Comments on: Unexpected check – but it wasn't mine to keep

By: Moments of Fame « Funny about Money

Moments of Fame « Funny about Money — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:48:52 +0000

[...] The question about the worst financial mistake you didn’t make appears in the 197th Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted this week by Four Pillars, who set a theme of the basics of personal finance. Hah! One of Four Pillars’s editor’s picks is My Money Minute, confirming my suspicions about pet insurance with a well-argued post and elaborate example. The Happy Rock is locked in battle with the grandparents over…what else? All the wonderful STUFF they keep giving the kids! Gather Little by Little discusses the ethics of keeping an unearned windfall. [...]

By: Funny about Money

Funny about Money — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:08:28 +0000

Absolutely no choice here! What goes around comes around.

I also have had the experience, like Pamela, of finding people surprised when I brought back something they accidentally hadn’t charged me for. ??? Maybe they don’t expect that? If enough of us keep on doing this, someday maybe everyone in the world will come to believe (with justification) that other people are honest and decent.

By: The Carnival of Personal Finance is Up! by StimulusResource.org

The Carnival of Personal Finance is Up! by StimulusResource.org — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:20:39 +0000

[...] out the articles picked for Editor’s Choice but don’t miss out on The DIY Haircut and Unexpected Check, but It Wasn’t Mine to Keep. I also participated with Which Comes First: Paying Off Debt or Starting Emergency [...]

By: The Carnival of Personal Finance is Up! - Consumerism Commentary, personal finance since 2003

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:00:51 +0000

By: Merchant Account Providers

Merchant Account Providers — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 15:26:22 +0000

i got more information about check.it is very useful site i hope all are reading this post

By: Pamela @ Frugal Vet Tech (Student)

Pamela @ Frugal Vet Tech (Student) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 03:17:16 +0000

You certainly did the right thing. I would have done exactly what you did. I was at a store once and threw a 97-cent pencil sharpener in my cart. As I was unloading my cart into my car after I’d checked out, I noticed the pencil sharpener at the bottom of the cart, buried under a bag of dog food – it had never been rung up. I finished unloading my cart then took the pencil sharpener back in and gave it to the lady at the customer service counter. She seemed rather surprised that I brought it backed and then thanked me for doing so.

Integrity and honesty are good things. Unfortunately, we don’t often hear much about people acting with either one. This was a nice change.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:49:12 +0000

You did the right thing – keeping good financial records is one of the most important things you can do as a small business owner!

Oh, and being honest about the check was the right thing too.

I’ve done a few similar things before, one of which would have been worth a couple hundred dollars in my favor, and chances are no one would have known… except for me. And that just wasn’t worth it.

By: Gina

Gina — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:04:29 +0000

Jolyn makes a very good point.

I agree w/the others … you did the right thing. I worry that the “bad karma” of keeping something that wasn’t mind or I didn’t earn would come back to haunt me.

By: Kristy @ Master Your Card

Kristy @ Master Your Card — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:50:19 +0000

I love stories like this because it reminds me that there are people in this world with integrity. Working in the banking industry we get all sorts, but those with integrity are sometimes rare. Most people I’ve come across, unfortunately, wouldn’t have been so honest. Kudos to you! And the best part is, that small amount of honesty will come back ten-fold.

By: jolyn

jolyn — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:44:44 +0000

I have never been sorry for being honest, even at times it “cost” me. The other side to that is that it is likely that their bookkeeping would have eventually noticed their mistake and may have taken it out of a future check; they would have known you had not chosen to tell them, or at the very least would have thought that you don’t keep good records yourself.