Are we sourrounded by thieves?

[stormx]

Hi !!

The other day i found a lost wallet on the street containing 500 dollars and documents. The owner's information was inside. I just phone called him, and he inmediately came up to have it back. He offered me some "gratification", but i refused it.

This was completely natural for me. However, i was amazingly surprised by how many persons (that do not consider themselves thieves) admit that they would have picked up the money and just return the documents.
For me, this is ROBBERY. If you have the owner's information, and you keep the money, YOU ARE STEALING. That's my opinion.

What do you think?

[Kohai]

I have had my share of opportunities to return money to the people who lost it and it has always felt good to me to do so.  This reminds me of a scene from a movie I once saw.

An angel was in disguise who in this scene, worked at a minute mart.  A young girl came in to purchase something small using a $10 bill to pay for it.  The checkout clerk (angel in disguise) was busy talking with the main character of the movie and acted as though he was accidentally giving her the wrong change back, which amounted to $5 more than it should have been.  She looked at him for a moment having known that she recieved extra change, and then walked out.  The angel then says "did you see that?  She is willing to exchange honesty and self-respect for $5." 

This actually made quite an impression on me.  In my opinion, honesty and self-respect are much more worth their value than an extra $5, or a stolen and dishonest any amount of money for that matter.  Obviously temptation and circumstance can be a test and perspective can become skewed.

Kohai

[ted]

On one occasion two years ago I withdrew $500 from the bank. The teller made a mistake and logged it as a deposit, making my balance $1000 more than it should have been. I found the error later on when I checked my accounts (goes to show you always check everything immediately after every transaction). I told the bank about it, they fixed it and I thought nothing more of the matter.

On relating the incident to other people I was horrified at the number who told me I had been a fool and should have have kept quiet as such an error may not have been identifiable. These people were accountants, executives and such who held very responsible positions. In fact, as I recall, I don't think a single person said I had done the correct thing.

I think a lot of this attitude, in this country anyway, comes from the wholesale emphasis on monetary competition since the economic reforms of the mid eighties. The end of possessing more money has become unconditionally good, more important and even more laudable, than the means of acquiring it.

[janice]

Dear Stormx and Ted,

I am soooooo refreshed to see that there are truly honest people in this world. I hope that I would be honest and give the money back.  I have to admit, human behavior cannot be predicted.  If we say we would never do this thing or that thing, we just MIGHT do it, given the right circumstances.  Thank you for being so honest!

[rob47]

The angel then says "did you see that?  She is willing to exchange honesty and self-respect for $5." 

First of all, screw the angel that was entrapment. God should be ashamed of himself! We're not in the garden of eden anymore.

Anyway my story took place at a bar, across the street from the residence I stayed in first year. I was getting a pitcher with my roomate and was real low on money I only had about 20 bucks.  So I paid for the pitcher, it was 13 bucks, relatively cheap for domestic beer i guess, and I paid the bartender with some change along with the 20 trying to get back even change or something...anyway I forgot the exact math but he ended up giving m,e like 15 bucks back where it should have only been 5.  But that's a free pitcher right there !!  I tried to not laugh while gonig to sit down but couldnt.  It was just really funny because the guy was like panincing trying to think how much he owed me, and was eventually like "uh..here" and handed me three 5's and a twoonie i think.

Awesome.

Oh and i just rememebr another time, (beer related also  ) at the Beer Store I got like 6 bucks extra back instead of a loonie....But both times I needed the extra money to help me out with drinking for the evening....so I guess it was God's way of giving me extra money without having to work for it!

But I'm not a thief, I'm just broke.

Rob
 

[Bob]

I would give the wallet back because I know I would be freaking out if I lost my wallet and I would feel sorry for that "wallet loser."

Banks catch their mistakes eventually.

Whenever I get back extra money I usually ask because I feel fairly confused -- What the heck?  Why am I getting back more money that I paid?  However, there are times when I'm in a hurry and the cashier gives back more or less change and I don't ask or argue.  It's not worth the time in that case.

[galonia]

I hope we're not surrounded by thieves, coz I never check my change at the shops, as I hate counting and adding and subtracting... I just trust people not to rip me off.

[athykay]

I once had 25K mistakely deposited to my account!!!   My head went through the little good angel/devil dialogue - just for a second - before I called the bank.   Of course they would have caught it, but I could have been on a plane to a remote Pacific Isle by then.

[Regulus Medtner]

For me, this is ROBBERY. If you have the owner's information, and you keep the money, YOU ARE STEALING. That's my opinion.

That's not just an opinion, that's indeed stealing. You certainly did the right thing and be certain that a lot of people  think likewise. 

[cdngoose]

Ten years ago, I withdrew some money from my chequing account at a bank machine. I did a double take when my account balance was over $200,000. I called the bank and a mortgage officer had deposited the money in error. I was disappointed that the bank did not thank me for notifying them. All they said was the error would have been discovered and corrected.
My friend's grandmother had a similar thing happen and the bank allowed her to keep the daily interest that had accumulated

[anda]

i never found wallets, and i never found extra-money in my account. but it happened (many times) that clerks have given me exchange more than they were supposed to. i always count my exchange, and i always told them if they had given me too much, and gave back what wasn't rightfully mine. and, just to show that there's a karma: some years ago, my wallet was stolen. i found myself without any money, papers lacking, abroad, 2000 km from home. imagine how i felt when, 2 days later, the police called me to say someone found my wallet and turned it to them - everything, to the last penny was there! talk about angels in disguise...

[tenn]

I have found wallets with money in them on two occasions and was pleased to be able to help the people out. You just have to put yourself in the other person's shoes to realise it's the right thing to do. I also found a bundle of notes on the street but I kept that because there was no prospect of finding the owner.

I know someone whose bank account was wrongly credited with over a million pounds ( about 20 years ago when a million was a million ) He got his picture in the paper on the strength of it. I don't remember what happened about the interest.

I saw someone leave an umbrella behind in a pub and as I'd recently been a victim of umbrella theft (twice) I decided to even the score in my favour. Another customer handed it to the barman so up I went to claim it. He didn't believe me but I persisted so he held up an umbrella and asked "Is this it?" I said "Yes" and he said "No it isn't. It's mine" I finally persuaded him despite this so he handed it over. I sat back in my seat feeling pleased with my persuasive powers when this guy walks in and asks the barman if anyone had seen his umbrella!!!   Oops. I think I've been straight since.

[Gargamel]

In all honesty, I think I would keep the money however it comes to me.  I was very poor growing up, my family learned to eat chicken bones, so I will take it.  I think most people would take the money.

ta ta.. Gargamel

[whynot]

We are not surrounded by thieves!  I don't know anyone who would keep a found wallet or money, or any of the other examples.  A little story:  Leaving a neighborhood place at night, I accidentally backed my car into the one behind me.  Very lightly, but definitely made contact.  I left a note with my name and number, saying I couldn't see any damage but maybe in daylight the owner would, and should tell me so I could make it right.  Turns out it was a friend of mine!  She had a new car that I didn't recognize.  She was delighted to find the note. 

[Siberian Husky]

why is everyone so upset that they did not recieve any recognition or tahnks for the good acts they have committed in regards to misdirected money...iw as always taught to believe that one should do an act of Good for the sake of itself..for the sake of its Goodness...it sounds like many are upset about their lack of acknowledgement because they are too endugled in what they appear to be, instead of who they are. The fact of the matter is..Goodness should be a self rewarding virtue,..and shouldnt not be treated as a MEANS..but as an END.

i think some people need to read Socrates and Plato.