I found a wallet last night

[sdm]

I've actually seen someone walk away from a cashpoint without taking their money and shouted them back(£40) ,but if the same money was on the floor i'd take it and skip along to the nearest boozer.

 

[AntonDonJuan]

If the shoe was on the other foot(arf) would you have taken the running shoes?

Probably not, but purely for the fact it was in the gym changing rooms and i'd feel compelled to hand them in. If i found a pair of spanking new running shoes all shiny just lying around in the street, and they fit, i'd pop them on and skip home in them

 

[Chippy_boy]

See now technically i don't think it's stealing, because if you find £50 on the floor, chances are the person who dropped it aint never gonna get it back.

This debate has probably gone far enough and I don't want it to turn into a big argument.

Just to say your example has been discussed to death in many legal circles, and yes, it IS stealing if you keep a £50 note you find on the floor.

For it not to be stealing, there has to be reasonable grounds to believe that the owner of the property no longer wants it and has deliberately disgarded it. That is never going to stand up with regard to a £50 note.

 

[Pigeonho]

Not in the school yard mate. I'm not out to win any arguement. I have to say though that based on what you said, a thief is a thief yet you say you would pocket 5 quid and perhaps spend it? I once got told that whether you take a Jaguar or a dinky car, its stealing no matter what the object is. That is to take something which is in the possesion of someone else though, whereas as finding a fiver on a curbside or a bag full of money with no-one in sight, is not stealing. If you later found out that was drug money, would that make your consience any clearer, (if you kept it I mean)?

There's no confusion in my mind, and there shouldn't be in yours. Either something belongs to you, or it does not. If you find something that does not belong to you and you keep it, then that is theft and it is wrong.

The only issue is, from a pure practicality point of view, it's just not worth taking 20p to the police station, so I would not bother, and nor would the Pope.

But if it was a serious amount, I would hand it in.

You say "That is to take something which is in the possesion of someone else though, whereas as finding a fiver on a curbside or a bag full of money with no-one in sight, is not stealing."

Yes, bud, it IS. The fact is it belongs to someone and that someone is not you.

What about my camera on a beach towel example? Would you take that? Like the bag of money, you don't know WHO it belongs to. And you aren't going to get caught. There's no-one around. It's dark. They have shut down for the day. My guess is you'd nick that as well. I would not. And it has nothing to do with whether you would be caught or not.

I just said on the phone post that I would hand in material things, probably cos I have one already. I don't know what it is with money, but I am willing to bet that most people would definitely pocket a rolled up bundle of £20 notes if they found it on the street with no-one around. Some would take a phone or a camera too, I wouldn't though. I would phone a number of the phone and say I found it. Infact I had my car washed not so long ago and as I got in I found what must have been the guys phone. I instatnly handed it back to him but I didn't have too, he didn't know i'd found it so I could easily have drove off and sold it or something. Money changes people though and I for one will never hand in anything unless it has some ID with it, but even then i'd have to think long and hard about it.

 

[AntonDonJuan]

I've actually seen someone walk away from a cashpoint without taking their money and shouted them back(£40) ,but if the same money was on the floor i'd take it and skip along to the nearest boozer.

I was behind someone in a cashpoint queue who withdrew about £150 but left a tenner in the slot, i waited til they'd gone and stuck it in my pocket. I felt no shame, i'm a bad person

 

[AntonDonJuan]

See now technically i don't think it's stealing, because if you find £50 on the floor, chances are the person who dropped it aint never gonna get it back.

This debate has probably gone far enough and I don't want it to turn into a big argument.

Just to say your example has been discussed to death in many legal circles, and yes, it IS stealing if you keep a £50 note you find on the floor.

For it not to be stealing, there has to be reasonable grounds to believe that the owner of the property no longer wants it and has deliberately disgarded it. That is never going to stand up with regard to a £50 note.

Ok, then i'm a thief. Argument settled :)

 

[Didsbury Dave]

]Probably not, but purely for the fact it was in the gym changing rooms and i'd feel compelled to hand them in.

That says it all.

You must be pissing yourself laughing at the mug who handed yours in.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

I've actually seen someone walk away from a cashpoint without taking their money and shouted them back(£40) ,but if the same money was on the floor i'd take it and skip along to the nearest boozer.

I was behind someone in a cashpoint queue who withdrew about £150 but left a tenner in the slot, i waited til they'd gone and stuck it in my pocket. I felt no shame, i'm a bad person

People like you make the world a shitter place to live.

What comes around goes around.

 

[sdm]

I've actually seen someone walk away from a cashpoint without taking their money and shouted them back(£40) ,but if the same money was on the floor i'd take it and skip along to the nearest boozer.

I was behind someone in a cashpoint queue who withdrew about £150 but left a tenner in the slot, i waited til they'd gone and stuck it in my pocket. I felt no shame, i'm a bad person

AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHH, i'm telling :) Couldn't give a fuck.He got £140 you got a tenner.Good lad well done,might have done the same but this bloke who it happened to me looked like he didn't have a pot to piss in.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

He got £140 you got a tenner.Good lad well done.

No. You stole £10 from him.