To think my friend shouldn't have taken this money?

[Gracelet]

She was at a National Trust type place which had a second hand book section. As she was browsing she found £165 hidden in one of the books. Rather than hand it in she just kept it and looked rather shocked when I said it was theft.

My perspective - the book belonged to the shop and therefore so does the money.

Her perspective - just luck she came across it so decided to keep it/the shop should have checked the books.

Just for extra info, she doesn't struggle with money but does live payday to payday.

If I needed it I might have kept it. But I probably would hand it n

Maybe karma will get her. There is a trend at the moment of placing money in a public place and filming to see what the finder does. If they hand it in they are given it for being honest if not they are basically shown in the act on social media. I don’t think it is this but if it is she may be a social media star soon

It's theft. That money wasn't hers but she took it anyway.

I would lose respect for her personally.

See what you did there.....and I agree

Whose was it? There is no way it could get back to the original owner. I call finder's keepers on this one.

Gotta admit I hate those stupid social experiment type things.

Things like… “Would you give a small child your coat if you saw them on their own shivering in the rain at the bus stop?” Yes and I would also call the police because a child has been neglected/is lost 🤷🏼‍♀️. That would be an interesting video for social media.

Take it back where? She found it in the shop

And it's pay cheque, pay cheque (cancel the cheque), no NT shops in America

I hope she at least stumped up for an Americano and a Danish whirl in the coffee shop afterwards!

Do you think they sit and watch the footage every night just in case someone has found/stolen some money in a book that day? 😏

You can call what you like, but it still wasn't hers to take.

Maybe not, but this was a victimless crime IMO. I don't think that you can extrapolate from her taking this money that she would steal from the OP, as some PP have suggested.

It's particularly shady that she didn't even buy the book! Says a lot about her moral character.

Bad I know, but that’s what I thought

The point is the money doesn't belong to her. Theft - the dishonest appropriation of property belonging to another with the intention to permanently deprive.
All the elements are there.

She should have handed it in. The fact she didn’t shows she has pretty low morals. I think by law she is actually obligated to hand it in so it would be stealing.

I’d buy the book but I’d keep the money tbh.

How do you know?

They wouldn't have been able to track down the person, the NT doesn't need the money and the person behind the till may have just kept it... Probably best your friend just keeps it as a really lucky find, given she lives paycheck to paycheck.

If she had purchased the book technically its not theft, they should have been more careful.

But to take it out of the book is just the same as stealing the book, or anything else.

The honest person hold have handed it over when they saw it.

I think it’s theft as it was money on the shop’s property. So it’s the same as if she found it on a shelf in the shop - you can’t take things from a shop.

However, if she’d have bought the book and found it at home it would be less clear cut. The book is hers now. And you know the money would not go back to the owner.

If she had any sense she would have seen the money and then left it where it is and bought the book. To take it out of the book is pure stealing.

Most people would have returned the money even if they’d bought the book though I’m sure.

Eight £20 notes and a fiver don't take up much space. Presumably the previous owner had hidden some money for a rainy day. I once cleared the house of an elderly aunt who'd hidden money all over the place. We found several hundred in individual tenners. No idea how much we missed, we certainly didn't check every single book.

'Permanently deprive' from whom, though?

@EauNeu

I've been more than broke at times, no heating, hot water, electric or food. I survived quite a few years in a house that was beyond freezing, kept warm (ish) with duvets, hats and gloves. It was hellish.

I still wouldn't have kept money I found in a book like the OP's friend.

🤣🤣Bravo.....👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 And before 08.30 on a Monday morning 👍🏼😁

I wouldn't have done as she did, I would have bought the book, and if I was feeling well off I would have handed the money in to the shop if I found it before I bought the book. If I had bought the book and taken it home and then found the money, there is no way I would have returned it as it would now be my money. Again, if I were feeling flush I would donate the money rather than just spend it on whatever, but if I felt tight that month I'd consider it a gift from the universe and spend it without a second thought. I don't know what the people who insist that this is theft and awful behaviour are really thinking. It isn't like shoplifting, which drives up prices for honest customers.