# Impressive honesty with money **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859 "2014-11-06T07:58:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/21 "2014-11-06T21:51:49Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Are things that different in Australia that you couldn’t have the Teller arrange a transfer directly from one account to the other? If both accounts are at the same bank, the cheque (much less cash) should never have needed to have gone over the counter to the account holders. Well my dad just decided to use cash because that’s how he usually pays for used cars. This time we just happened to do it in the bank but often it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/22 "2014-11-06T22:01:48Z")
BTW beforehand we didn’t know the seller would deposit the money in that bank. We expected him to take the cash and he would be responsible if it got stolen after he left the bank. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/23 "2014-11-06T22:05:38Z")
Maybe the conversation went like this… “I want $6000” “yes” “I’ve got $7000” [in my account] “$7000?” “Yes” (teller gets out $7000) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/24 "2014-11-06T22:06:06Z")
So your dad is a she. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/25 "2014-11-06T22:07:14Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Maybe the conversation went like this… > “I want $6000” > “yes” > “I’ve got $7000” [in my account] > “$7000?” > “Yes” > (teller gets out $7000) Maybe? I thought you were there with your female dad at the bank. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/26 "2014-11-06T22:11:24Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Maybe? I thought you were there with your female dad at the bank. There were three of us - me, the girl and my dad. The girl paid for it and my dad helped with making sure the hand-over went ok. We sat around waiting for the seller while the girl went to the teller. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/27 "2014-11-06T22:18:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I was at a friend’s bar a few weeks ago. I bought a $10 cigar and a couple of other things. I paid with a fifty. The cashier left my bill on the till and counted out thirty-something in change. Then he started chatting. And chatting. The phone rang and he handled the call. After hanging up the phone, he saw my fifty laying there and counted out thirty-something in change. > > Maybe an hour later, it hit me. I pulled my cash out of my pocket, and confirmed what he’d done. I went back and explained, but the kid argued. His boss (my friend) had him close out his drawer, proving that he was indeed thirty-something short. > > ETA: Hope the car works out! Once I accepted a large payment ( a little more than 50K ) from a client via a 3rd party check. About 6 months later someone in their accounting department realized that they had received over 50 grand worth of product and they had no record of paying for it so they sent me a big fat check. I didn’t even stop to think. I picked up the phone and told them they had made a mistake and I sent the check back ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/28 "2014-11-06T22:33:57Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > Because there were over 100 notes and he may have lost count a bit. > We were in the bank the whole time. The teller had a money counting machine so it would only take a few seconds and be very reliable. We met in the bank so there wouldn’t be a risk of the large amount of cash being stolen. Then the guy put the cash into his account. In your OP, you said you “eventually” gave the money to the seller. Now you say he was in the bank with you. It is much more work to try to follow your bizarre story than it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/29 "2014-11-06T22:38:44Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > In your OP, you said you “eventually” gave the money to the seller. Now you say he was with you when you got it from the teller. It is much more work to try to follow your bizarre story than it’s worth. 1. the girl withdrew the cash 2. the seller turned up 3. we did the paper-work 4. gave seller the cash 5. he started counting it 6. he got the teller to count it and gave back $1000 7. he deposited the rest ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/30 "2014-11-07T01:21:38Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > IIt is much more work to try to follow your bizarre story than it’s worth. TonySinclair, meet JohnClay. JohnClay, meet TonySinclair. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/31 "2014-11-07T01:36:07Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > No the teller paid with 50s. We wanted 100s. > [@JohnClay](#): > > Then the guy put the cash into his account. If you took money out of one account to be put directly into another account… A)You, your friend and the third party really never even had to handle it. B)Why the hell did it matter what denomination it was? In fact, the cash never actually had to show up, the teller can do this all from the other side of the counter without you three putting your hands all over the money. Assuming this was all done at one bank, this could have been done over the phone as long as you have both account numbers and can answer some security questions for the account it’s coming out of. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/32 "2014-11-07T06:25:57Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If you took money out of one account to be put directly into another account… > A)You, your friend and the third party really never even had to handle it. We didn’t think to ask him if he uses the same bank. There are lots of different banks. We just wanted him to get the cash without a risk of it being stolen on its way to him. We were too busy worrying that the service the car needs soon could be $1000, etc. (for the 100,000 km service) and worrying about making sure all the paperwork is done, etc. > [@](#): > > B)Why the hell did it matter what denomination it was? If there were $100 notes he would have been more likely to count it himself. (60-70 notes would be involved instead of 120-140). > [@](#): > > In fact, the cash never actually had to show up, the teller can do this all from the other side of the counter without you three putting your hands all over the money. Assuming this was all done at one bank, this could have been done over the phone as long as you have both account numbers and can answer some security questions for the account it’s coming out of. If it was done over the phone there are more problems with both of us verifying it. It would probably take a day or more to do the transfer but we’re assuming that the change in ownership happens in an instant. I don’t see what the problem with using cash is. It is more foolproof. For a bank transfer it is possible that the BSB or Account Number, etc is wrong. But like I said we didn’t think to ask if he had an account at the girl’s bank. He could have told us himself - we shouldn’t have to ask. We were making sure he had the rego paperwork, the transfer forms, the second key set, the filled out safety certificate, etc. We were more worried about the four of us all finding each other and how to get the seller home afterwards and how the girl and I arrived. (I came by bus from work, she got a ride from her house with my father). What difference does it make really to do a bank transfer? Money counting machines were used so we didn’t have to worry about counting the money. (in theory). Remember that a bank transfer still would have the problem of the wrong amount being involved… and after the bank transfer everyone would initially assume the amount was correct - we’d be worrying about whether the correct two accounts were involved. It was thanks to the two-step process that the problem with the amount was found! So remember that. ---
**Author:** ![JohnClay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c37758/32.png) [@JohnClay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnClay)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/33 "2014-11-07T11:04:06Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > …ETA: Hope the car works out! The bluetooth feature on the stereo is cool. I paired it with a mobile phone and if someone calls you see their phone number on the stereo display and press the green button on the stereo to answer it and the red button to hang up. If you press the green button otherwise it dials the last number you’ve rung. The phone microphone works well even if it is lying near the floor in its cover. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/34 "2014-11-07T11:48:38Z")
Here’s my cash story. Many years ago I volunteered as a motorcycle courier at the [Royal International Air Tattoo](http://www.airtattoo.com/). Our main job was to pick up cash from the volunteer programme sellers and take it back to the finance office. In my 2nd year there was a new finance manager that hadn’t met any of us. After introductions and general chit-chat she handed me a cash bag and asked me to take it over to the bank on the other side of the base. When I got there and opened it I saw that it was £10,000 in cash. She’d known me 10 minutes and handed me £10K! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/35 "2014-11-07T12:33:24Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > A classy silver sedan. Is there any other kind?.. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/36 "2014-11-07T12:49:45Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > I don’t see what the problem with using cash is. It is more foolproof. For those capable of counting cash, it may be. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/37 "2014-11-07T20:54:00Z")
This story is only about $20, but that was likely a lot of money to a cabbie. This was shortly after the new Canadian plastic $20 bills came out and they had a tendency to stick together. I gave a cabbie what he and I both thought were two of them and he gave me change for $40. A couple weeks later my doorback rang and there was this guy with a $20 bill in his hand explaining that he was the cabbie etc., etc. and when he was in my neighbourhood he wanted to return. I stared at him open-mouthed for the better part of a minute and finally thanked him and told him to keep it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/38 "2014-11-08T05:23:30Z")
> [@JohnClay](#): > > A classy silver sedan. Are you completely sure? ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859/39 "2014-11-08T13:01:27Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Are you completely sure? Excellent point. Have the bank teller count the doors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impressive-honesty-with-money/703859.md?page=1)