Careful if you see money on the floor & pick it up.

Fishbait · 1 Mar 2017 at 14:49

Woman picks up £20 note off floor - and gets charged with THEFT.

No idea why "She initially denied taking it, but admitted it when she was shown the CCTV footage." but I think a charge of theft is really too far for this.

From what I can see on any posts about this, there's no mention that the bloke dropped this when she was there & she just picked it up without telling him, but seems less likely, especially as it says "He said: "She didn't know who the money belonged to."

Jamesyboyjim · 1 Mar 2017 at 14:51

What an absolute joke!

Pixel · 1 Mar 2017 at 14:59

She took money lying on the floor in a shop which someone had clearly lost, and instead of doing the decent thing by handing it in to staff, she pockets it.

Sounds like she deserves it.

SilverTongue · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:09

Pixel said:
She took money lying on the floor in a shop which someone had clearly lost, and instead of doing the decent thing by handing it in to staff, she pockets it.

Sounds like she deserves it.

Handing it in to the staff would have just resulted in it either being pocketed by staff or chucked in the till. Even if the person who lost it came back do you think staff would give it to them?

Jono · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:14

SilverTongue said:
Handing it in to the staff would have just resulted in it either being pocketed by staff or chucked in the till. Even if the person who lost it came back do you think staff would give it to them?

That's my thinking...

Reginald · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:17

This could also read as:

Idiot leaves money in cash point, wastes tax-payers money and police time in order to get it back. Frankly, he should have been charged... :mad:

BeeP · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:19

I'm not really shocked by this at all, it isn't your property, you have no right to it so you should hand it in.

antijoke · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:19

Pixel said:
She took money lying on the floor in a shop which someone had clearly lost, and instead of doing the decent thing by handing it in to staff, she pockets it.

Sounds like she deserves it.

Lol

BeeP said:
I'm not really shocked by this at all, it isn't your property, you have no right to it so you should hand it in.

Finders keepers, losers weepers.

Hotwired · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:20

Hey look there's some money lying about in a shop.

Oh look also some goods lying about in a shop.

Clearly it's fine to pick up and take either right?

Glaucus · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:21

hand it to police not shop. That way you will almost certainly get it back, when it goes unclaimed for more than 6 weeks.
found several hundread in toys r us when i was realy young, and we got the money back after it wasn't claimed, we got a rubber dinghy and parents kept the rest.

BeeP · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:25

Glaucus said:
hand it to police not shop. That way you will almost certainly get it back, when it goes unclaimed for more than 6 weeks.
found several hundread in toys r us when i was realy young, and we got the money back after it wasn't claimed, we got a rubber dinghy and parents kept the rest.

You do realise raiding the cash register is not "finding" right?

Greebo · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:28

Pixel said:
She took money lying on the floor in a shop which someone had clearly lost, and instead of doing the decent thing by handing it in to staff, she pockets it.

Sounds like she deserves it.

This. That is the law in this country. Even if you find it lying in the street, if you don't hand it in, it's theft.

Doogles · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:29

If I dropped money and someone saw it but didn't know I dropped it I'd be happy for them to keep it, and if I saw someone drop money I'd tell them and give it back however if I didn't know who dropped it I'd pocket it. Always treat others how you want to be treated.

Greebo · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:30

SilverTongue said:
Handing it in to the staff would have just resulted in it either being pocketed by staff or chucked in the till. Even if the person who lost it came back do you think staff would give it to them?

Well she wouldnt have got arrested and charged with theft if she had would she? The member of staff would be charged instead.

LOAM · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:31

Good to be honest, I have zero sympathy for her.

Mynight · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:32

Never thought it would be classed as theft. Well to be honest never really thought about it.

If she'd have seen it drop from his pocket and then pocketed it without telling him then yeah theft. Seems rather extreme otherwise.

Still remember someone withdrawing £200 from a cash point answering the phone and running off in a hurry. Had to chase her down and give it to her then join the back of the queue again

.

MooMoo444 · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:33

If someone dropped their phone and someone found it and kept it, would people feel different?

I can totally understand why taking the money is theft. You know it's not yours so just pocketing it is wholly wrong.

Greebo · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:37

Mynight said:
Never thought it would be classed as theft. Well to be honest never really thought about it.

If she'd have seen it drop from his pocket and then pocketed it without telling him then yeah theft. Seems rather extreme otherwise.

Still remember someone withdrawing £200 from a cash point answering the phone and running off in a hurry. Had to chase her down and give it to her then join the back of the queue again .

‘Under the Theft Act 1968, a person is guilty of theft if they “dishonestly appropriate property [including cash] belonging to another”.

‘Lost property will continue to “belong to another”, unless it has genuinely been abandoned by the owner. The fact that cash has been dropped in the street does not necessarily mean it has been abandoned.’

However, it adds that in the end it’s down to whether you could reasonably believe the owner of the cash was untraceable, or you had already taken reasonable steps to find them – such as by going to the police

So clearly in a shop you will be fine if you hand it to the shop or to the police but keeping it and then denying it later until the cctv proves you a liar means you failed the test to "take all reasonable steps to find the owner"

Same applies if you get delivered somebody else's parcel by mistake.

Mynight · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:38

Greebo said:
So clearly in a shop you will be fine if you hand it to the shop or to the police but keeping it and then denying it later until the cctv proves you a liar means you failed the test to "take all reasonable steps to find the owner"

Same applies if you get delivered somebody else's parcel by mistake.

Simple enough then

.

Pixel · 1 Mar 2017 at 15:39

SilverTongue said:
Handing it in to the staff would have just resulted in it either being pocketed by staff or chucked in the till. Even if the person who lost it came back do you think staff would give it to them?

Then what would the staff member do, knowing that the shop is covered by CCTV, when the man comes back for his money? Not all shop workers are as dishonest as the thief in the article.