I think IMHO is the best forum for this, because I’m soliciting opinions.
I wrote a check to a merchant this weekend for $65. Said merchent runs it through his fancy NEW check scanner, and enters the tendered amount as 65 cents. I checked my bank account yesterday, and 65 cents was debited from my account.
On the technical side, will the check eventually go through the clearing system as $65, or 65 cents?
Morally, do I still owe him $64.35 even though I wrote the check properly, and he blew it when he used the scanner?
I know that there are laws in place that say your bank has a certain amount of time to act, or else said transaction goes through legally. I saw a website on it, I think (then again that doesn’t PROVE anything).
If it hapened to me, I’d call my bank and ask about it. And I’d make it good with the merchant, even tho it was his error. I’d certainly raise a ruckus if the error went against me.
Well, legally, if the check goes through for 65 cents you don’t owe him anything else. But morally, yeah, I say that you owe him the rest of the money. After all, we all make mistakes sometimes.
When I’m presented with a dilemma like yours, I have to think about how my decision will affect my self-perception.
Option 1: I make things right. I believe that I’m a person who makes an effort to be honest.
Option 2: I do nothing. I know that I’m a person who is willing to take advantage of someone else’s mistake, knowing that they will be hurt by my inaction.
For me, morality has a lot to do with being able to live with myself. If I were in your situation and didn’t make the effort to finish paying for the item, I would feel like a thief every time I looked at the item. That’s just me. I’m kind of a tightass. YMMV.
lainaf, while I agree with you for the most part, you left one vital factor out of the equation. Here is Option 2 with the revision (which may be slightly different for different people) in bold:
However, no one has yet addressed the technical question I posed. Once the check wends it’s way through the Federal Reserve system, will it be paid in full as I wrote it, or will it be paid at the erroneous value?
I understand these electronic check systems to work like debit cards. The terminal transaction sequesters the amount entered, but the payment is actually made when the check is physically presented. I suspect that the fat-fingered merchant will get his $65.
FFM did his damnedest to get me to write another check, and I refused. I didn’t know how the system worked, and I wasn’t about to pay for something twice because of his blunder.
I certainly would not do that, because given that the correct face value is on the check, you’re opening yourself up to paying twice. I’d notify the merchant (as it appears you have) and tell him you’d be happy to sign a letter to his bank or yours explaining the situation, but that you’re not writing another check and that you are not going to spend your time solving the problem that he brought on himself. I do not belive there is a moral duty to do anything else but make yourself available – it’s not right for the merchant to expect you to either open yourself up to risk or to waste your own time (and frustration!) trying to fix what is, ultimately, not your problem.
More than likely the check will go through for the correct amount, in time. Even with an electronic check scanner, receipts and checks must be added up by hand at the end of the night. The receipts from the scanned checks will not match the actual checks on hand, and if the error is not found by a manager at the store, it will surely be found by the bank teller who performs the deposit transaction for the retailer.
I would definitely check with the store and let them know you are concerned, but likely their bank will have run through the correct amount and your bank account will show the difference being taken out soon.
If they are trying to get you to write another check, I would be very suspicious.
It’s kind of weird that there wasn’t some way for him to void the transaction if he noticed his mistake immediately–or perhaps there is, but he was unfamiliar with the system.
I’d call your bank and check. If you’re concerned with ending up on the hook for an extra $65, don’t give them your name and account number, and keep the discussion hypothethical until you feel that you understand how the system works, and how best to straighten it out.
