What would you do? Comments and opinions, please...

I was dumping my nickels in TD Bank's free coin counter, and I filled the nickel bag. The attendant opened the machine to change the bag, and I saw that the half-dollar bag was completely blocking the reject slide/shute (the PVC that sends the rejected coins to the tray). I told the attendant that I was going to move the bag to check the slide for rejects, and when I did, numerous quarters (not silver) began to fall out. There were so many, that they were backed up as far as I could see up the slide. Upon seeing so many quarters, the attendant said something to the effect of "did I only dump nickels", but I admittedly avoided the question by saying something about how many quarters there were. I dumped the quarters back in the machine, and according to my receipt, I got credit for about $53 in quarters. I have no idea why those quarters got rejected initially, as they all were counted when I dumped them in. Also, the only other guy I saw dump money before me was already gone, and of course I don't know if it was his or not. So the bottom line is - I got paid for about $53 of someone else's money.

Here are my main points/opinions on this, then I'd appreciate your opinion about my actions or the bank's, as well as anything else you'd like to add.

1. It is UNACCEPTABLE, whether through ignorance or indifference, for an attendant to install a bag in front of the reject slide, thus blocking the path of any rejected coin to the reject tray. I have observed this situation several times, since I always poke my finger to the back of the tray to see if the bag is in the way.

2. I ALWAYS check the tray/slide for rejects. I've found several silver and foreign coins this way.

3. I don't think I should feel guilty for collecting any rejects from the tray, or as in this case, from the slide behind the improperly installed bag. I reason that whoever left the money there, by not checking for it or unfortunately due to the bag, has essentially "lost" it. I liken it to finding money on the street with no one around. There is no way to return it to its owner, so the choice is to, literally, take it or leave it. (This doesn't include HUGE sums of money, which could be reported to police in case the owner comes looking for it).

4. The option to "leave it" would mean that the bank would collect it and do whatever they do with rejects they collect. I don't believe the bank has ANY claim to the money, ESPECIALLY when it is stuck behind the bag. They already have magnets in the machine that collect certain foreign coins, so these never make it out. I, for one, would be none too pleased (although I probably would never know) if I accidentally dumped a lot of foreign coinage, only to have the machine eat it up.

5. I consider myself a very honest, objective person. If I knew whose $53 it was, and I could get it to them, I would.

6. I appreciate the free counting service, but as I said before, it has to be considered completely inappropriate for the bank to basically close off the reject slot. I was lucky today, but someone else lost out on a good bit of money.

7. I think part of the reason for writing this, is that I do feel a bit guilty for not telling the attendant that I knew the quarters weren't mine. I guess I didn't want her to tell me that, therefore, I couldn't have it. I don't really care about $53, which won't change my life at all, and like I said, I'd gladly give it back to the owner if I could. But I just didn't want the bank to stake their claim to it, when in fact they caused it to be there in the first place.

Sorry for the long post...thanks for reading...your thoughts, please...Jeff.

 

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It was after all, either your coins or not your coins.

I think the most fair thing would have let the bank have it if there was any possible way to get it to that person before you. It might not have been his but have been from one before him also but,
When I put coins in there and if a member of that bank or CU there is now a paper trail from the receipt you turn into them to get your money after counting, if not a member you get charged more. They might have (in perfect world) been able to contact that member and ask them how much they put in, or what it mostly was (quarters or whatever) and make a determination if it likely came from them and get it to them in the end.
If not a member no one would ever know though.
I guess the cleanest thing would have been to let the bank have it and we wouldn't be writing this post right now would we?

 

I guess to me, it is all about was mine is mine and what is not mine is not mine. I have always said if I couldnt go to Mexico and live the rest of my life off of it, it was not worth taking. (that has always been a running joke but I really wouldnt take it then.)
I would have let the bank make the decision on what to do about the money. Like the previous post said, they do have ways of finding out who put money in that day.
If you had done that, you would not have $53 extra in your pocket but you would not have all the guilt either.
I would ask myself was the $53 worth the guilt and then I think you will have answered your own question.
Just my thoughts

 

Seems to me that a $53 dollar donation to our CT fundraiser for the Shriners hospital may erase any doubt on who the money belongs to and what was the right thing. That is just one man's humble opinion though.

