[silvere90]

I'll use the credit cards for gas, and cash for wutever, because I think gas station is the most safe place to use credit cards,(no id check needed), gotta watch out if they have cameras on top though! after that ,I'll probably return the ID, because thats more important than money. Now days, you'll be very lucky if you get ur ID back, cash,credit cards? come on, how many of you would actually return the cash? Based on my experence, when I lost my wallet, I never expect to see it again in my life.

[herbz]

Originally Posted by silvere90

I'll use the credit cards for gas, and cash for wutever, because I think gas station is the most safe place to use credit cards,(no id check needed), gotta watch out if they have cameras on top though! after that ,I'll probably return the ID, because thats more important than money. Now days, you'll be very lucky if you get ur ID back, cash,credits? come on, how many of you would actually return the cash? Based on my experence, when I lost my wallet, I never expect to see it again in my life.

[Jay_328]

Originally Posted by herbz

you're right. it obviously wasn't the "right" thing to do. and morally i believe that.

BUT i do believe that nice guys never win when it comes to crap like this.

First thing, you would definitely want your wallet returned.

Originally Posted by herbz

how am i rewarded by doing the right thing? its more than likely the guy would have just said "wow, thank you so much, i really appreciate that". and i would have never heard from him again.

Second, you are rewarded by feeling great about how you responded to the situation. If the guy turns out to be ungrateful, so be it.

Originally Posted by herbz

is the feeling of doing the right thing really better than the 50 bucks? i'm not so sure. i've done 150 hrs community service for an old people home before, so i know what the feeling of doing the right thing is like. frankly id rather have the 50 bucks. i mean if it was an old lady wallet, i would have definetely given the $ back. but this was a 39 year old guy who lived in framingham which is a nice area in MA.

You answered your own question. In this particular case you felt as if the money was far more valuable than serving the elderly, I would feel the complete opposite. But that's just part of my how I was raise I suppose.

Originally Posted by herbz

you gotta get ahead in this world some way.

But this is so not the way to accomplish your goals, and you're smart enough to know it without me having to tell you so.

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by silvere90

I'll use the credit cards for gas, and cash for wutever, because I think gas station is the most safe place to use credit cards,(no id check needed), gotta watch out if they have cameras on top though! after that ,I'll probably return the ID, because thats more important than money. Now days, you'll be very lucky if you get ur ID back, cash,credit cards? come on, how many of you would actually return the cash? Based on my experence, when I lost my wallet, I never expect to see it again in my life.

its the safest place, but i would be willing to bet you would be tracked down if he reported the cards within a day or two of the last time you used them at the gas station, you would probably have a better chance going to an atm at night with a hat on and maxing out each ones withdraw limit (and you would get more money too)

i wouldnt do that though, and im surprised you would, everyone here drives bmws so the small amount of money should not be worth the risk

[tommydogsdad]

Originally Posted by Jay_328

First thing, you would definitely want your wallet returned.

Second, you are rewarded by feeling great about how you responded to the situation. If the guy turns out to be ungrateful, so be it.

You answered your own question. In this particular case you felt as if the money was far more valuable than serving the elderly, I would feel the complete opposite. But that's just part of my how I was raise I suppose.


But this is so not the way to accomplish your goals, and you're smart enough to know it without me having to tell you so.

Thanks for being a nice guy! It's reading posts like this that keep my faith alive in humanity!

[myfirstbimmer]

Originally Posted by teknochild

its the safest place, but i would be willing to bet you would be tracked down if he reported the cards within a day or two of the last time you used them at the gas station, you would probably have a better chance going to an atm at night with a hat on and maxing out each ones withdraw limit (and you would get more money too)

i wouldnt do that though, and im surprised you would, everyone here drives bmws so the small amount of money should not be worth the risk

ATM?? A hat...??? i would suggest a ski mask instead! Doesn't all the ATMs have a security camera mounted behind the dark tinted plastic to take a perfect shoot of your face??

[NFS]

Originally Posted by herbz

you're right. it obviously wasn't the "right" thing to do. and morally i believe that.

