Would you keep the money?

[theonetowalkinthesun]

I genuinely just am interested in MN responses as to what you should or would do in this kind of situation!

If you found a £20 note on the floor in a supermarket, with no one nearby who it was obviously from, would you pick it up and keep it?

What about if you found it on the ground in the middle of a park, with again no one nearby who it was obviously from?

Just the note alone - it's not part of a wallet or purse!

(It's not really an AIBU is it- AIBU to wonder what you would do?)

Orca, but ironic not to do the honest thing because you don't trust people. Your action would guarantee that the genuine owner did not have any opportunity to get back what's rightfully theirs

supermarket i would hand it in

i once used one of those self service machines to get out my last £20. I was so broke and i left it in the machine. When i remembered i literally screamed i was so angry with myself, went back to the store and someone handed it in i was so grateful
because of that would never take money that has been found

£5 I would hand in at supermarket counter.
< £20 if lost on the street, I would not bother to hand in.
People used to hand cute toddler DC money... we put in charity pots, almost always.

One time we found US$65 blowing around a big parking lot. Nobody in view. We kept it. There wasn't anywhere to hand it in to.

A friend of mine worked in Topshop years ago and the staff there had found a wallet with £200 in and just split it between them, I think that what they always did with any findings. I was surprised but she said that’s quite common thing to do when working in retail but I don’t know 🤷🏼‍♀️

My ex found £180 on the ground once and kept it. He didn’t want to hand it in to the police as he thought they would pocket it

I would give it to charity. Not my money not mine to spend.

@lookatthatcritter £180 I would just feel so guilty
(and also worried about getting into trouble???)

How do you even drop £180!?

@dontharshmymello still in the wallet?! Surely you'd hand a wallet into the police!! That's why I chose the idea of a £20 note, no wallet!

If I lost £20 I would just consider it gone - I wouldn't even consider asking customer services or the police!

So with that in mind I would keep it. I remember finding £20 in the road when I was about 9 - it was in a pile of leaves and I only found it because I kicked them and it was underneath - I kept it with my dad's encouragement!

@dontharshmymello certainly not common in retail. There should be a set policy that they have to follow.

This was years ago so maybe it’s changed but it’s always stuck in my mind as I was so shocked

I've handed in money I found in a shop before. However a couple of years ago I found £100 (5 £20 notes) on the ground whilst walking my dog which I kept.

Hand it in

If it's not claimed you get to keep it with no guilty conscience

If it is claimed, then you have made someone's day and given them some faith in humanity

My sister once found a wallet with £500 in. That bloke was unbelievably relieved to get it back - he had just drawn out his rent!!

Well that depends.

I have kept money I found in a phonebox as a [poor] student many years ago.

More recently, I found a tenner in the middle of a road I was crossing and I handed it in to the police lost property.

I don't think I'm a more moral person now, i just have more money myself.

Don’t keep it. It’s theft by finding. A lady got charged for doing this in a corner shop.

Found £20 in supermarket - handed to customer service.

Found wallet in road. Address was in wallet and it was the road l was in so put it through the letterbox.

Money just found in street - would keep if up to £10. Otherwise hand in to police station.

Lol some of these responses are hilarious, if we ever find small amounts of money we give it to the nearest child, happened recently at a very busy farm asked if it was anyone they all said no so gave it to a little boy! You can't really verify if you lose money anyway, it's not like a bank card were you can take you I.D in and get it back....

@jackstini £500 is a whole different story thought isn't it

What exactly is hilarious? That's a strange thing to say.

@wellhonestly it is completely true, sometimes it not about more morals, but more money! My friend who said she would leave the money where it is is in a comfortable position, but I do feel that if you asked her at a time where she was scrabbling together for rent, her answer would be different. I'd like to think that Rich Me would do something different to Current Me (who would most likely pocket it)

You have to make reasonable attempts to find the owner not to be guilty of theft by finding. So I would hand in in the supermarket but probably not £20 found in the woods. Unless I spotted someone looking around for something lost. Larger amounts I would report to the police.
The woman convicted for picking up £20 in the shop, saw the owner drop the money and deliberately picked it up and pocketed it. She then lied about it when asked.

@lruka oh so she saw the owner drop the money?? That's completely different!!

Hand it in to the police saying where you found it. Only honest thing to do. That may be someone's last £20 and leave them without food money.

Oh and I have actually done this a couple of times.

At a tangent, but I am still in shock about the old couple who 'accidentally ' knocked something of mine onto the floor in the post office so that one of them could steal the £20 I was about to put into it a card. They obviously worked together and had vanished by the time I cottoned on.