A couple days ago I found a wallet on the road as I was driving. Where it was, I'm pretty confident it would have gone down the drain or almost definitely lost if I didn't pick it up.
Inside was a bunch of $100/$50 bills totalling over $900. Unfortunately most of the cards were banged up because it was run over a couple of times.
Very rare these days to see that much cash.
I'm in the process of getting it back to its owner, who is approx 65 yrs old.
Genuinely interested, what would you do?
What would you do if you found a wallet with $900 in it?
Bludgeman on 15/06/2021 - 22:57
Last edited 15/06/2021 - 22:59
Last edited 15/06/2021 - 22:59
Poll Options
- 1153Return it to its rightful owner
- 53Keep the cash & go on an all night bender
Comments
Bob and Vagene!
back to its owner, who is approx 65 yrs old.
My mind's tellin' me No
I'm pretty confident it would have gone down the drain or almost definitely lost if I didn't pick it up.
But my body, my body's tellin' me Yes
Why do you need gardening equipment on a boat?
Genuinely interested, what would you do?
Return to owner, probably via the police. If the owner is a crook police can take appropriate action. If owner is in genuine need of money, s/he can thank their lucky stars.
Whether owner is a crook or not, hope it gives you good karma in the future for a good deed đ
Few months ago I found a wallet outside my house. No license, but had a photo of person and (assume gf). Took it to the police station, and the cop I handed it to was one of the persons in the photoâs sister
the cop I handed it to was one of the persons in the photoâs sister
How convenient đ¤¨
I'm a cop, you idiot!
Haha I thought this too.
"Just leave it with me and I'll take care of it"And his sister was a wallet inspector! What are the odds!
I'll tell you what though man, it's pretty nice living in a place full of honest people, pretty damn nice.
It's worth trying to keep it that way.
I have been to many places where you can't trust fricken anyone, it's a terrible way to live. Anything not nailed down getting stolen or just vandalised, it really sucks.
i agree,
I cannot agree with you more. When I first came to Australia and once driving on a country road where there are bags of fruits / veges on the road side with a sign of $xyz but no one is here, I was literally shocked …. till today I am still amazed at sighting these practice .. it is truly amazing and feel truly fortunate to be here.
On a serious side, trust is a huge economic booster, society with low trust bear a very high transactional costs, derimental to everyone!
OP you are doing a fantastic thing by returning it to the owner or the Police.
@Maxxjet: When my wife first came to Australia she couldn't believe people left their cars parked out on the side of the road at night. In Kenya, they wouldn't be there the next morning.
@Maxxjet: back in my youth I helped pack fruit for a roadside stall. Packed A grade fruit for the bags on the first few days, empty money box at the end of day, by the end of the week it was pretty much D-grade fruit only
Yep. I've been to the beach in Europe and it's a huge PITA. You basically have to pay to rent a locker or pay an attendent to look after your things if you want to go for a swim. If you leave anything on the beach then someone will steal it.
Some religious ozbargainers must have negged you
and laws are just a thing they want you to believe to control people, right?
yes, and in order, and sorry out of topic
Karma is a personal belief that helps guide your moral compass. Some people believe in it, others dont.
Surely karma is just the distribution of everyone's actions
You add more shitty actions, there is more shittiness being passed around, you are more likely to be the recipient of it
It's not magic, it's just roulette
Return to owner, probably via the police. If the owner is a crook police can take appropriate action.
What if the cop is a crook? Aren't they suppose to legally give you back what you found, if there is no one to claim ownership of found goods with in 6 months?
you cant make that assumption if owner is a crook even.
The bloke is 65, may have pulled out his pension, or super.
he could be a tradie. 65 isn't that old. A friend of ours is a builder and he's beyond 65+
Back in uni, I Found a wallet on a train seat. Lots of greens in it, maybe close to 3k worth. Found photo ID and found the owner about to get off the train. Didn't think much when I returned it, but wished I took the money when I had to pay bills few days after.
Fast forward 10 years and I've lost my wallet 4 times, lost my passport once and I got them back to me with everything intact.Feels good about society.
