Yes, the banks take a lot of ours
21% (8 votes)
No, it's dishonest
72% (28 votes)
No, you might get into trouble
8% (3 votes)
Total votes: 39
Do you agree with Professor Tim Chappell that if a cashpoint overpays you, you should keep the money?
Yes, the banks take a lot of ours 21% (8 votes) No, it's dishonest 72% (28 votes) No, you might get into trouble 8% (3 votes) Total votes: 39
Comments
Just because the banks are (legally) dishonest doesn't mean we have to follow their lead. If we want to live in a more honest society we have to start somewhere.
I might be wrongly informed, but I believe an error like this would be repayable as long as it registered to you as an obvious a mistake. For example, if the bank paid £10 directly into your account you may not notice that debit and spend it, so in this instance you probably wouldn't be liable to pay it back. If they accidentally paid £10,000 into your account and you hopped it on holiday, then you would have to pay it back.
I don't know about others but this is what I was taught as a child. If you deliberately avoid paying your bus fare then you are guilty of theft. If you are employed to do a job, and whilst being paid to do that you job you do something else, like read some OU Course Material without permission, then you are guilty of theft. I used to be a Senior Bank Official, and that is why I am so angry when people blame 'the bankers' for the current ills of the country. Of course it is theft if you knowingly take the money. It is time for change, and for people to look into their own morality. Well that's what I think, and as you quite rightly say it has to start somewhere.
No, it's dishonest. It's always wrong to do something dishonest and even if you think you will never be caught you have witnessed your own crime and it would play on your conscience.
Of course it's wrong to take something that is not yours, and there are laws which permit banks to recover funds in such instances. And don't forget that all ATM transactions can be traced back to you - every bit of info needed is on your card. I worked for a bank branch where a disgruntled customer thought he would leave us an 'anonymous' note full of diatribes via the ATM - our manager sent him a polite reply - and we never saw the customer again!
It has nothing to do with banks, such thing is always a gift from God. Honesty is a nice thing, but to return an overpayment means to deprive the owner of a invaluable lesson which he might otherwise get. That he should watch his property better.
I believe it is illegal to keep money incorrectly paid into ones account. It is also morally wrong and the start of a slippery slope. I noticed that a number of comments were anti bank, it must be remembered that the banks part of the fabric of our lives, we could not survive without them. I for one do not carry cash, my bills are paid by direct debit, I transfer money electronically to my family I need them when travelling as even to out of the way destinations I will always be able to pay. There is another point that is often missed, they pay huge amonts of tax, support sports and other charitable activities as well as being the backbone of many pension funds.
Eddie
Is this why the banks are going to keep the £75 billions which the BofE is paying in respect of QEII. TAG
If it is immoral to retain bank errors then surely it is also immoral to borrow more than you can repay.
Please remember the Banking crisis was caused for two reasons; the one we accept banks gave credit too easily, and the one we will not recognise we (including the Government) borrowed too much.
We are in this mess because of the pure greed of people.
Did I do any action that caused the cash point to over pay? The answer is no. I walk away there are lots of things that could happen, the wind could blow the money away. If I take the money, then what do I do. Well if I make an error my bank charges me, it was an error that caused the ATM to pay out extra cash. They made that error on my acount. Say I have no belief in a monetary system and think that money is immoral and by taking the money , I am devaluing it's worth for the morality of human kind to abolish the materialism of money and whilst it may appear that I have stolen the banks money and it's members , I have felt that the value of the whole system resulted from valuing stolen natural commodities from the earth. I would say I was then acti g morally because I was taking away from the bank the item of cash , which to me is an immoral creation in the first place. Saying greed would depend on what was done with cash. What if it was given to charity? Or even burned?