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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Stupid teen son found a lost gift card and spent some of the money, what will happen?

191 replies

yunogin · 12/02/2020 19:51

Could honestly slap him but have refrained so far!

He's 16, usually a good boy but told me he had a lapse of judgement when he did this and only panicked afterwards.

He didn't nick the card as in grabbed it off someone, he says he found it on a bench in the town centre. I believe him as he isn't a teen delinquent. He mostly stays in his bedroom playing games, he'd only gone into town to pick up something for me from the shop.

He idiotically brought it home and purchased something for £7 on Sports Direct. He used a Sports Direct account with his name and birthday etc linked. Then immediately after he did it he became overwhelmed with panic and regret and ran downstairs with the gift card white as a sheet and told me everything. I laid into him at first about the moral and legal implications of this but he's terrified the cops will be round any second. We tried to cancel the order but you have ring Sports Direct to do that and explain why which seemed a bad idea.

He found the gift card in its sleeve with a receipt, but I've gone on to the issuers website (it's one of those high street ones that can be spent at many stores) and used the number on the card to check the balance and the owner last used it weeks ago. They clearly bought it out to spend more of it today and lost it. It's still got £70 on it so the poor sod will be looking high and low for it. I'm very ashamed of my son but I don't want an idiotic mistake landing him in court.

Apparently the company won't do anything about a stolen card unless you provide them with the number or receipt. So unless they remember the number there is nothing the owner can do which I feel awful about but as I said, I don't want DS ending up in court. I wish there was some way to return it to its rightful owner without possibly getting DS in a world of shit. Though they may have written down the number in which it will be really easy for them to trace DS as he hardly covered his tracks!

I've considered contacting the gift card issuers and explaining everything and apologizing on my sons behalf, and also saying I will get the Sports Direct order refunded to the card but will they contact the police? Shit shit shit!

OP posts:
mantarays · 12/02/2020 19:53

Is this even illegal? Honestly, I doubt anything at all will happen.

Oysterbabe · 12/02/2020 19:54

No they will not contact the police over £7 used on a found gift card. They will barely give a shit.

Lllot5 · 12/02/2020 19:54

I think you’re panicking about nothing to be honest.
Probably shouldn’t have done it but the next person along would have

LuluBellaBlue · 12/02/2020 19:55

You could post on your local Facebook group and see if anyone’s post one?

Demigoddess90 · 12/02/2020 19:56

Nothing will happen Hmm I find your post so funny OP. Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!

AnneLovesGilbert · 12/02/2020 19:56

He’s not going to “end up in court” Shock

I’m not sure he’s even committed a crime and he’s got himself into a right state so is unlikely to do it again even if the very rare opportunity presented itself.

Don’t bloody slap him, or threaten to. Nobody’s died.

formerbabe · 12/02/2020 19:57

It's hardly the great train robbery

Roomba · 12/02/2020 19:57

Can't you just pay £7 onto the card in store, then hand it in or post it to head office/phone the number on the back of the card if there is one, saying the card has been found and can they try to reunite it with its owner?

I very much doubt the police would get involved with this, especially if the £7 was paid back on. There has to be actual deprivation of property/money for the offence of theft to have occurred. No money has been stolen if you repay it and say it was used in error, surely?

WhiskersPete · 12/02/2020 19:58

Is this serious? This is the biggest over reaction I've read on mumsnet. I doubt it's even illegal. Immoral maybe but not illegal.

Peapod29 · 12/02/2020 19:58

Nothing will happen. I think gift cards essentially same as cash, in that lost ones can’t really be traced or if lost you don’t get a refund. You could try and trace the owner or if not hand it back to sports direct but I strongly suspect it won’t reach the owner if you take that route. It’s not in the shops interest to trace them is it?

girlwithadragontattoo · 12/02/2020 19:58

Not much help but my brother once had one of those cards for gamestation. Went to buy something and there was nothing on it!! It was a birthday present and the person who bought it didn't have the receipt so couldn't do anything about it.
Seeing as the receipt is with the card i doubt there will be much come back as they won't have any way of checking

Fucket · 12/02/2020 19:58

If you are that concerned put a post on your local Facebook page, stating you found a gift card, at x place, at y date and time, and that if they can name which store it’s for and the original amount you know it’s the owner. Make yiur son hand over £7 in cash when you hand over the gift card and be honest. But tbh I doubt anyone will respond.