BUT i do believe that nice guys never win when it comes to crap like this.

how am i rewarded by doing the right thing? its more than likely the guy would have just said "wow, thank you so much, i really appreciate that". and i would have never heard from him again.

is the feeling of doing the right thing really better than the 50 bucks? i'm not so sure. i've done 150 hrs community service for an old people home before, so i know what the feeling of doing the right thing is like. frankly id rather have the 50 bucks. i mean if it was an old lady wallet, i would have definetely given the $ back. but this was a 39 year old guy who lived in framingham which is a nice area in MA.

you gotta get ahead in this world some way.

Virtue is it's own reward.

You know your 'price' now ... you will steal for $50.

My price is a lot higher than that.

If it were me I would have handed the wallet in at a local police station and asked them to log it formally, so I could make sure that they got it back to it's former owner.

[teknochild]

Originally Posted by myfirstbimmer

ATM?? A hat...??? i would suggest a ski mask instead! Doesn't all the ATMs have a security camera mounted behind the dark tinted plastic to take a perfect shoot of your face??

thats what the hat would be for, if you look down it will cover your face...

if you went up to an atm w/ a ski mask on, someone would call the cops lol

[atha]

for 51 bucks i d leave it to the police. i d reconcider i guess if it was 51000

hehe

[rjs]

Originally Posted by herbz

you gotta get ahead in this world some way.

there are many other ways to get ahead in this world other than petty theft. work is one.

i'd hand it all back. theft is still theft.

i wouldn't be able to rant about the ills of society if i was a contributer to it's current state either

[dmfitz82]

I don't think that taking $51 is going to help you 'get ahead' in life - if anything, that's asking for bad charma...

[ski360]

Originally Posted by herbz

good point i never thought about that. unfortunately this was a few days ago, i only kept it for a day... after i couldnt get in touch with him was when i decided to keep the money..... next day i brought it back to the conductor who said hed bring it to the lost and found at the station.....

hopefully the guy has his crap back, i know it was probably the wrong thing to do..... but i don't know if you guys know what its like being a broke college kid who comes across an opportunity olike that one

Well I just lost my wallet and someone was nice enough to hold on to so when I returned 15 mins later it was given back. So IMHO you're a douche bag.

Secondly if you're a broke college kid why the hell did you take the money and use it to buy weed. Get a job, and no matter how you try and spin it, its still stealing.

[SoYank]

Originally Posted by teknochild

id put 300$ in it and give it back to him, would be funny

Where can I lose my wallet where you'd be sure to find it?

[SoYank]

You have the guy's address. Why not do the right thing, package it up intact, and mail it back to him register post. Sure, you don't get any monetary reward but obviously you'd just blow it on crap anyway. The reward for an honest act lies in your heart and mind and will stick with you far longer than your braincells are going to. Restore someone's faith in the human race and send it back with the money.

[just4kickz]

lol... imho theres no "half right" just because you took some of it...

if thers a name and ID... i'd just find the rightful owner and give them everything back... it's a pain in the ass to do but in the end you'll feel better about yourself. plus its not hard to do... license => address... no license... call credit card company and tell them you have their card...

if thers no name and ID... just keep the cash and give back the wallet cause its probably some kid's who doesn't really have that much to lose... just a few bucks.

[NaTuReB0Y]

NaTuReB0Y herbz!

What's wrong with you man?

[Jay_328]

Originally Posted by NaTuReB0Y

NaTuReB0Y herbz!

What's wrong with you man?

jay NaTuReBOY

[herbz]

well since this has already resorted to personal insults im gonna stay out of it

just to let you know i'm still not feeling guilty about the whole thing

keep workin on it though you just might succeed

[ska///235i]

Dont feel guilty, I once lost my wallet back when I was in high school....i had about $100 cash, 3 pay checks ($200-300), my social security card...and some other stuff.
Not sure if I lost it or someone pick my pockets.....but I was pissed cuz I was only a teenager and some bitchazz never return my IDs...
So from now on.....if I find a wallet, is mines

Originally Posted by herbz

well since this has already resorted to personal insults im gonna stay out of it

just to let you know i'm still not feeling guilty about the whole thing

keep workin on it though you just might succeed

[herbz]

Originally Posted by ska

Dont feel guilty, I once lost my wallet back when I was in high school....i had about $100 cash, 3 pay checks ($200-300), my social security card...and some other stuff.
Not sure if I lost it or someone pick my pockets.....but I was pissed cuz I was only a teenager and some bitchazz never return my IDs...
So from now on.....if I find a wallet, is mines

something like that happened to me too. i was in high school..... put my watch in my backpack and put my backpack in a locker. went for a run with the track team when i got back, my watch was gone. $100 watch... gone like that! oh well. after being pissed about it i realized it was my own fault. shoulda put a lock on that.

