Honesty poll.

[AlecWest]

This morning just before leaving work (I work graveyard), I stopped off at the employee break room to get a small carton of milk to drink on the way home. The price was 60 cents ... and I put in exactly 60 cents. But when I pushed the button (grin), the stupid machine "cashed itself out" ... dropping coins into the change bucket until it ran out of coins to drop (like hitting a slot jackpot in Reno or Vegas, hehe).

Anyhoo, I put all the coins in a small bag and took it to the supervisor, telling him what had happened ... and it made me wonder if others would do this.

Question - If you got your hands on money that didn't belong to you, with no indication as to who it may belong to, and there were no witnesses, would you turn it over to an "authority" or would you smile and pocket the money?

[Conquest10]

It wouldn't depend on the amount of money, but on the situtation. If your situation happened to me, I would take the money. If I found someone's wallet at work, I would try to find out the rightful owner of it. If it's money found out on the street, what can I do? Unless its obvious that the owner can be found, I have no problem keeping it.

[AlecWest]

The supervisor was surprised and complimented my honesty. FWIW, this is the 2nd time the same machine did this to me (cashed out). And, the last time, I also turned in the money. Since I appear to have been the only person to return money, the fact that it happened to me twice might means it has happened to others who kept the money.

Not that I'm a saint (grin). I admit that, for me, it would depend not only on the situation but also on the amount (and condition) of the money. But deep down, my tendency would be to turn the money over to an authority.

A few months ago, an armored car was making pickups in downtown Portland and, apparently, the driver hadn't closed the back door properly. Two large sacks of money fell out onto the street as it rounded a corner. The driver behind the armored car stopped, took the two sacks, and with his cellphone called the "How's My Driving?" number on the back of the vehicle. The armored car company called him back later. They immediately called the driver to tell him about it. And, when all was counted later (including the 2 sacks returned to the company by the man), everything was accounted for. The armored car company never said how much was in those 2 sacks ... and the guy said he didn't "peek" ... but they gave the guy a check for $5,000 as a thank-you. Must've been a heckuva lot of money in those 2 sacks.

[lordsmurf]

If somebody else makes a mistake with money, and they don't catch it, is it theft? It all depends on the situation. A machine that spits out money, or random money found on the street, seems like fair game to me. A wallet with an ID, that's a little different.

[MackemX]

some of the prices they charge are over priced anyway

we had a machine at work and all you had to do was put 2p in and hold the buttons a certain way and it would credit you 50p or something stupid . It started out with only a few people knowing the secret but in time it was abused and eventually the machine fixed

I got my fair share of Mars bars though to make up for all the times 'it short changed me'

A few months ago, an armored car was making pickups in downtown Portland and, apparently, the driver hadn't closed the back door properly. Two large sacks of money fell out onto the street as it rounded a corner. The driver behind the armored car stopped, took the two sacks, and with his cellphone called the "How's My Driving?" number on the back of the vehicle. The armored car company called him back later. They immediately called the driver to tell him about it. And, when all was counted later (including the 2 sacks returned to the company by the man), everything was accounted for. The armored car company never said how much was in those 2 sacks ... and the guy said he didn't "peek" ... but they gave the guy a check for $5,000 as a thank-you. Must've been a heckuva lot of money in those 2 sacks.

I guess I say it in the link below . A machine's amount isn't a lot but if it was in the £1,000's like that guy who handed it in I'd be having serious thoughts. Some people may say they will it in but if you have something you fancy then you never know it may just tempt you if there was going to be no questions asked. If your lucky enough to have that decision to make I'd say enjoy it I say as I'd put it to good use by sharing my good fortune with others

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=294086

if it's an individual's money then that will probably make me return it unless I didn't like that person :P

[Cobra]

I would have returned it. Theft is theft. I am prohibited from stealing through general principle, regardless of the amount of money involved or the things I may obtain using it.

Anything I bought with it would not belong to me, but to whoever had to absorb the cost of the lost payment for the products vended by that machine. It's like taking money from the till in a shop. Unacceptable.

I much prefer the satisfaction of earning what I own through good, hard, honest work.

[Treebeard]

I would have returned it. I had an opportunity like this not too long ago. I bought some stuff at best buy for approx $350. when I got home and messed with all the stuff I realized I had an extra cable so i was going to return it. I got in the BB bag for the receipt and the check I wrote to them was put back in my bag on accident. I returned the check when returning my extra cable.

what would you have done?

