Is this considered stealing?

[BAGAGT1]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

So you'll let the attendant hang, eh? That's sooo much better! Wooo. My conscience is clean!

Unfortunately, the attendant hung himself, crosses had nothing to do with it. Honest mistakes happen everyday, I try not to get hung up on them.

Crosses can not correct this mistake without returning the $10 to the exact same attendant who took care of him that night. If he returns the money to anyone other than the attendant he can't garuantee that he has rectified the situation (crosses might clear his consciense, but the attendant could very well still be out $10).

I've been overcharged several times in my life, but I don't always try to rectify the situation because sometimes it is not worth the hassle. I've been undercharged as well, I won't try to rectify the situation unless it is a great amount. The issue for me is the amount, I would not go through the hassle for $10, I'd be on the fence if it were $20, but definitely would try to return anything greater than $25. That is my perception of a sizable loss. If the gas station was one where I visited frequently and was nearby, I would try to return the $10, but I'm not driving 2 hours to return $10, it might cost you $10 in gas to return the $10, now you are out $10 more than you had planned, is that just?

If the attendant doesn't make these types of mistakes on a regular basis, he probably won't lose his job over this. If he does make these types of mistakes frequently, then he needs to find a new line of work. Not everyone is cut out to be a good cashier, I sure wasn't, but I never got mad at anyone when I didn't balance (either positive or negative), I knew I made the mistake, and I had to face the repercussions of my mistakes, and yes you do get in trouble when you overcharge the customer.

In order for it to be "stealing" some law had to be broken, and in this particular case no law was broken. Crosses did not take something that didn't belong to him, he was given something that didn't belong to him. That distinction is very important!

Now Baselle, if the attendant gave you .10 cents more in change than he should have, are you going to drive two hours to locate the exact attendant who took care of you that night to return .10 cents to clear your consciense?

[CheaplyClever]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

Back to the orginal question....it is not stealing, but it was a mistake that you CAN correct. Keeping the money is dishonest. The poor clerk was disciplined for his/her mistake. It's your turn.....

[baselle]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

Bagagt1 - We are talking about 10$ and not .10. You are right, I wouldn't do it for .10. I have been known to do it for small amounts close to home. My conscience is a bit of a pain in my life. I've been known to ask University of Chicago profs to re-add grading mistakes when they weren't in my favor.

My set point for this would be about $5, rather than $10 as described here, or $20 which is your threshold. 5$ works for me because that is close to minimum wage - which is the likely wage for a cashier.

[BAGAGT1]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

Bagagt1 - We are talking about 10$ and not .10. You are right, I wouldn't do it for .10.

I didn't want to get to argumentative, but the way I read your first response, you were labeling Crosses a thief if She kept the money, which based on the facts presented to us, didn't hold water.

Honestly I wouldn't return it based on my prior experience:

• The disciplining of the attendant will not change based on whether the money was returned. The attendant will be disciplined because of the mistake not the amount (If it were a huge amount, the attendant would definitely not be working there anymore).
  
• I truly believe that one can not effectively clear your conscience until you return the money back to the attendant who served you that night. Otherwise, you can't garuantee that the $10 will be returned to its rightful owner.

If the gas station were nearby, I would definitely make the effort, but being possibly over 100 miles away, it might be more trouble than it is worth.

[Bruce Wayne]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

No, I wouldn't consider it stealing.

It is, however, dishonest to keep it!

What Robex said

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

[QUOTE=BAGAGT1][*]I truly believe that one can not effectively clear your conscience until you return the money back to the attendant who served you that night. Otherwise, you can't garuantee that the $10 will be returned to its rightful owner.[/list]/QUOTE]

but it isn't the attendants money, the money belongs to the Gas station owner. I would go with charity if you can't mail it to the owner.

[sweeps]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

For those of you who suggest returning the money to the gas station (or if that fails, donating it to charity):

Let's say a big company -- say, your phone company -- undercharges you $10 a particular month. Would you call them up and ask them to charge you the $10?

[kashi]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

Honestly, crosses, I woudn't worry much about it. I would not consider it stealing if it happened to me, and I would keep the money. If it was a gas station right down the street, it would be one thing, but if you have to drive 2 hours to get back to it and then drive all over trying to find it, you'll spend that $10 in gas trying to return it to them.

[Ima saver]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

I certainly would not drive 2 hours to return $10. She is not even certain where the gas station is! I worked at McDonald's for a while. Shortages and overages were expected. No one ever got fired for it, but if they were short a lot, they were taken out of running the register and put to doing something else. Some just handle money better than others.

[Fern]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

What Robex said

Bruce said it perfectly.

Legally, stealing must involve intent to steal. You had no intent, it was an accident.

[flash]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

To some people it's a gift, to others a crime to keep it. The ethics can be argued either way.

The real question is, why did you ask? Are you feeling guilty, or looking for "permission" to keep it? You didn't do anything wrong; what you do from here is your own choice.

[BAGAGT1]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

but it isn't the attendants money, the money belongs to the Gas station owner. I would go with charity if you can't mail it to the owner.

If the cashier was docked the $10, then the $10 belongs to the attendant. IMO if you want to rectify the situation, you have to undo it.

[Lemony]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

It isn't your responsibility to fix someone else's mistake, but you'll probably feel a heck of a lot better about the situation if you donate it to charity. Giving feels good.

[CHigh95]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

I think you should follow your heart. The fact that you seem unsure about keeping the money says that you're not supposed to have it. I returned $100 to a waitress once who gave me change of $100 and gave me the original bill back. She was so grateful she gave me a hug. That money came from her tips and she worked hard for that money.

[Ima saver]

Re: Is this considered stealing?

I was a waitress once who returned $100 to a customer who left it on the table. She hugged me too. That said, I still would not drive to give the money back.