I just read a quickie article detailing an incident with an ATM that happened recently in England. Apparently an ATM machine malfunctioned, and gave users double the amount of money they'd requested. So, if someone wanted 50 pounds, they were given 100 pounds along with a receipt for just the 50 they'd asked for. Essentially, since there's no way for the machine's owner to know if each user actually TOOK the money they were mistakenly given, I'd assume they can't really prosecute.
The article stated that many people called friends and had them visit the machine to take advantage of the error; many of them requested the daily maximum of 300 pounds and received 600 instead. After a few hours, the bonanza ended when the machine ran out of money. Woo hoo for the 'lucky' ATM users, right? Not quite.
I started thinking about how pathetic it was that SO many people were ok with flagrantly ripping off the owner of the machine. And it made me sad. Machines make mistakes, they break, they fail - just like people do, I may add. It's a sad statement about society that no one tried to contact the owner of the machine to warn them that it was broken. Do we as a world community have NO sense of right versus wrong anymore?
All of that said, I'm looking for truthful responses here. ;) No judgment, since I've already spoken my piece about the incident. The question is, what would YOU have done had you encountered said machine?
Would you have...
- Taken the extra money and said nothing?
- Increased your requested amount to the daily max to turn a quick buck?
- Called your friends to let them know?
- Tried to contact the machine's owner to let them know what was going on?
- Tried to contact law enforcement to let THEM know?
- Walked away - after all, it's better to just stay out of things like that?
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Comments: 50
I'm sorry you have a sick house...it is so awful when that happens with kids on a holiday!
Sue, thanks. I'm hoping we're better tomorrow morning.
If it was a free-standing quick-cash machine I guess I would look for information on the machine to call and report the malfunction.
Because I know, just like you, that someone else suffers for it (the owner of the machine) and that's not fair - is it?
I'd love the extra money. Stupid conscience! I blame God . . . I'm sure if I weren't a Christian, that guilt wouldn't be as severe, and I could probably ignore it and get myself some new clothes.
When I was in my early 20's I had the opportunity to be honest. Working at a gas station, a customer paid 25.00 for gas. The customer just walked in, handed me the money, said what pump and started walking out.
As the customer was headed out the door, I realized that there were two 20.00 bills stuck together. I almost stopped the customer, but I had been hurting for money for a while, and decided to not stop the guy, and set it aside and see if he would realize his mistake and call, or come back.
He didn't return, so I kept it. A few weeks later, it was pay day and I was badly needing some work clothing. I went to the store to buy myself a couple of outfits. I allowed myself $40.00... ironically, yes, double the amount I had kept from the customer.
Stupid me, I set my purse down on top of a clothing rack to hold some pants up to me. A woman distracted me, and her friend got behind me and snagged my purse. There went my $40.00 for clothing.
I had already been feeling guilty about the $20.00 and then being ripped off $40.00 I really felt I deserved what I got and felt even worse about money I had kept.
It was a hard lesson to learn, but you know, to this day I think about that fact. Not only the fact that what I give, I'm likely to get back, but the feeling of being ripped off and how much it really sucks.
Even if it was an institution, I really don't think I could rip them off. Most likely, I would have looked for an emergency number on the machine to call, or I would have called the local police department.
If it was just me and a machine - forget it !!!!
Many years ago I found money and turned it into the police, as that might have been the rent money for all I knew.
I think what each of us does we have to be able to live with the decision.
I give money back when the salesclerk gives me too much.
I think I'd do the same thing with a larger amount.
But, if I DID discover it at the time it happened, since I only use my bank's atms (unless out of town), I would have tried to call the bank, though since I'm always at the bank at odd hours, by the time I got through to them the machine in question would have been drained dry of cash.
I had a reverse kind of thing happen with an ATM in a business. It did not give me my money. I tried to ask for help but they just said they had nothing ot do with the machine and use the contact numbers on it to call later. There were no phone numbers or even a name on it or any other of the ATMs in the establishment.
I kept asking for managers as people walked by - I didn't want anyone else to get ripped off. They refused to help me OR put a sign on the machine stating it was out of order. The last part is what riled me (and my daughter) so much. She was ready to stage a sit-in by the machine until they put up a sign. I could see we were getting nowhere so I practically had to drag her out of there. She would have made a great 60's activist. :-)
I never did get the $ back. It was my word against the other bank.
Bank Atm's are insured, so the bank loses nothing.
But, since I would not want someone stealing from me, I would not take it.
Non bank atms have service phone numbers on them, banks have drop boxes, so I could give it back that way. Bank atm's also have cameras, so they would know if someone did take any extra. Guess I would feel bad, maybe from working for the banking industry too long...lol
Challenging question, Sherry.
One windy day walking in into my grocery store, a flutter to my right made me look and there were stacks of money fluttering to the floor. It was a test for me - we were broke and for a moment... But I grabbed the stacks of money, picked up the bills on the floor and took it all to customer service. The person there when she saw the money almost fainted.
I chased a woman about 5 miles because she dropped her ATM card, scared her half to death (probably) but got it back to her. The bank was closed that day. I probably should have tried to get the machine to take it back or something. It was an impulse move.
I actually have guilt for going against what the average person did or might have done in that situation! I think that is revealing, too. I wonder if I am too honest!
How could anyone be SURE that this wasn't an experiment? After this, some banks may set up just such an experiment. It'd be a good one!
Did I think the machine was broken? Nope. I thought the money just stuck together and it was a fluke. Did I take out more? No. Did I call anyone about it? Who's to call? We were driving away when he told me about it.
It was a machine error, I doubt that I would have felt guilty or contacted anyone - neither friends nor police. No, I wouldn't have increased my daily limit - I would have just happily walked away with a bit of extra cash - I generally only take out sixty to eighty bucks anyway.
As far as human encounter - I would be honest and return any extra money. You never know if it is someone's last dime or rent money and I would not want that on my conscience.
Reminds me, when I was a junior in highschool, I visited Seattle Space Center. Bought a postcard...the young girl gave me five cents too much. I looked at the change and said. "THat's not right." She argued with me.."I don't owe you more change." I said, "But you gave me too much." She grabbed it back!