of person and if it was me I’d feel bad claiming and spending the money myself. If you can’t trace them then give the money to charity.

MalMonroe · 31 August 2022 at 4:29AM

You could contact the lottery people - is it still Camelot? They can trace where the ticket was sold. And I have read articles in the past where buyers of tickets have been traced too, when they have misplaced a ticket and reported it to the place they bought it from. I'd certainly have to contact the lottery organisers though if I'd found such a ticket. Imagine if the roles were reversed, how would you feel? If you exhaust all avenues, then you'll probably have to cash it in and keep the money. But it wouldn't feel right to me - I am not on a high income either.

jenniewb · 31 August 2022 at 5:14AM

MSE_Kelvin said:

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?

Unfortunately the MSE team can't answer Money Moral Dilemma questions as contributions are emailed in or suggested in person. They are intended to be a point of debate and discussed at face value. Remember that behind each dilemma there is a real person so, as the forum rules say, please keep it kind and keep it clean.

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I'd be too worried about bad karma to keep the ticket all for myself! I'd consider it fair enough to share the winnings- after all, if I'd just washed the item and the ticket had been distroyed, no one would get anything! It was partly due to luck, partly due to the shop not paying better attention (who knows what could have been in the pocket- what for example if it had been an item for a child and drugs like acid had been in a pocket?!) and the owner also didn't take better care. All in all I'd say the finder deserves to keep a certain amount and that is to be decided between the charity shop and the owner. It's not as much a moral choice to who gets what amount and more a personal one. The finder for sure should keep a fair amount though.

Lulu2red · 31 August 2022 at 6:24AM

If you are buying clothes in a Charity shop chances are you are not that well off and you need the money more than the person who donated it. Cash the winnings and make a donation to the charity. How much you donate would depend on your financial circumstances. If you saw someone drop a lottery ticket on the street you would pick it up and give it to them. If you kept it and it was a winner I would expect bad karma to follow but in this instance you have done no wrong. Clothes get donated in huge sacks and are sorted in warehouses. Most of it goes to recycling anyway. You are an honest person otherwise you would not have posted this dilemma. Enjoy your good fortune but pass a little back as a thank you.

Ed264 · 31 August 2022 at 7:11AM

My local charity shop records what was donated by who, but it wouldn't specifically detail the actual coat it was i.e. they might just note 'black coat'. I'm surprised the donator and the shop failed to check the pockets. Safest bet is to contact the lottery organisation directly without involving the shop. Make sure you keep a photocopy of the ticket. If they decide to pay you, keep the money and make a donation to the charity if you feel like doing so.

RobM99 · 31 August 2022 at 7:21AM

Isn't here an offence "theft by finding" or similar?

popslion · 31 August 2022 at 7:39AM

Contact the National Lottery and let them sort it out. They can tell exactly where and when the ticket was purchased. They can deal with the charity shop. If the owner has registered with the shop so charity can claim tax back (I am) Then all they need is the date you purchased coat and the charity can trace the owner. It’s not your money. If the owner can not be traced then it is entirely likely National lottery will pay you in time. Don’t forget the owner may well have notified them of lost ticket. They have an investigation department that can help.