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moral dilemma
sickbag - 6/6/12 at 07:21 AM

Help me with my conscience please. I was in Tesco this morning buying breakfast for work and when I went to pay using the self-service till I noticed that the previous couple had left their change behind. I saw the couple leave the store moments before I got to the till so I couldn’t chase after them. As there wasn’t an assistant around I pocketed their change and paid for my goods then left the store.

While continuing my drive I then started to feel a bit guilty and wondered whether I should have gone to find the assistant and just leave the money with them. Although the assistant might have just pocketed the money for themselves. Should I keep the money and use it wisely but have that nagging guilty feeling? Or should I buy lottery tickets and give a share if any winnings to charity?

Ordinarily I would just keep the money and see it as a gift from Lady Luck, but I don’t feel that way anymore, and have a genuine feeling of guilt. The couple that left it were both in business suits and would probably claim most of it back on expenses anyway, and looked like they were only passing through this one time so would never be back to claim it.

So, what would you do? The amount is pretty small but does include paper.


HowardB - 6/6/12 at 07:26 AM

May I suggest an alternate option,..

If you believe that the people in front were good people, and that they would of course donate to charity when they had cash to hand and the time to do it.

Consider yourself in the privileged position of being able to choose the charity and donate the money on their behalf,..

It's what I would do, unless of course the change was large denomination paper,....


T66 - 6/6/12 at 07:29 AM

http://www.blesma.org/donations.html


macc man - 6/6/12 at 07:32 AM

I went to a cash point only to find £20 and a receipt sticking out of the machine. Most would as you say, pocket the cash but you have to be true to your concience. I went in the bank and left the cash and receipt for the cashier to sort out. Whether she did though is a matter for her concience. At lest I slept easy doing the right thing. Its all about carma.


tegwin - 6/6/12 at 08:14 AM

It's karma at work! Pocket the cash and forget about it. Next time someone needs help step in and balance the karma! Simples :-)


balidey - 6/6/12 at 08:26 AM

I hate morals. Because there is often that grey area where I'm not sure what to do.
Find a wallet, hand it in untouched.
Find a tenner on the street, pick it up.
See someone drop a tenner, getting harder to call, depends if anyone else sees

In your situation above, if it was coinage only, then pocket it. With notes involved, well its in the grey area.
The people can afford to go shopping so they are not homeless destitutes. Perhaps they can afford a tenner or so to be lost.
Or they could be philanthropists and the way they give out donations is to leave change at tills and cash machines on purpose so as not to make anyone feel too uncomfortable taking charity. Yes, thats what I'd go for, they meant for you to have it, so keep it.


bi22le - 6/6/12 at 08:33 AM

Depends how much it was.

I would either charity it or lottery it.


designer - 6/6/12 at 08:33 AM

Give to charity.


deezee - 6/6/12 at 08:43 AM

Pocket the money and stop fussing about it. The couple left it behind. If it wasn't you it would have been the next person using the till. Just remember your good fortune and do something nice for someone else in the future.


Toprivetguns - 6/6/12 at 09:10 AM

Im a strong believer in the phrase

''Pass it on''

At some point in the near future you will help someone out, who in turn will help someone out and so on.

If you feel guilty use the change for something good like a coffee and sandwich for someone homeless or a new plant for the back garden.


Mr G - 6/6/12 at 10:20 AM

quote:
Originally posted by macc man
I went to a cash point only to find £20 and a receipt sticking out of the machine. Most would as you say, pocket the cash but you have to be true to your concience. I went in the bank and left the cash and receipt for the cashier to sort out. Whether she did though is a matter for her concience. At lest I slept easy doing the right thing. Its all about carma.


Someone was in the same situation locally. They pocketed the cash someone left behind in a local tesco metro ATM. Previous ATM user reported it to the police and the security footage from the security camera was obviously gone through for the next person to use it. In the next local paper was a large screen grab of the person police wanted locals to help identify. In the following weeks paper was a small article about how the money had been handed back in full.

I've found cash and receipt in a cashpoint inside the bank before and was lucky as the previous user had joined the cashier queue so I could just hand back what they had forgotten. I was in my late teens at the time so I think they were surprised by my honesty


maccmike - 6/6/12 at 10:43 AM

I found a wallet once stuffed with cash. Handed the lot in at police station.
Depends how much it was, if its couple quid I wouldnt worry about it.


Mr Whippy - 6/6/12 at 11:04 AM

Hell I'd just spend it, sod morals, use it on a hooker


steve m - 6/6/12 at 11:14 AM

Hookers must be very cheap round your way to do the buisness "For some change"


Dusty - 6/6/12 at 11:17 AM

Where is the moral dilemma. The money belonged to the people who by mistake left it lying. You stole it.

They looked rich. They could afford to shop. Give it to charity. Buy a lottery ticket and give some of the winnings to charity. Flim flam.

Your pain is in the knowledge that what you did was morally wrong. You wish you hadn't and want to put it right but you can't or perhaps you fear that Tesco and the cops are looking over the security footage even now and trying to identify you.