[Dv8ted2]

I would have returned the money. IMO, it is the only thing to do.

[MackemX]

I would have returned it. I had an opportunity like this not too long ago. I bought some stuff at best buy for approx $350. when I got home and messed with all the stuff I realized I had an extra cable so i was going to return it. I got in the BB bag for the receipt and the check I wrote to them was put back in my bag on accident. I returned the check when returning my extra cable.

what would you have done?

I don't care if I'm not a goodie goodie as I just deal with things as they come and go

personally I'd rather have given the money to charity as a company like Best Buy ain't1 gonna miss $350 but hey if handing money in or admitting mistakes, returning lost money that can't really be traced makes someone feel good as it's the morale and correct thing to do 'then that's cool 8)

I've found a few valuable things over the years and handed them in but if I find a £20 note I wouldn't hand it in unless I knew someone had mentioned it or I was in a place I thought someone had lost it as I'd ask. Someone probably found the £20 I lost the month before while I was out on the drink . If it was a decent amount of money then again I'm not going to rush to hand it in as why should I change just because of the amount?

just to be awkward I say if you find a penny someone has dropped and keep it then it's the same as finding £100,000 :P

is finding keeping something you found through complete accident and no pre planning considered as 'theft'? I know it's not morally right but I don't think it's actual theft but something else but I may be wrong

If I was to leave £50,000 in the main street overnight and someone takes it, is it considered as theft?

by the way has anyone seen the £50,000 I left last time I posted in this thread?

[Epicurus8a]

I would have returned it. Theft is theft. I am prohibited from stealing through general principle, regardless of the amount of money involved or the things I may obtain using it.

Anything I bought with it would not belong to me, but to whoever had to absorb the cost of the lost payment for the products vended by that machine. It's like taking money from the till in a shop. Unacceptable.

I much prefer the satisfaction of earning what I own through good, hard, honest work.

My thoughts exactly! You are a good man, Cobra.

[Jester700]

To me, it's situational. The majority of the time, I'd return money. To individuals, small companies, even big companies if there's any way I figure that an individual could be harmed - blamed, fired, etc. for an error that I could have corrected. So far, I think all the examples fall into this category except the "unmarked money on the street". Remember that vending machines are often worked by one guy, who might catch shit for lots of missing money.

But on general principle? Eff it. Too many people inherit or wrest power and gain LOTS because of it, even if it harms those with much less. And they blow smoke about integrity and the little people buy it. That general principle doesn't interest me.

Does that mean I'm selfish? I don't think so. I give to charity, and unlike some I know, I don't trumpet it. Because MY general principle is no one here gets out alive, we're in it together, etc - so help those with less when you can.

[ZAPPER]

On the clock I am as straight as an arrow. My job ain't all that great, but I am too lazy to go looking for another one if I lost it. Another thing that I worry about is those damn cameras, they are everywhere! I often wonder how many setups I have lucked thru. We have had guys reach over the counter at fast food places in the mall after hours just to get a cup and a drink of water. The next thing that happens is security and the "real" cops are there! On both occasions they were guys from third world countries, so I figure that their principles may be slightly different, But I can hardly hold anything against a guy for getting a cup of water. On the other hand I guess I would be a little pissed if someone just came into my house and got themselves a glass of water if I wasn't there.

My work puts me in spots that require trust. I am sometimes around large amounts of money or products of high value and much of the time unsupervised (or I am the supervisor of a bunch of guys in the same areas) As far as I know most of my men are straight too, unless you leave out a "Sharpie" marker, and then we feel that you have neglected it and it deserves a better owner than you where. Word of advise, lock up your "Sharpies" around construction workers.

Now "off the clock" a whole bunch of other factors come into play!

An unmarked bag of cash on the side walk with no apparent strings or info around or about it? Mine!

A wallet with cash and ID? Back to the rightful owner.

Free item from a vending machine? Mine.

Vending machine dumping out a pile of coins? I would let the owner know. But the "free" item is mine.

Vending machine rips me off? Something is gonna break!

Cashier gives me too much change? Ooooh, tuff one. You see, first I have to be paying enough attention to catch it. And then if I do, it depends on the moon and the stars and a host of other things. Usually it goes back, but poor attitude on my or the cashiers part could change that.

A $600. lawnmower ringing up as the $300. model? Hmmm, That was divine intervention, and who am I to argue with the big guy?

