Cashier makes an error in your favor, you say nothing, did you just steal?

In My Humble Opinion
81

So, the $809 from last month was on my account, just not where I could see it or pay it. Perfectly reasonable, of course. The $1471 from 2 months ago? I had to explain that when you charge something I intended to pay and then credit it, that means I haven’t paid anything. “Do you see where it says ADJ? That’s for adjustment.” Yeah, thanks. It’s still net zero after the credit you posted and I still owe payment.

Oh, and no thanks at all. Not even ‘we appreciate you bringing this to our attention’. Just “Okay we will make those adjustments and you should see them in your next billing cycle. Is there anything else I can help you with?” You can help me with? No. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Honestly, despite my sarcasm here, I was very polite and was treated like an idiot in return, when I was completely right. Fuckers. I should send them an invoice for my time.

82

My obligation to report the error depends on its value and the cost to me. I don’t feel any need to report anything if the magnitude of the error is much less than the cost of my time.

If I have just purchased a bunch of stuff and notice a $1 error, I’m not going to bother pointing it out, because it’s guaranteed that it’ll take 5+ minutes just arguing with the cashier that they’re wrong, and waiting for them to figure out how to correct the payment. It’s not worth my time, or theirs for that matter.

Likewise, while I would report a $25 error if I’m still at the store, I’m sure as hell not going to do anything about it once I’m home, since it’s liable to take a half hour or more to correct it.

And if there’s a $1000 bank error, I might spend a couple of hours on trying to fix it, but much past that and I’ll consider my due diligence complete.

There are definitely circumstances where taking advantage of an error rises to “theft”, but I don’t think there’s a hard line. It depends on the circumstances. My ethical obligation to the other party depends in part on their obligations to me.

83

That’s exactly where I am right now. For $2300, I felt a strong obligation to square this up with BofA. After being told 5 times before that this one, that one and both of them would be taken care of, I resolved that this would be my final attempt.

Tonight, I called the fraud department number I was given last time, and asked to speak to a supervisor. After some gate-keeping by the first rep, I was transferred to a supervisor, who listened to me and understood me and then said I had to be transferred to the fraud department. Kill me now.

When I was transferred again, I was very clear to the last person I talked to that this would be my last attempt to get them to bill me for what I owed them. This woman treating me like an idiot, asking me if I knew that ADJ meant adjustment, was the final straw. I consider my due diligence complete. I’m sure they’ll double bill me next.

84

Nobody was stealing in this scenario. I worked in the Wally trenches for 20 years. Every barcode is in the system and especially on clothing/shoes discounts just get downloaded. Rarely do people have time to put a new price on everything.

85

IMO this isn’t stealing at all. This is the equivalent of finding a $5 bill on the floor in a supermarket isle with no other customers (who could have dropped it) nearby. A wallet (with or without money) you’re expected to bring to the store’s lost & found, but a couple bucks in cash? Finders keepers applies…

86

I always return over payments I receive back to the cashiers if only to see the astounded look on their face.

Just recently I went to my local Walgreens to pick up a 55 cent prescription. The poor pharmacist had a phone wedged between her shoulder and ear, plus she was talking to a second pharmacist about some other order, plus she cheerfully waited on me.

I gave her a dollar bill and she gave me change as if I paid with a twenty …
I said you’ve made a mistake, and when she looked at her register my dollar bill was sitting there crosswise.

It was nice to hear a heartfelt thank you.

.

87

They finally charged the $809 that was a credit for something that was never charged. Yesterday. Today, they credited the charge from yesterday. No activity at all on the June transactions. What the actual fuck? I told them my last call was my last call. It was. I can’t keep doing this.

I’m trying, Ringo. I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.

88

even if it is their mistake, if you know about it, it is stealing.
if you get a discount, you win. They set the rules and can “change” them any time they want. Perhaps they also give discounts to a winning smile. Their choice on what they charge.

89

If one would complain about being overcharged or short changed, that person should also rectify mistakes made in their favor. If you notice it and do nothing, yes it is stealing. Theft does require intent though. If you don’t notice it, and didn’t do anything to instigate it, it is not stealing IMO.

90

I was once shopping in a local variety store and they had some incredibly nice looking silk cherry trees in the back of the store. They were tagged at $49.99 each which is expensive for a variety store item but a very good price for a decent 6’ silk plant.

so I hauled them to the cash register and the cashier scanned the tag. The tag scanned as skin lotion with a price of about 4 dollars. I immediately pointed out the discrepancy to the cashier -showing her the clearly marked $49.99 tag. She shrugged and said “Well, I guess this is your lucky day”. I took the trees home without guilt and I certainly didn’t feel like I’d committed fraud.

