Would you return a lost wallet?

[CoffeeCheeseandCupcakes]

DH lost his wallet yesterday with a good amount of cash in it. Pretty certain it was whole we were at the playground - but have since retraced our steps, called all the stores we'd been too yesterday or near where we were, and posted on the community FB group.

I guess I shouldn't be, but I'm really surprised that no one's turned it in or dropped it back at our house (playground is around the corner and his license is in there with our address). If I'd found a wallet I'd absolutely try to return it to its owner and imagine I'd drive even a reasonable distance to if I had the address from the license.

So just made me wonder, what others would do? Would you return it? Leave it where it was? Take the cash? Take the whole wallet?

DH lost his and someone had posted it through the door.

We found a purse once on a day out and there was a park run barcode with an ICE number so we called it and it was the owners partner, we waited outside a shop for 30 mins to reunite the purse with the owner

I found a wallet once on top of a pay and display machine with no contact details so handed it in to the shop nearest

I would never keep anything that didn't belong to me and do my very best to get it back to its rightful owner

A few times, about 3-4 years ago about this time of year I'd dashed to local Next to collect an order, got back to my car and saw a purse on the floor. Had a lot going on at the time, couldn't see anything with an address on and knew I wouldn't have time to go to a branch of the bank for the bank cards so just went back into Next and handed it to a manager.
About 18 months ago on a train, coming up to my stop and leant down to get my bag and saw a driving licence on the floor, debated what to do but saw the address was about 8 miles from me, so decided to take it with me - if the cleaners had found it would have been much further away. I managed to track down the owner and her bf on FB (slightly unusual name) and the BF came to collect, saved her £25 on a replacement licence.
Then last month walking past local high school and spotted a bank card on the floor, guessed it belonged to one of the kids as it was Master schoolboy, so phoned the school who checked they had a child of that name and dropped it off at school reception.

Depends, if there's identification in it like a drivers licence then yes. If not then no I'd keep it.

A few Christmas eves ago I was driving across country to my in-laws for Christmas, (3 hour drive) and I found a handbag on the back of a door of a toilet in the services I stopped at. It belonged to a 78yr old lady on her way to her sons house for Christmas who only lived an hour away from my in-laws so I drove to the house to drop it off to her. She was delighted and so was the rest of the family. It felt like I'd done
My good deed for the year and in return got a bottle of
Prosecco from them!

@GreysAnatomy

A customer left her purse when collecting her Click & Collect parcel at my workplace which has lots of £20 notes and I mean over £1000.

At the same time, it was a small store and I didn't trust my managers enough to tell them (the purse would have been emptied in seconds) so I used her name and address on her driving license to search her on the ordering system, got her number and called her to come collect her purse.

She was so grateful and I do not regret not telling management or logging it.

My sister handed a wallet in to Sainsburys lost and found when she was little, about 5. Being 5, she wanted to see if it had been claimed so my Dad took her to the shop to ask, there was no record of it in the lost and found.

Turned out the customer service guy was pilfering from the lost and found and also stealing from the shop. He was arrested and went to court, I can't remember what his sentence was in the end.

Its always made me wary of handing into customer service (i know he was a minority!). I'd always try to see if there were any way to ascertain the owner before handing anything in.

Of course.
DS lost his in a busy retail car park. When he got home someone had posted it, in tact,through his letter box. He was amazed and delighted. Unfortunately he had no way of thanking them though he did put something on the area FB page on the off chance it might be seen.
I found a full wallet in the entrance to a shop in our town. I handed it in to the shop and filled in my details in their lost property book. Never heard another thing. I did wonder whether they returned it to the owner.
I also found two £10 notes blowing along an empty street. Waited a while to see if anyone came back and posted on our local Facebook page. After a week I donated it to the local food bank.

Yes of course. In fact last year we found a wallet and by doing some Facebook sleuthing managed to find the owner who'd just been to our town on a day trip, and get the wallet back to him. He was delighted.

Posters asking why carry a lot of money around. There's loads of reasons - pension, shop takings (I know loads of small business owners who do this), fundraising takings from donations/sales, cash collection from a group of people to buy something, rent, bills, to name a few.

Ofc everyone on mn will say they would return it, those who dont return them are usually not in the mn demographic.

I would, but plenty wouldn't and they aren't going to come here and admit to that.

I've found a £10 note on the street and pocketed it. On another occasion I've found a purse and jewellery and handed them over intact in. I suppose the note to me was just anonymous and a nice treat, whereas the jewellery and purse belonged to someone. I've also lost a platinum bracelet, I was pretty certain it came off at my DDs nursery, but sadly no one found it.

I once returned a purse I found.

Got abused and threatened with the police as apparently there had been quite a bit of money in the purse. Someone must have been at it before I found it and just tossed it back on the road when they'd taken the cash.

So I'd be wary!!

@Crunchymum

I once returned a purse I found.

Got abused and threatened with the police as apparently there had been quite a bit of money in the purse. Someone must have been at it before I found it and just tossed it back on the road when they'd taken the cash.

So I'd be wary!!

You would hardly have turned in an empty purse if you'd just stolen the contents!

I would return anything I found to the owner if there was a name and address in/on it. I would hand a watch in to the police station.
I would not take money to a police station if I found any.

Depends on the effort involved, i dont drive so if i found on foot, probably not. I'd be more inclined to look for a phone number and get the person to come collect it.
At worst I'd drop at closest open shop

When me and dp found one on the road and he was driving, we dropped it off, was only a couple streets from where we found it.

I found a wallet on the floor at a bus stop, which had owners details inside, bank cards etc. There was only a fiver tucked right inside, so I don't know if someone else had got to it first, but I sent it by post back to the address, and paid the postage myself.
Years ago, I went in the toilets at Liverpool Street station and someone must have emptied their pockets before going to the toilet, as there was about £5 change in there, and I kept that.

Return it, no question

I lost my wallet once and the only identification in there was my boots card! They contacted boots who contacted me and it was returned (money in all) I was amazed the effort that someone did to return it to me!!

I do know of a friend who found a purse (with a lot of money in it) in a store and handed it in to a member of staff - the money sadly disappeared before getting to the owner and she was blamed for stealing the money as on camera she was seen picking it up :( had a police visit as there was no evidence of her handing it a member of staff! Was very messy - she said she would never even now pick one up!

I would always return a purse/wallet though.

I would return it without question. Around here people post on community face book groups to find the owner. I've had all sorts returned to me including a piece of jewellery worth hundreds which was retrieved by a cleaner and handed in.

I was waiting in line at the cashpoint in the foyer of a hospital once.

The old lady in front of me took forever.

When it was my turn I saw that she'd left her withdrawings in the cash slot. I charged after her - I'm on double crutches so it's good she was slow too. She was very grateful - it was all her pension money.

I once had my purse taken at a Tesco customer service desk.
Put in on the desk, and walked away. Turned straight back and it was gone - they said 'another customer must have taken it and the CCTV is broken'. 2 years later one of them was charged with theft - they'd been doing it to everyone they could.

I don't mean to sound so impatient re the old lady btw.
I left my withdrawings in the slot of the cash machine last year.
My teenage son pointed it out, with much eye-rolling !

Hundred percent I'd return it.

Yes definitely.

My husband recently lost his and it was handed into the locks police station. Cash included!

I would be FECKIGN FURIOUS if my DH had been walking around with a wallet with a few hundred pounds cash in it

He's the idiot here.

Really honestly.... I'd probably keep the cash and hand in/ return anonymously the actual wallet, with keys, cards, photos whatever. As far as the person knows it's gone for good. At least getting the wallet itself back with everything minus the cash might be something. I would also assume that whoever I hand it into (nearest shop, train station or whatever) the person there would do the same so I might as well help myself first

@52andblue

I don't mean to sound so impatient re the old lady btw. I left my withdrawings in the slot of the cash machine last year. My teenage son pointed it out, with much eye-rolling !

The cash does get sucked back in and credited to your account when this happens. Can't remember how long it takes..