[offline]

I would return the money without thought in all situations. I once was not charged for filling up my tank with gas. I had been charged for other things I had bought but not for the petrol. When I drove back and paid, the petrol guy almost freaked out - he could not believe my honesty. Sad days indeed!

[AlecWest]

FWIW, the same machine did the same thing to me last night during my graveyard shift - TWICE!!! And, the second "cash-out" gave me over $8 in quarters back. Both times, I turned it over to the supervisor ... who is now worried since (ulp) I'm the only employee who's returned money.

Hehehe, I told my supervisor that maybe this was an "omen" of some kind ... telling me it's time to go to a casino and play the slots. Maybe I have some weird electrical field around me that causes machines to pay out.

[AlecWest]

Cashier gives me too much change? Ooooh, tuff one. You see, first I have to be paying enough attention to catch it. And then if I do, it depends on the moon and the stars and a host of other things. Usually it goes back, but poor attitude on my or the cashiers part could change that.

Interesting. In Western culture, the proper thing to do would be to tell the cashier they'd made a mistake. But I heard someone on the radio discussing just this scenario and, in Hindu culture, there'd be another dynamic.

If you told the cashier they'd made a mistake and they took the proper money back, chances are no one else would know about it. This is troublesome if the cashier has this happen to them a lot ... especially if the cashier sometimes gives too little change back. In essence, in Hindu culture (according to the guy on the radio), the proper thing to do would be to keep the money ... forcing the clerk to account for it later to his/her boss. And if such errors happen too often and people keep the money, the boss will probably replace the cashier - which is "karmic justice" since it's likely such a person wasn't meant to be a cashier in the first place (grin). In short, by keeping the money and getting the cashier fired, you're not only doing a favor for the store, you're doing a favor for the cashier by forcing them to abandon a bad path in life.

Woo woo, hehe.

[enstg8er]

this happened when i was a bartender. on occasion someone would pay and walk off. if they were a tipper i would send a waitress to retrieve him and give him his change. if he was a stiffer i would set the money aside. if he returned i told him what happened and gave him the money. if he never came back, it went into the tip jar...

[Doramius]

At a place I worked for there was a change machine that accepted half dollar coins. Known to very few people, if you inserted your half dollar coin, you'd get your coin back & 2 quarters. However, few people here carry half dollar coins. They used to have techs come in and work on the machine all the time, but never replaced it until about 2 1/2 years after I had worked there. I don't think they ever tested the half dollar slot when they tried to fix it.

The new machine they replaced it with was a bit more fancy and accepted virtually everything up to a $50 bill. Yes, including half dollar coins & both the old & new style dollar coins.

[BJ_M]

Rubbish bag containing 5 million yen found in Saitama

SAITAMA -- A rubbish bag containing 5 million yen in cash was found in the garbage disposal area of an apartment block and handed over to police, law enforcers said.

The cash was found by two workers from a waste collection and transportation firm at about 2:10 p.m. on March 10, police said. Police are treating the money as lost property and are searching for the owner.

Investigators questioned residents of the apartment block after the discovery, but they failed to find the owner and decided to go public with the investigation on Monday.

Most of the money consisted of used 10,000 yen bills. They had been gathered into several bundles and placed in an official translucent plastic rubbish bag.

The apartment caretaker said he had not noticed the money on March 9. Under Japan's Lost Property Law, the money will be held for six months, and then turned over to the Saitama Municipal Government, which organizes the disposal of the apartment block's garbage.

Between October and December last year, a total of 52.4 million yen was found in various locations in Saitama Prefecture including a garbage disposal facility in Tokorozawa and a private residence in Konosu. The owner has not come forward in any of the cases. (Mainichi)

[MackemX]

Rubbish bag containing 5 million yen found in Saitama

SAITAMA -- A rubbish bag containing 5 million yen in cash was found in the garbage disposal area of an apartment block and handed over to police, law enforcers said

isn't it around 1,300,000 Yen to £1. That's makes it around £3.85

p.s. I know it's £25000 really

[BJ_M]

5,000,000.00 JPY Japan Yen = 42,941.61 USDUnited States Dollars

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

[MackemX]

I also went to XE before but you could have done that in the first place BJ_M as you would have saved my joke of it only being £3.85 :P

[zzyzzx]

Smile, take the money, and run.

[BJ_M]

I also went to XE before but you could have done that in the first place BJ_M as you would have saved my joke of it only being £3.85 :P

ohhhhh - that WAS a joke .............. :P :P :P :P :P