WHAT WOULD YOU DO? – FINDERS KEEPERS? (1 Viewer)

soreeyes

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If you had kept it you could of had a knock at the door if police had followed up any leads and most shops have CCTV which would show you picking it up ?
 
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Yes it would be crime to keep it, theft by finding is a crime, which is why people collecting scrap left outside will often knock, as taking without permission could be arrestable, the police however would not investigate the loss of property as no offence has been committed. I would have handed it in to police, if they still take it in these days, if they are unable to find owner they would return it to you.

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Sundowners

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You could have deposited into the account number on the withdrawal slip, that would have surprised him or he might have thought he was going senile and hadn't withdrawn it all.
 

icantremember

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When I was about 6 or 7 years old in early 1950's I saw a cyclist drop something in the road so I went to look and found it was a ten bob note!
Unfortunately my legs were too short to run after him on that occasion.... still feel guilty.:rolleyes:
 

Puddleduck

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the one thing I wouldn't have done, which nobody has suggested either, is handing it over to the shop

nice story, great ending, gratifying to meet the loser as well in this case

but what on earth is he doing drawing out all his pension in cash o_O

I would not have handed it over to the shop. I would have told the shop that it had been reported to the police if anyone came back to ask :)

I also wonder why he had so much cash but maybe he was going to buy something and needed to pay in cash as cheques aren't often accepted these days.

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Theonlysue

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Picked up a wallet in Spain. Returned to uk mh owner within a few days. Found him via social media.
 

jumartoo

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On another occasion I found the wallet of a Brit next to the ticket machine on a French peage. We chased after the vehicle in front of us who, understandably, were reluctant to stop but eventually did, but it wasn't theirs. We tried the contact number but got no reply so we handed it in to the Gendarmes at the next manned pay point. We kept a note of the number and on our return we rang it. The guy who had lost it hadn't been contacted and hadn't got it back. We gave details of where we'd left it for him to follow up.

In retrospect we'd have been better keeping hold of it and returning it when we'd returned to the UK but we didn't want the responsibility!
 
Aug 27, 2014
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A while ago I answered the door to a fairly scruffy looking youth of about 16, with his moped parked at the end of my drive. "Is Jenny here?", says he, which is my wife's name.

Turns out Mrs F had left her purse on top of her car when filling up with petrol - he found it on a roundabout where it had fallen off, got her name off the bank cards, found her on Facebook, recognised one of her friends through Facebook as being his mate's Mum and asked them where we lived, only got a vague description of the house so he'd been riding around for ages knocking on doors trying to find us. A nicer lad you couldn't have hoped to meet.

There was only £10 in the purse, which was still there, and I had to persuade him to take that for his petrol & trouble!

I would have done exactly what you did - keeping the money would have never been an option. My guilty conscience wouldn't have allowed me to sleep at night!

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Stretto Boy

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if it had been £8,000,000 in a briefcase left by Nigerian in taxi then maybe ?

Oi you, that £8,000,000 is mine! Apparently it was left to me by an unknown third cousin’s great aunt’s brother in law’s best friend who lived in Nigeria. All I had to do was provide my bank details and my rightful inheritance would be transferred to me.
 

Rosemary1

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Yes - you did the right thing, I have over the years found wallets, purses and cash and where I could made sure it got back to its rightful owner (the only one I couldn’t was a £5 note found in a deserted field while walking the dog - kept that)

And as for Karma - I have had my handbag handed in to the police station containing money’ house holiday cottage and car keys when I left it on a bench. Can’t tell you the relief so wouldn’t want anyone else to feel like I did before I realised someone had gone to the trouble of handing it in with all my holiday money.
 

Euphony

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I would have done what I’ve done on 3 previous occasions: with a wallet, a phone and a laptop(in bag).
No hesitation, no pondering, they went straight to the nearest police station. I was brought up being told that “property found is someone’s loss and it should be returned immediately, what if it was mine?”
It doesn’t matter who it belongs to - rich or poor, it’s their property and regardless of insistence, I didn’t and wouldn’t take a reward as honesty is it’s own reward.
My dad’s favourite saying: “if you want to be trusted: be honest!”
 
Sep 11, 2014
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We were in USA a few years ago, sitting on a bench and saw a fat roll of notes fall out of the pocket of a guy walking past. He had no idea, didn't even break his stride.