Some of the answers above acknowledge that there has been a change in the moral climate in this country and perhaps the majority of us would do what you did. There are now degrees of honesty and it is no longer an absolute value. If you don't get caught it didn't happen.

I'm afraid your criminal tendencies are not well developed and you have failed to delete your conscience. You will thus have to suffer. It's not too late to return the money to Tesco and let them sort it out. You do suffer some embarrassment in doing this. You could do it anonymously. Or you sit tight and accept that the pain is a lesson that you personally have not yet got to the stage that most of our politicians reached years ago that honesty is negotiable and depends on the potential gain and risks of getting caught.

I'm a terrible father. My poor children. So ill equipped for this world.


balidey - 6/6/12 at 11:56 AM

Talking of kids, lets use a child's logic in this. They are less tainted by outside influence and may therefore have a higher moral opinion. So kids, what do you say....



quote:

Finders keepers



OK, thats sorted that one out


swanny - 6/6/12 at 02:41 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Dusty
Where is the moral dilemma. The money belonged to the people who by mistake left it lying. You stole it.

They looked rich. They could afford to shop.


agree with the first bit. my dad forgot to pick up his tenner cash back a few weeks ago. realised as soon as he got home and rang the store. no one had handed it in, and walked off with it. i can only say i hope they bought a dodgy pint or two with it.

on the second bit i'm not rich but when i travel for work its in a suit, so i probably look quite 'well off' compared to some.
oh and you cant claim expenses on money you dont have a receipt for, so they cant claim it back as they'll only have a receipt for the good bought, not the total tendered.


T66 - 6/6/12 at 03:49 PM

Heres a list Ive compiled of common replies in interview at your local cop shop...Offences ranging from burglary,theft,robbery,twoc etc, all can be applied to any offence.


I found it

He gave me it

Bought it off a bloke in the pub,dont know his name

Kid ran up to me and handed me it

I didnt realise he had stolen it, otherwise I wouldnt of helped/got in it etc


I was threatened to do it, and Im not naming him for fear of ....


The door/window was open


He let me in


He called me a ....


I carry a knife because I work in a fruit market


I didnt realise it was in my pocket, I had been fixing the car/door/motorbike


Its not my jacket


Someone put that in my pocket


They are for the Blue Peter appeal




The moral debate is predictable, as wallets get squeezed hard, people will take a chance, some of them decent people. Its honestly not worth the bother, whether its a £10 or £10k. For me theres only one answer, but Im tainted after listening to thieves lying out of the back of their head for years.

And if someone clocks you "finding it", a whole world of grief can follow.



Ps I am not criticising anyone here btw, as each to their own







contaminated - 6/6/12 at 04:01 PM

I think the OP should hand himself in to a bobby immediately

Failing that just deal with the guilt. Technically it is theft, but we all have our moments of weakness. Not quite the same but I remember a few years ago I broke the wing mirror glass on a parked car and I legged it on the basis that the same had been done to me that week. A few hours later I was consumed by guilt, so I went out and bought a replacement and taped it on his windscreen with a note of apology (claiming that I was too busy to stop at the time and didn't know which house he was in) and my phone number. It was in my road so I watched from my window until I saw him come out. He never did ring but I felt better!

[Edited on 6/6/12 by contaminated]


morcus - 6/6/12 at 06:08 PM

What would you want some one to do if you were the one who'd left the money behind? That is your answer.

The core tenent of pretty much every religion and system of ethics as I see it is Do unto others as you would be done by. If you believe the gospel, the only thing Jesus wants us to do is that and ask to be saved, read into that what you will.

If it's less than £20 and I'd lost it I'd right it off and hope who ever found it enjoyed it. If it was a genuine loss like the op described and he didn't have a chance to get it back to them in person then I think it's fair enough.

If you do keep it, remember how you got it. You may be called upon to return the favour.

I know how you feel. I accidently stole someones coat once which had their wallet and some other stuff in it and spent 3 days trying to get it back to them.


Hellfire - 6/6/12 at 06:23 PM

Like Morcus, I too would write off £20 or less that I'd mislaid and hope that the person who found it, would enjoy it, in whichever way they choose. Therefore, if you find £20 or less you can spend it with a clear conscience

Phil


sickbag - 6/6/12 at 07:04 PM

Thanks for the responses guys. It was actually only a fiver - I saw the the couple earlier and they bought two coffees. They did take the coin change but left the note in the dispenser. It took me a moment to realise why the self-service wouldn't allow me to start until I noticed the 'Please take your change' on the display.

I have done it myself once or twice (not sure why the note dispenser is seperate from the coin dispenser :s) and after the initial feeling of anger at the loss I then like to think that the person who found it was worse off than me and hoped they enjoyed it by buying something nice for themselves or their loved ones.

I won't be going back to that particular Tescos until later next month so have decided to give it to the next charity that I feel is a worthy cause.

Thanks again guys.


Confused but excited. - 6/6/12 at 07:22 PM

The way I see it and only IMHO, is that if you had to ask, you have already aswered yourself.


deltron63 - 6/6/12 at 08:18 PM

If it makes you feel better, send it to me