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 ?

[swingofthings]

Thecreitybis that the vast majority of people would say nothing and justify their decision by telling themselves they did nothing wrong so it's OK.

I face this dilemma a few times in my life, can think of one in particular and I did debate with myself for some time whether to do the right thing. In the end I did and I felt so good about it. There is a little voice inside that tells you you did the right thing that makes you feel good, the same voice that teels you you didn't that you tell to shut up but deep inside still makes you feel bad about yourself because you know it was wrong.

It really works both ways too. It's because more and more people are trying to get as much as they can, maximising on other people's mistake that businesses are becoming less and less caring resulting in many posters coming here to complain about poor treatment from retailers.

[Poppycat81]

A few years ago I ordered a complete TV series dvd box set for a Christmas present for about £50. What arrived can only be described as a complete "upgrade" to the one I ordered.

I emailed the company to be told their warehouse had flooded, and their stock of my original order had been destroyed. They sent me this replacement, which was selling for 3x what I had paid, as a way to honour my order.

The gift was very appreciated. 🙂

[bruffin]

I broke my phone and claimed under insurance.I wss sent wrong phone, unlike op it was the cheaper one inside the right box and i checked it while courier was still here.
I told courier but he refused to take it back.. Company said they would pick it up when they delivered replacement. That courier refused to take it back as well. I kept it in the end and never heard from the company again about it, so eventually sold it.

[strawberrisc]

I have a strict moral code that says anything obtained by ill gotten means will never bring anything good. I even handed in a £2 coin I found in work yesterday!

[Helipad]

Some years ago I ordered Bugaboo Bee for my DC1. Got it and carried on as normal. About a month later I received another one out of the blue, this time with added bells and whistles like a footmuff which I hadn’t even originally ordered.

I wasn’t home when it was delivered, my neighbour had signed it and taken it in. I kept it for about 2 months, heard nothing and sold it

[JBo2]

I think the fact that you're asking gives you your answer. It's tempting to keep it but you know you shouldn't really. The fact it's from a big retailer is irrelevant. Imo it's about being the person you want to be.
Incidentally big retailers are being hit hard by financial times. Like others have said, in all likelihood they might let you keep it. I've been in a similar situation and felt better for staying true to who I am. I got sent 7 boxes of tea instead of 7 tea bags. I also got 10 cheesgraters instead of 1!

[ThunderInMyHeart]

There were no bunfughts between lawyers. As @flewog says, we were all on the same side...putting straight those posters who negligently give out “legal advice” because they’ve seen The Bill.

I note none of those latter posters have piped up since lawyers (with legal life posting history) cane out in back-up force.

I’ve made a comprehensive colour-coded note of the stubborn and arrogant posters who maintained rude disagreement and name-calling of the lawyers coming on to help. Not coming to your aid when you post looking for legal advice!

[EffOrf]

I would never post on MN for legal advice, there are far more reliable places to get it than an anonymous forum where you don't know who people are.

[Highlights12]

Why not ring up and say you received wrong one but like it and are happy to keep it to save the messing around of swopping it.

[captainpantbeard]

I would keep it purely on the basis that, since it's been wrongly labelled, you will enter a WHOLE WORLD OF PAIN if you contact them about it. Been there. Never again. They will actually hate you for it.

[FranciscoGoya]

I'd tell them, since I'm not that desperate for an overpriced money holder.

I wouldn't be going out of my way to send it back though. I would tell them if they want me to package it up and take it to the post office, I can bill them by the hour for my time. Otherwise they can send a courier.

[Raven88]

I would have to tell them. I believe in karma and I can't be dishonest or it makes me anxious.

[ralfeesmum]

Serendipidity, pure serendipidity.

So keep it!

[loudhouse18]

I wouldn't tell them. It was clearly they're mistake and how do they know that you know its worth £100.

[strawberrisc]

This is why I can’t watch “Goldenballs”. My daughter always cried when someone swore to share but then stole.

[SugarCoatIt]

I wouldn't keep it personally, honesty is the best policy, they may still let you keep it.

However, I've a friend who would be all over this, and keep it without so much as blinking an eye, and regardless of the fact she's not short of a bob or two.

[IndigoSpritz]

Many years ago I was in the Sunday Times Wine Club. After a while I cancelled my subscription but the memo didn't reach the sales office and I received a case I hadn't ordered, some weeks later. I didn't hesitate to phone STWC, the man was very apologetic, arranged for the case to be collected tomorrow (which did happen) and insisted I take a couple of bottles from the case for my trouble. Two bottles of wine for the cost of a phone call and a clear conscience. Works for me.

[DoingMyBest2010]

I once ordered a replacement part for my Stokke pram from Kiddiecare. Not only did they send a replacement strap, but a whole new set of covering (hood, clip on blanket thing etc etc), I rang them to tell them and they told me to keep it.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

The retailer will not suffer financially because of this mistake, whether the OP returns the purse or not.

They have, built into the price of everything they sell, their costs - warehousing, staff etc, and that includes shrinkage - which is anything that is damaged, stolen etc - so the rest of the customers of that online retailer will be covering the cost of the OP's expensive purse - not the seller!

This is one of the reasons why I own up when a mistake is made - because I don't think it is fair or reasonable to expect other ordinary people to pay for my stuff.

[MrsPeel]

Tell them. They will probably let you keep it rather than have the hassle of a return.

[Finonia]

I once received a parcel from a well known online retailer beginning with "A". I hadn't even ordered anything from them, often parcels arrive without me remembering ordering (you know those late night purchases after a glass of wine) but this time it really was an error, it was some boring software to create crystal clear photos so really wasn't useful to me, I made the call and they told me to keep it as it wasn't worth their while collecting etc. Turns out it was worth over £100 and I eBayed it, helped to pay for Christmas that year and I had a clear conscience ..... make the call

[Shoobydooby09]

Given that you say it's the wrong purse in a box labelled correctly with the description and price of the purse you ordered the company obviously don't know this and therefore are not aware they have sent you the wrong purse. Therefore I think you can keep it.
What if you had bought it as a gift, not opened it or looked at it and just wrapped and gave it away. You would be none the wiser.

[foxyloxy78]

Enjoy your lovely purse op.

[Lululemonade]

As someone who has worked in retail (both major high st and small independent) I, personally, wouldn’t keep it. Just because it was sent by accident doesn’t mean that there isn’t someone directly responsible for stockloss and if several have been labelled up incorrectly they could be in a lot of trouble when their stockloss figures come through.
At the end of the day it doesn’t matter if it is ‘stealing’ or not. You have something you didn’t pay for so morally you should inform the company (who may well tell you to keep it anyway)

[strawberrisc]

Enjoy your lovely purse op.

Yes. Enjoy your ill gotten gains.