We looked round in disbelief really, no-one else in sight. I picked the roll up and ran to catch him up. He gave me a blank look, took it off me and carried on walking. Not a word of thanks.

Do I wish I'd kept it? Of course I do!! Miserable ungrateful git :mad:
 
Feb 27, 2011
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If it isn't mine I hand it in, for small amounts to the shop, for larger amounts to the police.
Even if it is just £1 I don't keep it. A couple of weeks ago I went to put my £1 in the trolley and there was already a £1 there. I handed it in to the checkout lady who popped it in the charity box, she said if anyone comes in for it, she will give it to them out of her own pocket.

I just don't feel right keeping something I haven't earned no matter the amount.

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Dare_Devil_Dennis

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As I understand it, there is an offence of "stealing by finding", which covers making no attempt at finding the original owner. I believe it covers anything, not just cash.

Not sure how it could be enforced, other than being "grassed up" by someone who knew you did it.

When I was about 10 yrs old, I found a fiver in the street. It certainly felt like about £800 (late 1950's) My mum told me to hand it into the police, so I dutifully took it around to them. They took my details and 3 months later I became the legal owner of the fiver because no-one reported it lost. I felt 10 feet tall.

In this instance, the owner was easy to trace and he had reported it lost, so it was never going to be yours, legally or morally, but who knows why someone might not want to admit having that much cash, you may get lucky next time.

So, for me a no-brainer, no agonising. If I lost anything, I would rely on it being reported if found. I would NEVER hand cash over to anyone else, only over the counter at a police station where it would be recorded. By handing it in to the shop where you found it, your good intentions may be subverted by a shop assistant or manager or owner just pocketing it.

As for the guy who lost his wallet and offered no reward, well shame on him.
 

Riverbankannie

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My 90y old Dad, with dementia, likes to have £1000 in cash in his wallet (n).
He puts it in his LH trouser pocket, gets it out, counts it, transfers it to his RH trouser pocket .
Then he gets it out, counts it and transfers it to his shirt pocket.(n)(n)
Then he gets it out, counts it and transfers it back to his LH pocket.
If he goes out, his jacket allows him 2 further pockets to transfer it between.
Quite often he forgets which pocket it is in and complains that someone has stolen it :whistle:.

At least, that's what used to happen. In 2017 we got him down to £500 (y). Quite often he would ring me (I live 200miles away) and complain that he had no money: when I got him to count what was in his wallet it might only be £300 and he would say "like I said - no money".

When he was admitted to hospital, the nurse was very keen to have the money taken away from him, but it causes him such stress.

Now he is in a care home and he is getting used to having £5 in cash, but I still think that is too much. However, it is my brother who deals with his money and it is also him who deals with the constant aggravation (usually whilst at work) from Dad.

They say that "a fool and his money is soon parted" and that "there is no fool like an old fool" :(. However, my Dad has always been a really nice man who would help anyone and I would like to think that if he did lose his wallet, someone would do as everyone on here has stated.

Gordon

PS I handed a beautiful gemstone ring in to the police and was sent a cheque for £80 from the owner who said it was the only memento from her dead mother, so losing it would have been disastrous. Honesty is always the best policy :).
I think I would have tried photocopies of notes for your Dad, trickier these days with the plastic ones but perhaps he won’t notice.

Yes of course would have handed back the money in OP . I would consider it theft not finders keepers. A note or coin in the street with no chance of finding loser would go in charity tin.

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pappajohn

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I think I would have tried photocopies of notes for your Dad, trickier these days with the plastic ones but perhaps he won’t notice.

Yes of course would have handed back the money in OP . I would consider it theft not finders keepers. A note or coin in the street with no chance of finding loser would go in charity tin.
Unfortunately that constitutes forgery and if caught with it he could be charged.
Under the circumstances I think it unlikely though.
 

Dare_Devil_Dennis

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Webby1, A simple answer for you...

You have already made the right decision not to keep the cash. If you hand it to a third party, you have no idea what that much cash would mean to them. You do not know their financial circumstances. there are any number of reasons why this windfall might get them out of a desperate hole they have no other way out of. True, most other folk will be as honest or financially stable as you, but not all will be. This is no reflection of shop workers but just of people you do not know. Also, you will not be credited with the find and if unclaimed, will not become the new owner (it happens)

A recorded deposit with the police is the only sure way to get it repatriated
 
Feb 27, 2011
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There have been stories of honest staff passing the money to the manager who then pockets it after a period of time. Sad :(

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movan

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I would have done what you did ...... BUT ... what if the hole in the wall machine gave me an extra £2000 when I withdrew..... would I have told them?

