Are you an honest person?

Arazi · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:18

JBuk said:
I would feel guilty and ashamed of myself.

I agree, i would feel the same for not trying to find the owner.

Mr Badger · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:30

I have twice returned lost wallets (with all contents intact) to their rightful owners and also a set of car keys that I noticed were left in the door of a parked car. However, when I was a teenager I realised I had dropped £20 in a pub but didn't get it back, so since then I think any loose cash I find on the floor is fair game.

I would definitely return said birthday card.

ToejaM · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:44

I would always give it back if I could find the owner. If it was something really significant with no obvious owner I'd likely post on some forums, some social media and try and get it back as long as they had 100% proof it was theirs.

Dsteviedee · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:45

Seen people drop cash, called them back. Found a wallet with wad of cash, handed into police. Found cash on floor, no one around, pocketed.

iMacMart · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:50

I've returned 2 wallets I came across one at the local shops the other as I drove into my street, both had cash in and cards which is how I tracked them down, was good feeling to hand them back though ....

If it was just cash, I'd pocket it........

Junglist · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:52

Depends on the scenario. I found £20 in a puddle once with no one around so I kept it. I've seen a few people leave money in the cash point (I still have no idea how people manage this) and have called them back.

I remember when I was younger I was out Xmas shopping with my mother. She found a wallet with a couple of hundred in and handed it in with all of the money. Few weeks later the police had called her up to tell her the owner had contacted them and left her a heartfelt letter and a bottle of champagne. A lesson learned in good deeds that day.

tom_nieto · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:54

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18748954

Seems like good timing. Thread could do with a little more honesty

bobbyspangles · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:55

I once found 2 tickets to a sold out Slipknot show in a pub in Birmingham. About an hour later a guy comes in with his date, both looking flustered having already walked to the venue across the city. He tried to offer me cash which I refused and instead he joined us for an hour and bought me and mates a few rounds.

Dj_Jestar · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:57

Malevolence said:
No, not really.

That's the wallet of a credit/debit card thief. That £500 probably just came out of the accounts of those cards.

As for OP:

Yes, I am an honest person.

G-MAN2004 · 13 Sep 2016 at 16:59

I always hand stuff in or try and find the person who has dropped whatever item it is. However, I won't lie and say I wouldn't be tempted if I found a bag with £50k in it or something.

Craig321 · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:00

JBuk said:
I've just opened my mail and one letter contained a rather sentimental 60th birthday card to some guy from his mum with £40 inside, when I checked the envelope the address was similar to mine but it's a place a few minutes drive away. I popped round to the correct address and gave it to the guy. He was very thankful for my honesty.

I also found a wallet a few years ago with a significant amount of cash in it, I managed to track down the owner and get it back to him.

I know lots of people out there would have pocketed the cash and kept quiet but I would feel guilty and ashamed of myself.

So anybody else done anything similar or have you gone the other way and kept the cash?

If it's obvious who the owner is, e.g. ID in the wallet, or a birthday card with address on it, then I'll of course send it/give it back. If it's £20 on the floor, it's mine.

Cosimo · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:01

I've returned wallets with money, informed people when they've left car doors/windows unlocked. Even spotted house/car keys left in a front door. I'm honest most of the time.

bobbyspangles · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:02

What I don't understand is people who find a wallet complete with cards and ID and post it all over Facebook to track the guy down. I even saw one woman scan the poor bloke's ID and post it. A quick Facebook people search and I had the owner's page.

I suppose for some people there's no point in doing a good deed unless others hear about/see it.

Another common one is people finding 'lost' cats.

Junglist · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:04

Cosimo said:
I've returned wallets with money, informed people when they've left car doors/windows unlocked. Even spotted house/car keys left in a front door. I'm honest most of the time.

I've seen cars leave their lights on sometimes and I want to knock on the door and tell them but I get stage fright and worry they'll tell me to do one

Cern · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:07

It would never cross my mind to pocket the cash in such a situation. If the owner can be traced I would always try and get the item back to them. I've returned several wallets, phones and a set of car keys I've found over the years. I'm a big believer in 'what goes around comes around' and have been lucky that when I lost my own wallet once and some important documents another time, on both occasions someone kindly returned them to me.

As for finding cash in the street and not seeing who dropped it, well that's a different story

h4rm0ny · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:08

JBuk said:
I've just opened my mail and one letter contained a rather sentimental 60th birthday card to some guy from his mum with £40 inside, when I checked the envelope the address was similar to mine but it's a place a few minutes drive away. I popped round to the correct address and gave it to the guy. He was very thankful for my honesty.

I also found a wallet a few years ago with a significant amount of cash in it, I managed to track down the owner and get it back to him.

I know lots of people out there would have pocketed the cash and kept quiet but I would feel guilty and ashamed of myself.

So anybody else done anything similar or have you gone the other way and kept the cash?

I would do the same as you in all of the above, but I actually disagree with you about "most people wouldn't". I think most people would. We watch the news or we go online, and we get the impression that the world is nothing but self-serving and hate. But actually there are good people everywhere, and I believe the majority. It may not seem so, but often stupid people are the most vocal and bad people get the most press coverage. The rest of us just get on with life and do the best we can. "Good" is mostly a way of classing how wide the net of "us" we cast is. Do we say "us" is just ourselves or just our family? Do we say "us" is our neighbourhood or our religion? Do we say "us" is our species. The wider "us" is cast, the more it generally equates to being a good person. The tighter we draw the boundary line of "them", the worse we tend to be. You treated strangers as you would a friend. That's good.

Uther · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:10

RaohNS said:
Cash on the floor nope.

A wallet stuffed with cash, yes. A card with £10 in yes. A person dropping a fiver will be called back.

I think I'm honest

Same here.

h4rm0ny · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:13

Malevolence said:
No, not really.

See, a few months later the extra cash will be gone, but you will still be a thief.

MooMoo444 · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:18

Found a wallet once. Managed to return it. There and then they took £40 out of it, and gave it to me for my trouble

Hiijinx · 13 Sep 2016 at 17:19

I like to think I am.

I did find a wallet years ago while in town, it had no cash inside but was full of credit cards. I was about to catch a bus home and rather than take it to the police station, I handed it to a passing city ambassador (sort of security guards who patrol the city with uniforms and walkie talkies).

Another occasion I found an iPhone on a bus, it had a screen lock so couldn't access it. I think it belonged to a girl who just got off, but wasn't 100% sure so handed it to the driver.

In hindsight I wonder if I should have handed them in myself...