91

That’s the thing – how do I know if they’re aware? It’s not my job to police their job. I’m busy, and I’m going into the transaction with the basic assumption that the cashier knows what they’re supposed to be doing. If there’s an obvious difference between expected price and what they rung me up for, of course I’ll mention it. But for the most part I’m focused on getting my card out of my wallet, swiping it, putting it back, and often bagging a few of the items myself, and I’m not paying too much attention to how the prices of individual items ring up. I probably should pay greater attention, and I’m sure it’s cost me a buck or two here and there too, but mostly I’m focused on not holding up the line any longer than necessary. If I even notice I got $2 off some item, I’ll likely assume there was a sale I was unaware of. But odds are, I won’t even notice.

As an example, I once got a grand total of three small items from a garden center, all of which were in plain view on the checkout counter while I was digging my card out. She rang me up, I paid, put the things in my bag, and left. It was pure dumb luck that I happened to take a closer look at the receipt a couple weeks later and noticed one of the items I came home with wasn’t on the receipt. Normally if I’m reviewing a receipt I’m just looking for dates and totals. The garden center is not located in an area I commonly go to otherwise, so the next time I might end up there is next spring to get new seeds. I’m very unlikely to even have a spare unoccupied hour to travel out of my way to get up there, and for a $5 item it’s really not worth it to me to spend $3 in bus fare plus travel and transaction time to correct their mistake, weeks after the fact. If I’d caught it before I left, certainly I would have said something, but don’t count on me to catch it, since I almost certainly won’t. I’m not paid to ensure accurate transactions for the store, the cashier is.

92

I regularly buy Belgian endives at my local grocery and they undercharge me a dollar under the regular price. I’ve called it to their attention a bunch of times, but they can’t seem to figure out how to charge me the list price, so they just tell me “for you the price is $2.99”. I’m a regular customer there and I’ve chatted with many of the cashiers so they recognize me.

93

This is an interesting and timely topic to me. I enjoy shopping at thrift stores, I collect first editions of Canadian authors, and have a serious glass ware and dish addiction.

I search out and buy good lead crystal pieces for the same price as the bowls and vases next to it which are pressed glass. Some thrift stores know the value, and some don’t. I am still spending less than the value is new but I generally buy only the vastly under priced crystal? Ethically am I wrong? All Salvation Army hardbacks are 3.00 or less, if it is a rare first edition am I supposed to tell them?

When a second hand store NOT tied to a large charity and not always based on donations had an almost new Laurel Burch bag on sale for $7.00 and it was a sale for half price on women’s accessories I argued with the owner. An employee had priced it too low to begin with, and I refused the 50% discount and paid the 7, although I would gladly have paid $20.00. She said I should take it for the discount but I just couldn’t.
And at a yard sale I picked up a box of a complete set of 1950s era discontinued Wedgewood china… platters, vegetable bowls, serving for 8… the whole thing. The sellers were two cousins who had inherited their grandmother’s estate. One commented that “Grandma’s good dishes should probably go for more than $15.00” The other said something snarky about “well you’ve had two years to get them if you wanted them!”

I paid the full 15 and ran off.

So… morally where do I stand?

94

I had a similar experience, but chose differently in what I did.

I was at a bookstore and I saw a book was signed by Jonathan Kellerman.
Now, they HAD a “signed book” section and most of the books in that area were sometimes 3 or 4 times more expensive. Usually around 30-40 dollars, whereas the one I had in my hand had a price tag of only six dollars.

What I did, though (since I read/owned the book that was signed) was I pointed it out to the cashier (who was also the manager). She then said “Well, if you want it for the price it’s listed as, it’s yours. Your lucky find, after all”. I told her I wasn’t interested, because I already had the book, so she just shrugged and I left the book at the counter.

Before I left, though, I turned to look at the “signed books” section and saw it was now there, with a new, marked up price.
So anyway, to sum up: I found a signed book, let the store know, and they offered to let me have it at the regular price anyway…but when I declined, they did make sure to change the price.

95

I think we are morally obligated to make every reasonable effort to correct errors that favor us. Whether “stealing” is the best term, as opposed to “fraud” or “benefitting improperly” or something, I’m not sure.

I think one might draw the line for “reasonable effort” by asking how much money it will cost to fix the error. It might in effect cost a business $10 to chase down and correct a one-time error, so if the error was for $0.10 then that’s the kind of favor they shouldn’t want. Likewise if the time and effort on my part is much bigger than the error, AND whoever I’m dealing with isn’t poor and vulnerable in some way, then it’s not worth fixing. Certainly I’ve gone back into the grocery store because I’ve found a $2 item in my cart that escaped detection. Overall, it’s nice to err way on the side of caution and fix errors that are anywhere near the dividing line.

One time I had an expensive repair done, for which they quoted $650, and when I went in to pick the item up, the bill wasn’t made out properly. One of the departments hadn’t put their part of the repair on the list. What was listed totaled $150, so the great majority of the expense was missing. “Well, if they can’t get the bill right, you don’t have to pay that part. You pay $150.” I gently argued back and forth with them for a while, saying I didn’t want to benefit from such a mistake, but after about three back-and-forths I gave up. At some point the issue isn’t a mistake, the issue is an affirmative choice on their part to give me a gift as part of a transaction I do have to complete one way or another.

The only exception to this overall view is in the bizarre hypothetical case that I am dealing with somebody I think is actually morally bankrupt, somebody I think will use my money to do harm in the world. The hypothetical is bizarre because it’s generally easy to just not be doing business with such organizations in the first place. But, I can imagine getting ticketed in a speed trap when I am certain I wasn’t speeding, in some little town known for their racket as well as for using town money to otherwise abuse people. If some error lets me escape paying the ticket, and I think paying the ticket would enable them to mistreat others just a bit more, then I’d take advantage of the error.

96

I wanted to expand the whole ethical discussion to the idea of buying second hand. I collect first editions of hardbacks by Canadian Authors, and have a sort of minor addiction to china and glassware. Other things second hand don’t interest me, but these do, and I have some knowledge of relative value, and will

If I buy a second-hand book at a charity store that sells all hard covers for $3.00 does it make a difference if Abe Books has it listed at $15.00? $50.00? or is it just good that I supported the store? What if it is a new author, and EVENTUALLY a first edition may be very valuable? For me, I don’t hesitate, I nab that book and put it on my shelf, protected and treated well. Current or future value is pretty much irrelevant to me, since I collect it to have it, because owning Canadian Authors in hard cover is something I enjoy. If it helps complete my Carol Shields, collection awesome!

If I am looking at second hand vases or glassware, and find a piece of very good quality Czech/Bohemian crystal at the same price as a lesser piece of mass-produced glass beside it. Does it matter if it is a big chain of thrift stores or a smaller one run by volunteers? Does it matter if some of the good crystal in the store is priced more in line to value? For me, I buy if it is under-priced, and maybe if it is more reasonably priced (that is a good price for second hand crystal) if I have a few extra dollars and I really like the piece.

I was at a second hand store not for charity, but run by a woman I like, and I found a Laurel Burch bag for sale. Her assistant had priced it at $7.00 and handbags/ totes etc were 50% off. Considering similar bags run above $50.00 at gallery stores etc, I felt it was under-priced and said so, and offered her $20.00 She agreed but insisted I take it at prices marked. I paid the seven, refused the 50% off deal, and then spent more on “cheaper” items, so she got what I would have paid for it. (20) I probably wouldn’t have done that at Salvation Army or Value Village, but here I was dealing with the owner. I also knew she was hanging on to the store by the skin of her teeth. The store did eventually go under.
Finally my find of a century, but one that was an uncomfortable acquisition.
At a yard sale, I found a box marked “autumn dishes”. I took a peek and found a few interesting but cheap plates with leaves and things on them. I looked a bit deeper and saw some plates and bowls… very pretty and I noticed Wedgwood on the back. I decided I wanted it. I would take the whole box marked $15.00. I approached one woman and asked it she meant the WHOLE BOX for 15.00… She said "Yes, take the whole thing, " and we walked to the cash box to make me change for my $20.00 bill.

Another woman came up and said “You know that’s Grandma’s good china… do you think we should sell it so cheaply?”

The woman with my money in her hand said in the most sarcastic voice ever, “You’ve had two years to take it if you want it, are you going to decide now?”

The second woman then started on at the first about “some people have responsibilities” and suddenly I had two sisters (I presume) tearing each other apart about “dealing with it all”, and “you weren’t here”, and “after the money” and “I did all the work”.

The first woman handed me my original 20 back … not the $5 I was expecting and told me “just take it and go”. As I carried my box to the car the screaming got worse, and the name-calling began. Other people started leaving the yard sale, I don’t know if they bought or took anything with them.