 

Sounds like a bit of an ethical dilemma here. Don't beat yourself up too much over it. Many people would have done the same thing in your situation. What's done is done. It is not like you could walk back to the bank and hand it over. Personally, I would have told the attendant that the quarters were not mine. Guilt is a feeling that I do not like. Now, if I had done what you did and the guilt was too burdening for me I would likely donate it to a worthy cause. TC

 

For piece of mind I would donate to a charity. Buy some food for a food pantry. You'll have $53 of pleasure doing it. Send it to the current earthquake victims or donate it to a shelter.

 

Good point, but the fact that a lot of people without accounts use the counter, plus how unlikely I think it is that the bank would even try to find out whose money it is, makes this a "perfect world" scenario only. I will say that, in a perfect world, the bank WOULD TRY to find out whose it was, since it was the bank's fault it was left there.

 

The thing is, I think I would feel more guilty and/or angry that I let the bank keep it. I say this because I really doubt they would try to find the original owner, let alone be successful. If that was the case, I'd feel like I allowed the bank to "steal" it. Of course, I could be wrong about that.

 

I was thinking about charity, as well. The money wasn't the bank's, but it isn't mine, either, so why not let it do some good. I think I might go this route.

 

I think that would be a good thing for you and for the charity you donate it to.

 

I wouldn't let it get to you. You're not wrong with either decision. I think I would have said something just out of paranoia, thinking they knew more than what they let on to know.

 

Maybe the person who put the bag there knew exactly what they were doing.....
(probably not)

 

Jeff31 - a bit of my 2 cents. Think about it this way:

The argument that the bank didn't place the bag properly, or that it wouldn't have or couldn't have tracked the change back to the owner is a bit of a fallacious argument. It doesn't change the facts that:

You stated that the money wasn't yours:
=>Therefore it wasn't yours;
=>Therefore it wasn't yours to take.

No moral dilemma here; I wouldn't have taken it. It follows to me that giving it to a charity doesn't change that fact. I'm not sure a charity would want to take that money if it knew how the money was obtained.
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Finally, think about this as a "friendly" piece of advice:

In addition to all of the above, you may want to remember that this is a public forum. You posted in writing on this public forum what you did. And you stated on this public forum that you did it at a Federally Regulated banking institution...
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Jeff, let it rest a couple of days, think it through, the answer may lie deep within you.

 

What does a "Federally Regulated banking institution..." have to do with anything? As long as you are assigning the money, it was not the bank's money either. It was only due to their mistake (or someone's fraud) that it was there to begin with.

 

What does the Federally Regulated Bank have to with it? I don't understand that part either. Just take the $53.00 and give to some worthy charity and be done with it and move on. People who have never been in a situation like this often might have done quite different than what they say they would have had it happened to them.

 

Well you obviously got over!!! Was it dishonest? Maybe it was and maybe it wasn't the only one who knows the answer to that question is you and if you can live with yourself over it, I think the rest of the world can as well.

You can look at your situation another way as well.
It was gonna be your money or the banks. So who would you rather have the money go to?

Also, are you sure the "attendant" didn't set that whole thing up and was really p---ed off at you for taking his intended stash? just a thought

 

Let me preamble by saying I'm not trying to upset anyone, rain on anyone's parade, scare anyone, or make anyone feel bad.

The term "Regulated" in my previous post may have been a confusing choice of a word.

My point was that there are a lot of laws on the Federal books pertaining to banks and the conduct conducted therein, and there exists at least one Federal statute that I know of that could apply to coin machines in a bank. That statute is: U.S. CODE > TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 103 > § 2113 > SUBSECTION (b) > PARAGRAPH 2.

 

Jeff
its perfectly fine
But as a warning
Cointalk is a bunch of goodie toshoes.
Tehyre gunan try and tear a new hole for ya.
Just piece of advice keep it to yourself, you dotn need guilt trips, plus im sure someone else in your position would have done the same.
Its called human nature, survival of the fittest.
Go get that money

 

goodie tooshoers? Wow, He asked for peoples oppinions and that is what he got. I have not found that people on here are goddie tooshoers at all. If you dont like the people on here so much then why are you a member. Just curious but you sound like you are mad at the people here. Everyone here has been nothing but great since the day I joined
But that, is just my opinion