I was at a shopping park today with my mate and I needed to go to a cash machine to get some money. It was one of those ones you walk in through the electric opening door and the cash machine is inside. Anyway, as we went inside a couple where walking out. I got to the cash machine and noticed some money sticking out the slot and the screen was saying “Please take your money”
Well I pointed at it to my mate and he took it out the machine. It was £50! Then I put my card in, not thinking. I took some money out cos I thought it would look dodgy if they checked and I was the last person to use it and didnt take money out. We split the money, but now I’m worried they will check the cameras and see it was us that took it. What should I do. I feel a bit bad for the people who left the money in it.
Maybe a better question, Niobium Knight, is what could you do now? If the guilt obviously working on you prevails, I suppose the only option would be to contact the bank to see if they could somehow locate the customer who left the cash via the transaction record. If they do, you’ve now got the dilemma of either talking your mate out of the 25 pounds he’s happy to keep, or going into your own pocket. I bet you’d sleep better if you tried, though.
Your mate is right saying that the other person shouldn’t have left the money behind, but that doesn’t mean he has the right to take advantage of his/her misfortune.
It would not be hard for you to go to the bank and say, “I withdrew X number of pounds at this time and there was already X number of pounds sitting in the machine.”
The bank could check the log of the ATM’s transactions and the forgetful could get their money back.
Or you could be wracked with guilt for the rest of your life.
Modern ATMs will retract the money if it is not collected within a certain period of time. Best course of action would have been to simply leave it alone for 60 seconds or so and let the machine do its thing.
Money goes back to bank is the only right way to handle this.
I would try to contact the bank and get the money back to its rightful owner, mostly because I don’t think I could live with the guilt. It was careless for them to leave the money, but it should still be returned.
One test of a moral or ethical dilemma is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
What if you were the one that was in a terrific hurry and forgot to grab the money out of the machine before you left? Wouldn’t you want the next person to return it to the bank for you?
In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need to consider whether your mug was on the video or not. You’d return the money just because it’s the right thing to do.
Personally I would have returned it right away. It’s much harder to do now that you’ve probably already spent it.
But as far as you getting “caught” I don’t think you have to worry. Think about it: The sole purpose of an ATM is to get money. These people walked into a booth that was constructed for the sole purpose of containing an ATM, then they proceeded to go through the trouble of putting in their card and typing their PIN, all so YOU could have an extra 50 pounds. I don’t they’re in a hurry to tell anyone they did that.
I knew a French woman living in Japan who happened upon 60,000 yen (roughly US$500 at the time) at an ATM. She took it, but was videotaped by a security camera in the ATM console. In her case, she gave back the money when confronted (by the bank or the police, I can’t recall), but I think she was forgiven because she was a foreigner, and having her name in the paper for all to see (in a smaller city where she was, like, the only French woman) was punishment enough.
Your amount of money was less, but if the people who left the money there report it, the bank probably knows well enough who took it.
There’s nothing you can do now besides hope in the “not getting caught” department. If I were in your shoes, I’d salve my conscience by making an anonymous donation to some charity I found worthy. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital here in Memphis is a good one. (I am not an employee or anyone who would benefit from such a thing; St. Jude is where most of my charity goes.)
jackelope, there is something he can and should do, and donating the money to charity is not it. Sure, it’d be nice if he donated to charity, but as it’s been pointed out, the money belongs to whomever visited the ATM last. He should return the cash to the bank and explain what happened. There are records kept, and the bank will know who the money belongs to.
The weird thing is, it was my mate that took it out the ATM. I just pointed at it. After he’d taken it out I put my card in and withdrew money. It’s a bit of a bitch really cos I’m gonna have to convince my mate to hand back his half.
I’ll be the sole dissenting voice here and mention that at least two of the ATMs I visit most regularly make a point of saying that they aren’t responsible for money or receipts not claimed once the machine gives them out. Presumably, you’re not either. It’s no more “theft” than finding an envelope of money on the street or whatnot. Of course, ethically speaking, that’s up to you. I’d like to think that I’d return it to the bank, but that’s mighty easy to say when I’m sitting here typing and not at the ATM with ~$100US or so in my hand (or whatever that exchanges to).
Heh… just reread and saw that you had seen the couple departing. I don’t think I could keep it having seen its rightful owners and being able to put a face to it no matter what I’d do if I had no idea who it belonged to. I’m still not sure if there’s a legal component to it (though what I’d know about the law in that regard in the States wouldn’t have much to do with your situation anyway).
I’m still not sure if there’s a legal component to it (though what I’d know about the law in that regard in the States wouldn’t have much to do with your situation anyway).