You should return it. Its the right thing to do.
The Golden Rule: Treat Others the Way You Want to Be Treated. đ especially with deeds that keeps society together.
Okay, but if I found Rupert Murdochâs wallet, you can bet Iâm keeping the cash and not even feeling bad about it. Iâm not even sure if Iâd brake for Rupert Murdoch. I know Iâd âaccidentallyâ drop him if we were in a Cliffhanger situation.
Ccan be applied to most of our politicians too
I think I'd want most people to treat Rupert Murdoch the way I'd Rupert Murdoch.
Off-topic abit….but…. I tend to think if a good deed doesn't impact you negatively to preform you should always give it due consideration.
I regularly wake up people I suspect are getting off the train at my stop(or the two after) so they don't end up back in the city or far from their destination…..
Some of these people who 'normally' give the appearance of being rude as*wholes are 99.9% appreciative of the gesture. And in return I've been helped in the same manner….
thats nice, after a long day i dont remember the number of times i woke up at the terminus or on my way back to the city
Yep, I once passed out in the first class train carriage in Germany after leaving straight from Oktoberfest and some kind lady woke me to ask if I needed to change trains, and I did. I literally would have ended up on the other side of Germany if she hadn't.
I recall one of my friends woke up in the rail yard once. He'd missed the last stop and they'd parked the train. He had to be escorted out by the security guard.
Yeah honestly my first reaction was that 'maybe it would be nice to keep that money'. But after reading your comment, you're right, if it happened to me, I'd by devastated and would be very glad someone returned it to me. So definitely we should be treating others how we would want to be treated. You've changed my mind.
You should take care of that wallet of yours
Why do you lose your belongings so much?
Wife.. Is that you?
;-)
I found a wallet with over $3000 in it. I took a photo of all the cash laid out.
I tried to find the person on Whitepages, facebook linkedin etc no luck.
I just handed the wallet to police the next day.
With or without the cash?
Plot thickens…
Wallet thins.
Everything was returned.
I took nothing.
I would hope if I lost my wallet one day someone would do the same.
Don't worry, the coppers "took" care of it…
@Blue Cat: I returned a phone and the cops complained that i went to the wrong police beat…when it was closest to my house
@belongsinforums: I remember returning a phone at my local police station and receiving a very accusatory "I assume you want the phone if nobody claims it?", to which they appeared almost in shock when I said that I didn't. Apparently you can't do a good deed without an ulterior motive.
Good of you to return the wallet to the police with $2000 in it…
I'm sure the owner was able to collect with all the $1k the police recvd
I found a credit card on the floor on George St. Picked it up and handed it to Guylian to keep a hold of as was directly outside their cafe and likely a customer whom might come back asking for it.
Next day was still with them. Lady on the card had an unusual name and wasn't hard to find online. Messaged her to tell her her card was at cafe to pick up. She hadn't even realised dropped it, but later responded picked it up and was very thankful.
Few weeks later I managed to pre-order a PS5 for launch day easily. Karma.
Multiple kiss faces eh? Sounds like she wanted to reward you đ
You used her credit card to buy a PS5?
I feel like using someone elseâs credit card is a bit different to keeping the cash in a found wallet. Thereâs a whole lot more risk to using the card, and virtually zero risk in keeping the cash.
Re.Proof - I hope you double-tapped
Triple tapped, one later
contact police and try to find the owner
Frankly, I'd just return the money, that'd make me feel less shit about myself. I'd probably feel guilty about it for far longer than the money's worth if I take the money.
Yep, its about self-respect.
On a similar note, the hotel I stayed at last month had $30 dropped at the top of the stairs….
After verifying it was most likely not my own loose change(I'd been frequenting a local market just outside and amassing change) I handed it into the reception desk and continued on my day.
If the money was found on the street it may have been a different story(didn't even know where the local cop shop was) But if I had keep the money, I would have only wasted it on donuts and coffee at the beach :P
If the wallet had something to identify the owner, yes… if not… score…
Even without identification in the wallet, if you return it to the closest police station, the owner may also end up there to report a missing wallet and be reunited.