Original poster
yunogin · 12/02/2020 19:59

See I thought that at first but then had a look online and read all sorts of horror stories about people doing stuff like this and ending up in court with a permanent record and panicked myself. I think DS did the same, thought "Well, they are the ones who lost it." but then afterwards decided to double check and saw the same stuff and worried himself.

I think you're all right, probably nothing will happen but still idiotic of him!

OP posts:
Zampa · 12/02/2020 19:59

Call the issuer and find out if the gift card has been registered. If so, you can return it with an extra £7 in cash. If it hasn't been registered, woo hoo, spend the whole lot on gin and trainers.

74NewStreet · 12/02/2020 20:00

What a pair of Nervous Nellies you are Confused. Yes, it was wrong to use the gift card instead of handing it in, but the drama, wow!
As if he’ll end up in court...

Passmethecrisps · 12/02/2020 20:01

Send the stuff back to sports direct when it arrives and take the gift card to the police station.

It wasn’t honest at all but he told you and you need to help him make it good rather than catastrophising

Fightthebear · 12/02/2020 20:01

Course it’s illegal, it’s theft by finding.

Very much doubt anything will happen. Just don’t use the card again.

Efeble1 · 12/02/2020 20:01

he's terrified the cops will be round any second
I'm very ashamed of my son but I don't want an idiotic mistake landing him in court

I find it really funny that you have led such a sheltered life that you think a teenager finding an gift card and then spending £7 from it will result in any legal implications. It’s clear where your son got his melodramatic streak from judging by your OP.

onceandneveragain · 12/02/2020 20:02

If you are able to trace the owner through the website, contact them and send the card back.you could top it up with seven pounds or just send seven pounds with it, but they'd probably just be so relieved to still get the remaining seventy odd quid I doubt they'd care. If anybody ever asked you could just say ds had his own gift card and must have used the wrong one by accident.

If he'd spent seven pounds cash he'd found on the street do you really think the police would do anything???

TheRealShatParp · 12/02/2020 20:02

Op you’re definitely over thinking this. If I’d have found a gift card I’d have spent it too. It’s basically money and if you found that on a bench who would you hand it in to? Honestly, think nothing more of it. No one would have reported a missing gift card as missing or stolen.

Unusualsuspicion · 12/02/2020 20:03

Blimey, it's not like he found a credit card and started using it to order stuff online, you're acting like it is fraud Confused. It isn't. It's no different to finding a tenner on the street and keeping it. Ok, ideally you'd make some efforts to locate the owner, but it's hardly the crime of the century to keep it. Chill out and tell your son to stop worrying, poor kid. Do you often create such drama out of molehills?!

Doggybiccys · 12/02/2020 20:04

Stealing by finding is a crime but I doubt anything will happen given the sums involved.

AmazingGreats · 12/02/2020 20:04

It's a moral issue not a legal one.

Elouera · 12/02/2020 20:05

No wonder your DS panicked by the way you have reacted to this!!!

If you found a £10 note on the ground, what would you do with it? Would you expect the cops around and to go to court Confused

Original poster
yunogin · 12/02/2020 20:07

Thanks everyone for reassuring. I know I sound mad. Son does has mild ASD which I think is part of the reason I'm so worried about there being legal implications for him. He wouldn't cope being questioned etc. And I mean it when I say he is usually good. I think if it was either of my other DC I'd have just told them they were immoral and left them to it.

I was rational about it when he first told me and thought nothing would happen but then got myself into a bit of a state and read stuff online. I didn't mean it when I said I could slap him or that I laid into him. I did tell him off a bit though.

OP posts: