finding money in an item from a charity shop...

[joko]

i bought a handbag a few years ago and havent yet used it...i got it out before and noticed a hole in the lining and felt paper, and on putting my fingers through, found some old receipts, tissues and a fiver.

i told my friend and the first thing she said was ''ooh you have to return it!"

i said "to who?" and she said the shop, as its a charity shop...

now as far as i am concerned it isnt theirs any more than its mine... the donater did not 'give' it to them - i am sure that if they had known it was there they would have removed and kept it (it looks like its been there ages actually - all brown and squashed)
if i found it on the pavement i would not think, 'oh i must donate it as it isnt mine', so not sure how this is different really...

so, just curious what you think - do you think it belongs to the charity shop or me?
i know 'technically' it belongs to neither of us - it belongs to the donater - but as i have no chance of knowing who that is, i would say it is mine to do as i wish ...

i dont really care here, i am not trying to justify my keeping it- its only £5, i was just surprised by her reaction that i couldn't keep it...its such a low amount i hadnt even thought about it, just shrugged and put it in my pocket.

i am NOT asking what i should do here - i know what i think - i just wondered how many would agree with me or her...

(by the way, I spend a fortune in charity shops and also donate tonnes of stuff to them, so i dont feel guilty or like i am depriving them of anything- i actually have no idea which shop it came from anyway - there are 5 in my street alone...)


also what would you think if itd been a few hundred pounds?
would that be a different matter?

its an interesting 'quandary'

thanks

[joko]

jj... i am sure the person would have received reminders etc and settled the bill some other way...

of course i wouldnt settle someone elses bill - why would i ?

its a somewhat interesting thought, but it is indeed a bit of a daft connection - it bears no resemblance to the actual situation here...i dont undertsand why it would even occur to you really...

[Jan1957]

Same as Boo - keep it.

[EvianBaby]

JJ, I'm not following your logic.

If the fiver was to repair the handbag (wasn't mentioned if it was actually damaged) why would they give the bag to a charity shop? And if that was the case then you'd have to go to the lenghts of somehow tracking down the person who donated it, not just give it to the charity shop.

I'd keep it without a doubt.

Although if I was feeling particularly generous I might go and see if there was anything I wanted to spend it on in the charity shop.

[ojread2]

you wouldn't know the bill was unpaid or paid anyway

What would I do with the fiver? Keep it

[daffy654]

VHG, Our local charity shop doesn't keep the clothes donated to sell in that branch, they send it to a local depot and the stuff is then sent on to another branch, I was told it is to avoid people being embarrassed in case the person who donated the stuff saw them wearing it in their local area. Also for the reasons Rowan has stated.

[RATTER15]

Theft by finding?

I would keep it.

[missprim]

Just to complicate things even more, if you found a name and address in the bag would you return the money to there?

[joko]

not at all missprim

i have stated quite clearly what i think - that it is mine - and i have no intention of giving it to them no matter what anyone says here (it would not be 'returning' it to them , as it is not theirs either)

i also clearly stated that i am NOT asking you for advice on what i should do - i also explained quite clearly why i have asked the question - not sure how i coudl have been clearer - i was amazed by her reaction and i have asked because i was curious as to how others felt - how many would think like me and how many would agree with my friend - thats all

you can 'try' to read between the lines if you wish, but actually i would suggest you simply just read the actual words i have written...

[jno]

I don't know how you could tell if a bill was unpaid or not. But I don't think there's any legal principle that you take on all debts a purchased item may have accumulated.

If giving the bag to the shop somehow implies that the fiver was given to the shop too, then by the same reasoning, the title has now been passed to you. If not, then it still belongs to a donor nobody has any way of tracking. Perhaps you should hang on to it for a reasonable time in case she comes to claim it. Five minutes would probably do.

[Baldric]

Def!........finders/keepers

[joko]

miss prim... no i wouldn't

aside from anything how would i know it was the owners address? who needs to write their own address on scraps of paper to keep in their own bag?

if it was some keepsake sort of item...something that looked like it might mean something to someone...like a photo or something...then i would attempt to return it...

[Greedyfly]

I personally would donate it to charity - but I see why people would keep it also

[joko]

lo jno.

but yes interesting point about the 'title' having been sold to me too...i suppose in buying the bag..i have also bought ownership of the fiver...

[missprim]

now as far as i am concerned it isnt theirs any more than its mine...

These are your words joko.
You are asking whether you are right or your friend is right.
The majority of people here agree with you.
I am agreeing with your friend, simple as that.
If you think you are right to keep it then why all the fuss?

[rowanwitch]

its yours... if the shop didn't check the bag properly you bought the bag as seen btw I bought a necklace in a charity shop for 70p it was real pearls with a small diamond clasp ...it got past the checking team... worth about £70

[ummmm]

It's a question and answer site missp and it's generated a debate.

[joko]

what fuss?

if you dont want to join in the DISCUSSION then dont...

you are the only one causing a fuss... i just asked a question on a q&a site

again you are reading into my post what you want to see...there is no fuss...

i was just curious... i am not waiting with bated breath on replies or agonising over what to do here... as i have said a few times now - i KNOW what i think already...

[joko]

ah thats an interesting point rowan ... about buying something for buttons then finding its worth a lot more - would someone go back and give the extra cash to the shop... ?

no i doubt it...

[missprim]

Then as I said previously, if you are sure you are right then why ask the question?
I have told you what I would do, I haven't said you are wrong.
It seems that because I don't agree with you you have picked me out to have a go at me.
You have had lots of replies to say 'keep it' but if you are trying to get me to say that then I will leave this thread now as that's not going to happen.

[joko]

i suppose as the bag was clearly worth more than what i paid for it - as are all things in charity shops - probably about £35 new, that it just means it was worth an extra fiver...its a £40 bag now...