Janet CollinsShould finders be keepers?
February 3rd 2009 06:18
Would you really hand in money you accidentally found or would you keep it?
On Friday, Reuters in Berlin reported a story about some steel plant workers who handed in 100,000 euros ($128,500) that they found in a safe that had been sent to be scrapped.
The safe was from a bank and an employee had forgotten to take the cash out of it before sending it to the scrapyard.
A very decent gesture particularly because it appears no-one even knew it was missing.
What would you do? Would you give it back?
Information source:
Reuters
Image courtesy:
Reuters
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Comment by Cheryl J
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When you hand something in it is supposed to be logged and then after 12 months if it's not collected, returned to the finder. I found a laptop and handed it in to the police. Out of genuine concern that the owner had been found I contacted polce and lo and behold there was no record of it being handed in. Obviously it's now in the hands of some cop who decided he wanted a computer. My mum handed in an expensive camera...exactly the same thing happened.
I found a wallet in Sydney which had the owner's name in it but no contact details. I TRIED to hand it in to the police but nobody wanted a bar of it and kept fobbing me off from one station to another and said they would make no effort to locate the owner and that he would have to go to the particular police station to try and locate it as there is no central register. I thought stuff you all and went to the bank where the man held a credit card and had them locate him through their computer systems and they contacted him for me. It took me a whole morning when I should have been able to just give it to the police.
If I find anything now I will do my best to find the owner but if there was nothing to indicate who it belonged to I would not turn it in to the police. I'd probably put an ad in the paper with a generalised but non-specific description to weed out the liars. If I couldn't find them I would keep it.
I've returned numerous wallets and mobile phones to their owners over the years and have been lucky enough to have my wallet and mobile phone returned to me as well. Karma I guess.
Comment by Janet Collins
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I am sure most of us think twice when it is cash – we certainly don’t want to give that in to some police station – and more so when it belongs to a corporation that can probably write it off anyway.
I am assuming in the case of the safe, the company knew where the safe came from. All the same, it was a real damn honest thing to do.
Thanks for sharing that.
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Comment by Chris Champion
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However, that was in a small town outside Adelaide, so perhaps the rules of integrity and conscience are different. Cheryl's comment is disturbing and saddening. Cheryl's honesty is a beacon.
Comment by Janet Collins
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I don't know who said that but it's a classic. And Cheryl's honesty is certainly an admirable trait. Mind you, I am a pretty honest person myself but I have never had the sort of temptation these scrap workers had last week to really test me out.
Comment by Cheryl J
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Janet, I would have been sorely tested with that one too but because it came from a bank I would have thought someone would cotton on sooner or later
Comment by Janet Collins
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Yes, I think so too. But maybe just maybe no-one knew it was missing.
Comment by D. Armenta
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As for the cash, I just keep it in a safe place; someone always comes along looking and asking about it sooner or later. If it belonged to a bank, I'd turn it in and get a receipt; that money belongs to people who put trust in that bank to keep their money safe (something rare these days in the U.S.)
Comment by The Rusty Can
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I'd hand it over to Cheryl or D. Armenta.
Rusty.
Comment by Janet Collins
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Comment by Janet Collins
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See, honesty is still a good poicy but you just might become Orble's lost property office.
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Comment by Janet Collins
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I would never think you were dumb for doing the right thing. I just thought it was an interesting question to ask. And yes, I would feel pretty guilty for keeping it anyway and I don't like to feel that way.
Thanks for visiting.
Comment by Janet Collins
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Yes, the temptation....that was the bit that got me thinking...if I found it would I or wouldn't I? I have a pretty vivid imagnation too and in this case it was workers (plural who found it
Someone would certainly blab about it sometime and you would have to think of the cnsequences.
Thanks for the visit.
Comment by Mrs M
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Though, when I moved into my house the previous tenants had left behind a wardrobe that they didn't want to take or get rid of and just left it behind. I found $50 in it. It was worth the trouble it took to haul it out to the front lawn for council clean up.
Love & stuff
Mrs M