To keep this or am I thief?

[hattyho]

So I ordered a purse online from a well known brand.
I paid £12 so cheap and cheerful.
The parcel arrived today and it was well packaged in a nice box and wrapped etc.
I opened it and it was a different purse (loved it ) and I checked online and it is selling on the site for £100
Moral dilemma ...keep or return ?
Would you tell them ?

@sarahrellyboo England and Wales. May be different Scotland. In England and Wales the elements of theft are:

1. That you exert rights of ownership over property
2. That you intend to deprive the real owner permanently
3. That you obtain the property deceitfully/dishonestly (can’t remember the word used)-keeping something that was not meant for you fulfils this.

I can’t remeber which provision applies or the relevant case law-it’s been years since I did criminal law!

I'd contact Customer Services and say you received the wrong item but you are happy to keep it if they are. I had this happen in an Argos when I asked to view an item. Apparently the £60 kettle was a substituted item for the £15 one I wanted if I was happy to accept the alternative (@£15!) I've also order stuff and been sent the wrong item as the outer packaging was for a different item. Is this the case for you I wonder? Maybe check codes against delivery slip?

Keep it and enjoy. It really isn't theft. And it's a big online retailer, no one will lose their job over it. Consider it a win!

I'd be tempted to keep it but would message them to let them know it was the wrong one and ask what they wanted to do about it. A lot of companies find returned items a pain in the arse and they may well ask if you would want to keep that purse instead (it would be bloody cheeky to then ask for your original, cheaper order, lol) Honesty usually is the best policy and temptation can lead to all sorts of trouble, let alone pangs of guilt stabbing you every now and then. You have to live with any decisions you make - it may or may not be theft legally, but dishonesty is not a very attractive skin to live in. (Also, some poor sod may have paid for the purse you received and got the less expensive purse you ordered - not a nice Xmas prezzie for them).

Keep it and say nothing!
I ordered a small double bed and mattress through a shop on ebay. They sent the wrong item three times after sending the mattress. In the end I said they could collect their goods as I'd ordered another bed from elsewhere as it gad taken 11 weeks for them to send collect each wrong item sent. They only collected the bed each time not the mattress. I then opened up a dispute and they eventually refunded me the whole amount not minus the mattress through the resolution centre. Their mistake not mine.

I always tell and they always say keep...extra chicken from Tesco, double refund from Ikea, wrong order from Amazon etc. My conscience would not let me keep without telling. Not worth the emotional hassle

P.s no such thing as karma. Have you seen Donald Trump?

That's karma catching up with America for 1776.

I always tell and they always say keep...extra chicken from Tesco, double refund from Ikea, wrong order from Amazon etc. My conscience would not let me keep without telling. Not worth the emotional hassle

And yet I recently informed Sainsbury that I had received 3 trays of dog food (36 tins) in error for the two I ordered. They sent the delivery man back to collect the third . . .

My work sent someone a more expensive item than they paid for once. When we realised we contacted them and they were uncooperative. We could prove what item we sent them in error. We sent them a bill for it. They didn’t pay it. We took legal action. We won. For reference they bought something for £1200 and got something worth £11000. It’s not yours, if they realise they can bill you for it if you don’t return it.

You’d tell them if they’d made a cock up the other way round. You’ d expect them to refund you if you had mistakenly paid too much. You should tell them .

Greys - Probably worth the risk to the OP for £88. I wouid actually let them know as I always think these things come back as karma. The chances are you can be honest and still keep the purse.

The OP asked if she could keep it or would she be a thief. That seems to me a legal question rather than a moral question.

If she wanted to keep it, of course she could choose to do so, but she must be aware that the company could contact her and ask for her to return it, or they could pursue her for the cost. It's not being a twat to point that out.

If I were the OP, I'd contact the company and let them know the mistake. With large companies, they often don't bother asking for returns and may well tell her to keep it. Then, there's no problem. That seems to me an easier solution than using the purse, then being charged for it, unless the OP can easily afford an extra 88 pounds.

We got a new TV this way. DH ordered some wireless headphones, went to pick them up from UK Mail depot and the guy brings out this massive box wrapped in bin liners.DH starts laughing, are you sure that’s right etc. Yep addressed to him, but only ordered headphones etc. Pulled some of bin bag off and it’s obviously a telly. UK mail guy is all I’d keep it if I were you mate. We didnt do anything for about a week as we were in the same quandary (it was a 42 LG TV), then got an email from the company saying they’d made a mistake and were going to send someone to pick it up the following week. DH emailed back and said absolutely, however it’ll have to be at our convenience I.e evenings or weekend. Never heard anything back and after 6 weeks nothing so we unboxed it and started using it , just been sat watching the news on it 6 years later!!

The person who picked your order and sent out wrong purse may have made a mistake before and this may mean the sack for them just before Xmas. You could email and say you ordered purse but they sent you different one than you ordered but you are happy with it. See what they say.

Also if you open it and use it and then ask what they want to do about it they are unlikely to collect back from you as it would be used so not new to re-sell.

Thank you to the actual lawyers in here for accurately setting out the law, there was some really persistent ignorance earlier in the thread.

Sorry haven't rtft, but have read the last couple of pages.

I'm a criminal lawyer and I think it's theft. However, the dishonesty element of theft involves a 'what an ordinary person would think ' type test, so arguably no one person can come on here and say it's definitely theft .

What you could say for definite, if it were true, is that a particular set of circumstances isn't theft because there is an essential element of the offence missing. But that's not the case here.

By the way, and sorry if it's already been said, it's the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it.

Op you've decided you're going to keep it ( I would too ) but this thread has been much more entertaining watching the bun fights between the lawyers.
The purse is lovely by the way!

Love how the honest lawyer "defends" their profession by stating the clue is in the name.

Yes and I'm a bottle of disinfectant

I think all the lawyers have been on the same side and exasperated by the inaccurate legal advice given by a couple of lay people.

Keep it. I was refunded twice by a huge high street shop for a tv. They gave me over £1300 too much. I waited a while,trying to make my mind up what to do. In the end I called them and told them. I thought they’d say something lovely like “oh as you’ve been so honest,you can keep it”. They didn’t. I got a voucher for a cup of coffee. Gutted. I should have kept my mouth shut. They’d never have known as that amount of money is nothing to them. Then again,I’m sure Elton is quite pricey!

This thread has been very entertaining, gotta love the lawyers

Keep it OP.

You should keep this nice purse., say nothing. I think the retailer has just sent you a lovely Christmas present. !!

A few people have said no one will get the sack for this mistake. I would be concerned with the job of the person, who mislabelled these purses. On this basis alone I would contact the company to minimise the risk to this person.

I once took something back to M&S. I’d bought 3 of the same item and was returning 2. The guy refunded me the whole lot. I informed him of his error. Just because it’s a large retailer, it doesn’t mean they’re easy pickings.