I did, and it took me a while to make peace with it. However having seen enough of estate divisions now, I can see how it happens. Yes, I have a service for 8 of a Wedgewood bone china pattern that has been discontinued for over 50 years. It is in perfect condition, as far as I can tell it was never used. I have the dinner, salad, bread and butter plates. I have two oval platters, two vegetable bowls, the cups and saucers, and the cream and sugar set.

I tried to pay 15.00 for it, and possibly even ask the lady it was a mistake. Instead I seemed to set a match to an already flammable situation and ended up with this set of china for free. I have no idea of value of set, but the cups and saucers alone sell for about 12.00 each, and the vegetable bowls for over 25. One of the platters goes for about 70.00. I know selling it as a set would bring less, but it is still worth many times what I would have paid, IF I had paid what was asked.

97

A double post 12 hours apart?

98

To me, stealing requires an intention to take something that does not belong to you, just as lying requires an intent to deceive. So, I wouldn’t consider a failure to correct a mistake made by a cashier to be stealing. That said, depending on when one becomes aware of the inequity, the degree of more obligation is different.

So, for instance, if I see an item that I believed was $50 right up for $0.50, then I’m being unethical by not questioning it, because that’s unreasonably low. If I see it ring up as $49, maybe there’s a discount I didn’t know about or it wasn’t priced correctly, regardless, the disparity is less and potentially explainable, so the obligation, while still present, is less. If one notices it as it’s happening, I think the ethical obligation is to point it out. If I get all the way home, the cost of rectifying a $1 mistake at that point may be greater for both of us, between the time and cost of returning and taking up a managers time. Hell, if I’m over or undercharged, unless it’s WAY off, I’m probably unlikely to notice ever, as I go in with a rough idea of what I expect to pay, and as long as it’s close enough, I generally don’t double check. I’m only more aware if it’s a larger or unusual purchase.

While I do believe that reestablishing balance is an important part of ethics, it should not be done without context. After all, I think most people would agree that it’s reasonable to have a massive manhunt for a killer… not so much for a shoplifter. This sort of situation is just that on a much smaller scale. I’d actually suspect that while a manager would appreciate the honesty of someone who drove 20 minutes back from home after noticing a small price discrepancy in his favor, he’d probably be rolling his eyes too.
And beyond that, there’s certain ethics that differ in the retailer/customer relationship than in a more general relationship. Typically, as customers, we expect that a retailer will honor an advertised price, whether in print, signage, labeling, or even error in the system. Obviously, again, there should be some reasonable exception for egregious errors, but the onus should not be on the customer to bear the cost of their mistake.

Similarly, I think this goes even farther if the price is correct by the retailers estimation, but they’re undervaluing the market price. So, for instance, if one is looking in a pawn shop or secondhand store and sees a rare vinyl record that’s worth $50 selling for the same price as other vinyls, it’s not part of their job to know every single niche market. OTOH, if they have a work of art for $200 but is actually an original Salvador Dali worth $200k, I think most people would feel guilty only paying that.

But in this latter situation, you get into an interesting moral dilemma. To a certain extent, my expertise in recognizing that has real-world market value, and by volunteering that, just so he can then, likely, massively jack up the asking price, possibly to the point that I’m not willing to buy it anymore, that in turn screws me over. I’m not sure what the best way, ethically, is to handle that sort of situation, perhaps buying it, then selling it, and perhaps just offering him a cut later. But then again, if everyone is happy with the transaction, and only upset if they find out later because they didn’t do the appropriate legwork to find out, I’m not sure one could argue that anything unethical actually happened.

99

Wow, so why do you take stuff you bought elsewhere back to Target for a refund? Was it your friendship with the cashier who gave you a better refund?

I had a friend who was all about gaming the returns, and scamming her way into free use of stuff, she thought that made her a smart consumer. I think it made her look tacky cheap and not to be trusted.

If i catch an error in my favor i’ll bring it to the immediate attention of the cashier. If i get home and notice something amiss in my favor, then its usually finders keepers!

100

I agree with folks who have been saying a scanned price lower than expected just means the item was on sale/disounted without my knowledge. But when the tag actually has a different item name on it? That gets a lot grayer IMHO.

I wold certainly call attention to incorrect change or if the cashier missed an item, at the time. If I noticed when I got home, I wouldn’t go back (because I wouldn’t go back for an overcharge) but I would try to donate the difference to a good cause.