I once found a purse with over a hundred pounds in and handed it in to staff at a shop.

I got home and felt a bit dubious. I phoned the shop up and said I had lost a purse with my money in it, had anyone handed it in... THEY SAID NO.

What would you have done then?
 

haganap

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I would of been straight down to the garage, filled up the MH with fuel and took off before anyone could find me...

Then, I would be straight on the internet and got myself a couple of Stunning Busty call girls, a couple of lines of cocaine and holed up in a nice hotel/campsite somewhere only coming out when the money was spent.... Then and only then I would have found the poor bloke who lost it and told him all about what a great time I had had with his money and thank him loads and maybe even let him see some photos.

I know he would be more than pleased that I spent his money in this way as opposed to some scroat who would have found it and then wasted it. ;);)(y)(y)(y)(y)
 
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Thanks for all the positive responses! The gentleman explained why he takes the cash out and lets just say old habits die hard for some folks.

During my hour of "what to do with this wad of cash" I looked at the photo of my late wife and I could hear her voice saying " You know what you have to do, so do it!" It was in the tone that sensible husbands don't argue with. :D

And no, I didn't expect anyone to to say they would keep the cash, well not in public anyway. Although some (not on here) have have said it to me in private.

Finding that amount of cash made me think "Lead me not into temptation .... I already know the way" and at @haganap quit reading my mind! ;)

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PP Bear

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Some time ago a taxi driver friend of mine found a plastic bag in the back of his car.

It had been trodden on and kicked under the seat in front. Inside was a lot of money that someone had obviously left in his cab.

He took the time to retrace all the drop offs he could, asking if anyone had left anything in his cab.

He eventually found a guy who said he had left a bag of money, but didn't know exactly where he'd left it. So my friend handed over the money, to which he got a thanks and the door closed in his face.

Not saying he should have kept it, but it contained hundreds of pounds and was back in the 1980's, so you'd have thought a small reward for honesty and hard work tracking the owner down was in order.
 

MattR

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I was on a train recently and a Muslim man sat down opposite me, placing his rucksack beneath his feet. As we travelled towards London, he started sweating more and more. He got off the train, leaving his rucksack behind. I grabbed it and ran after him, fearing the worst. He appeared very grateful and relieved. I told him that I had been a bit anxious too, worried about terrorism etc. He ope the bag and showed me it was a load of cash - from his house sale. As a devout Muslim, he didn't believe in banks and was carrying the cash to buy his new house. He then offered me some advice, tellinge to stay away from Luton. I asked why, wondering if it was a coded warning about a terrorist threat. He was insistent that I stayed away, saying that I was a good man and should stay out of the town. I asked again, why stay out of Luton? He replied "because it is a shit hole!'
 
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Having found a new looking Nissan car key on the pavement, took it to the nearest Police station to hand it in. Nobody there, only a phone handset outside the locked door. Eventually a voice answered and told me to push the key through the letterbox. Dear me. Cuts or what.

On a related note the ex-wife once had an account with a big US bank because her job involved a lot of overseas travel. One day she received a statement showing that $80 million USD had been recently added to the previous small balance. What would you have done? Very tempting isn't it. Anyway we decided to contact the bank and tell them there had been a mistake. Any reward? Dream on.

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mike mcglynn

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Many years ago I was tidying the back garden and I found a ladies handbag at the back of my garage it was soaking wet and I thought one of the kids had flung it there .
I managed to get it with the aid of a pole as it was only 6 inches gap and when I opened it up it was full of personal items and envelopes ,keys and a family allowance book, so I rang our local police and they didn't want to know and asked me to return it to the owner who lived around the corner ,the address was on the family allowance book, so off I went and knocked on the door of the house and a little girl answered and when she saw the bag she started screaming and her mum came running. I explained to her what happened ,she then asked me where was all the money ? I replied that was not known to me she then opened some of the envelopes and revealed a lot of money it was her quarterly utility bills which she was going to pay the next day, she had left her bag and purse on the kitchen table and forgot to lock the back door .I told her where I lived about 150 yards away and said cheerio ,not a word of thanks Nice Eh.
 

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