[Jay_328]

Originally Posted by herbz

just to let you know i'm still not feeling guilty about the whole thing

keep workin on it though you just might succeed

You're a good guy herbz and I still believe there's hope for you yet. Now buy me a brew with your windfall.

[BMW2006]

As being someone who lost thier wallet before and had someone return it to me including the 60 dollars cash inside i'd probably do the same if I found one.

The way I look at it, i'm ok with losing the cash and would be thankful I don't need to go through the huge pain in the ass process of replacing everything else that was in it. Not to mention the added fears of changing bank account #'s etc. So it's a bargain to give him the money as a 'finder's fee' and just be glad I don't have to go through all that other crap.

Anytime you carry around cash anyways it should be somewhat expected that you are running a good chance of losing that money permanantly. That's really the reason's banks exist in the first place I guess 8)

I tried to send him back the 60 bucks, but he returned it. There is hope for humanity.

In your situation if I really needed the money I would send the rest of the junk in there back to him in the mail and keep the cash and consider it a karmic gift. Although I'm suspect that's not the case if you're buying herb with it, unless that was a joke.

People often carry sentimental things in their wallet that carry no monetary value and are impossible to replace. I.E. the first picture of your child etc... So I'd definately try to return it in some fashion depending on what is in it.

It can be a gray area, Sometimes just turning it into the local Lost and found (like if you found it in an amusement park etc.) just means you're giving it to the employees there who will cherry pick what they want out of it, or just take it entirely. I understand you did nothing to gain 51 dollars other than having a sharp eye, but that snot nosed kid behind the desk *really* didn't do anything to deserve an extra 51 bucks, why should he get a free bag of weed?

I found a 200 dollar pair of sunglasses on a golf course last year, turned them into the pro shop and two weeks later when I was back there one of the kids that worked there was wearing them.

Well , I guess i'm making an assumption that he took them. I suppose it's possible either they were his sunglasses, or he just happened to have purchased and wears the exact same kind that I had found as the customer who lost them. They weren't really that uncommon of a type of sunglasses although that's pretty unlikely.

I also don't think there's a problem with them (the golf course) claiming anything they want there at the end of the season, what else are they going to do with it, throw it away, keep it around for 3 years? auction the stuff off for charity? I suppose it's still stealing if it's someone else's lost property, so what's the difference if you take it now or take it later?

There is no right answer, I would make an effort to return the money/items, but i'm not going to spend a huge amount of time on it either. Everyone is going to have a different opinion on what "enough" effort is depending on the value of the money and/or what the item is, in this case for the OP it was a phone call, some would think mailing the item outright is enough and if it's an old address and it returned, they would then keep the money, even others would consider driving to the address and handing it to them in person and nothing short of that "enough" effort.

I found a cell phone slightly off of a trail in a park once, it had a sticker for the owner and the contact information if lost, I called the guy and he seemed kind of annoyed with the whole ordeal and didn't even offer reimbursement for the shipment of the phone back to him so I never sent it. He never called back when it didn't arrive, so I kept it for about a year then gave it to a friend who collects old/used cell phones to donate to women's shelters. The original owner had obviously replaced the phone already so it wasn't a big loss to him, but for the strict moral code people they would consider that stealing. I promised to return someone's property, but then gave it to someone else. right or wrong? It was an expensive phone at the time , and it was before the wireless carriers "gave" you the phone if you signed up for a certain plan. What if I gave it to my friend to use who definately can afford his own phone instead of donating it ?

You are never going to get a clear consensus on what the right or wrong thing to do is, but it does make for some interesting debate.

-BMW2006