The police do give you the option of keeping the wallet if the owner is found after x period of time.
As someone who recently lost their wallet, cancelled all the cards, and then 3 days later it was on my front door step in a plastic bag with everything in it (had $200 cash)⌠RETURN IT!!
I've found two wallets in my lifetime and returned both to the owners. I've also lost two but received only one back from an honest Abe. So I'm thinking I've still got credit for my next misfortune.
I do what I can to return things even if I have to go out of my way to do it. I work on the âwhat would I like people to do if it was my stuffâ rule. Generally if I canât contact them, directly, I give it to the cops.
Really we need a poll for this…
To steal or not to steal…
Finding and keeping is not the same as stealing. Not saying it's right (but in some cases it sure is), but it's not the same. That's why some insurance policies cover theft but not loss.
True, but it's still technically illegal though.
Legality isn't always a good indicator of what's good or bad, and changes with time. There are plenty of things that are legal but douchebaggery, and also plenty that are illegal but not douchebaggery.
@afoveht: For example, walk in to shop take something, walk out not pay = theft (criminal matter). Walk in to shop pay for something and not receive goods is not theft but a civil matter.
iirc, it is technically called theft by finding, or something similar. Perhaps an OBer, who is a lawyer, can clarify.
I think itâs gotta be stealing if you find cash in a wallet with the ownerâs id in it.
Ownership is the key, the wallet has ID inside so it belongs to someone, taking anything from it is stealing.
Finding a raw gold nugget on the roadside, or a dollar coin in the grass, or a four leaf clover, finders keepers.
I think that's important and a sensible first treatment.
But even if it is stealing it may not be a straightforward judgement….
What if you found Hitler's wallet containing plans for his next move?
Or Bezos' wallet containing nothing but a scribbled in ID card and a $100 bill and you and your kids were homeless and one good meal away from ill health?
Return and move on đˇ
return it
good karma or bad, your choice
Rofl'karma'
I have a criminal record for keeping something I found.
Ever tried to get a job with a criminal record?
Well now you gotta tell the story…
I have a criminal record for keeping something I found.\
Did you "find" a wallet in someone's back pocket or something?
Phone. Ditched SIM, used for myself with my own SIM, turns out these things can be tracked by IMEI.
Cops rocked up with a search warrant, was charged, got fine, good behaviour bond, which is considered a finding of guilt and shows up on a record.
oh geez… thanks for actually sharing though.
I'm assuming it was a while ago since most phones in the last 10 years or so ask you to create a lock. Must've been bad luck because, back then, I knew lots of people with phones that weren't exactly their's and nothing ever happened. Was the phone linked to anything bigger? Like break and enter, or assault or robbery, etc? (Not suggesting you did any of that, but whoever did something could've tossed it and you picked it up). The cops must've been really bored if they just showed up with a search warrant over a single phone that wasn't linked to anything else.
@bobbified: Yeah, like 15 years ago now. Old school indestructible Nokia. I've lost a few phones and the cops were 'meh' when reporting, I guess someone knew someone who got some strings pulled. I was made to pay restitution to the owner too (for the value of the contract they cancelled as a result of the loss of the phone.)
I was stupid and made full admissions too. Never talk to the cops. I was around 19 and scared shitless :(
@picklewizard: That's so unlucky dude. Back then the prepaids were not much of a thing (or did it even exist at that time?) so every sim card was linked to a service contract where people often had to provide 100 points of ID to sign up for so it might've made things easier to trace.
Does it still impact your employment opportunities now? If I remember correctly, the charge shouldn't show up on any background checks for jobs anymore (I think it's only the last 10 years that they generally run it for). I can just imagine how difficult it must've been since they look at it as a form of "theft". Any offences involving dishonesty makes it difficult or impossible to get work in the offices such as banks, finance institutions, etc.
@bobbified: Victoria was a special case in that only in the last couple of months was the 'spent convictions' legislation changed to essentially guarantee that it wouldn't show up: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-19/victoria-becomes-lastâŚ
After that 10 years, it did stop showing up however it was purely discretionary.
I've actually taken two refusals of employment to the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. One was found in my favour, at least.
I've actually taken two refusals of employment to the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.
Bit ironic that it's these two organisations that you got the refusals from!
@bobbified: I might have been a bit ambiguous - I have taken two employers who have refused me employment based on my criminal history to the AHREOC.
One such case was found in my favour - that I was discriminated against unfairly.
@picklewizard: What happens after that though? Surely they didn't have to give you the job? Did you get a pay out of some sorts? How did you prove such a thing?
@Smol Cat: Haha, no, they didn't have to, I received a small payout. Mid 4-figures. I wasn't unreasonable in my request, I ceased job hunting (and turned down another, lesser offer) when this job was offered to me. I simply asked for compensation for earnings between the time the offer was rescinded and subsequent employment found.
The basis of my claim was that the offer was withdrawn upon the criminal check being requested (after an offer of employment was made - this was a form that was given at the same time as other HR forms such as TFN declaration). I contacted them and advised them of the situation, at which point the offer was withdrawn. It was a pretty cut and dry case; someone had documented in their HR system that the offer was withdrawn based on this with no consideration made to the relevance of the offence to the job.
Unfortunately, despite my other case being identical in circumstance (in fact - I'd already worked there for four days before they asked for the check to be completed and then then being unceremoniously removed from the premises) the employer managed to make a better case for themselves and the case was not found in my favour. Might have been due to the fact that they were a law firm…
It f—cking sucked. Don't steal, kids.
I was stupid and made full admissions too. Never talk to the cops. I was around 19 and scared shitless :(
All parents make sure to hammer this point into your children.
Do not talk to the cops, especially if they bring you in for 'questioning', just shut your mouth and wait for dad.
@trapper: 100% this. I will tell this to ANYBODY who doesn't already know it.
That being said, they showed up with a warrant and likely would have found the phone anyway, so I was probably doomed from the start.
and likely would have found the phone anyway, so I was probably doomed from the start.
Not doomed. There is loads of reasonable doubt there.
If you bought the phone second-hand off some guy on the street, and had no idea it was stolen for example.
You let your lawyer worry about the details if it comes to that, but without your confession they barely had a case.
@trapper: Yeah you're probably right, that's a valid point!
I certainly learned a lesson from it, but the punishment did not fit the crime. I'm of the genuine belief that magistrates who are handing out GBB's in lieu of convictions do not understand that in terms of the impact on one's life, there is no difference between the two.
With very poor employment prospects, a lesser person would likely be driven to re-offend as a result. Our criminal justice system is in no way interested in rehabilitation or "correction", only punishment with no consideration of the ongoing ramifications.
The most unbelievable thing about this, is that the cops actually did their jobs and arrayed someone over a phone.
@brendanm: Yeah, I have no idea how this happened either. The worst bit was that I said during my interview "I didn't think I did anything wrong", meaning that I (incredibly naively) believed that "finders keepers" was kind of a thing based on my previous encounters with losing phones and being told "too bad".
When this was in court, the police prosecutor worded it in such a way as "he has shown no remorse, stating that he believes his actions were in no way wrong".
I honestly haven't had a very positive view of the police since then, despite the fact I was clearly on the wrong side of the law in this instance.
@picklewizard: Seriously being found guilty and given a criminal record for finding and keeping a crappy phone when you were 19 is an absolute joke for our justice department. As a citizen, I do not deem you to be a criminal, maybe a little naive but given the age and the circumstances, certainly NOT a criminal and for you to be branded as such is a failure of our laws.
I believe if you keep clean for 10 years, the most records except murder and sexual offences get dropped aka. "spent". It is a long time but it will eventually be behind you. All the best.
@Smol Cat: Fortunately, it all is, but it was certainly a rocky journey to get there. Thanks for your kind words!
Boats and Hoes ?