Moral dilemma

[nickyboy]

It is just a bit of good fortune for Vickster. If it was me, the money would be clear in my account by now.
If Halfords ever realise, I would just pay them back.
It's not really a huge amount either. Nothing to get all moral about.

I guess different folk have different moral values. Keeping cash that doesn't belong to you, only returning it if they ask you for it is clearly theft to me. Obviously not to you

 

[windym]

I guess different folk have different moral values. Keeping cash that doesn't belong to you, only returning it if they ask you for it is clearly theft to me. Obviously not to you

At last

 

[nickyboy]

The Police wouldn't be taking any interest whatsoever in this ; it is a civil matter rather than criminal.
Bank the money @vickster , and if they realise at a later date that they have made an administrative error, then you can always say that you also made an "administrative error" by banking the cheque rather than returning it to them. At that stage it might be prudent to refund them the money; but a large incompetent outfit like Halfords are hardly likely to come chasing you.

Criminal matter. But putting that to one side I am struggling to see the difference between this and some little old lady paying me twice for mowing her lawn by mistake. Would you keep the second payment in that case? I guess so, or is it the fact it is a big faceless corporation that the money belongs to the issue, rather than the circumstances?

 

[vickster]

Criminal matter. But putting that to one side I am struggling to see the difference between this and some little old lady paying me twice for mowing her lawn by mistake. Would you keep the second payment in that case? I guess so, or is it the fact it is a big faceless corporation that the money belongs to the issue, rather than the circumstances?

The point is they messed me around repeatedly for several weeks, never communicated when they said they would, no one in head office bothered to apologise (there was no note of apology with the first cheque, just the compliments slip with someone's name on (no idea who s/he might be) and nothing with the second). No one has ever really apologised for being crap. Also, I have ended up with tyres that are different to the others...I gave up with them trying to get their act together and actually get the tyres as it was taking too much time from my work day. Indeed, only after 2 weeks of visits and calls did they say that the tyres had essentially been discontinued and they were struggling to source...nothing to do with the company.

Of course I wouldn't take two lots of money from the little old lady in the circumstance described, and actually thus far, nor have I from Halfords

 

[Roadrider48]

I guess different folk have different moral values. Keeping cash that doesn't belong to you, only returning it if they ask you for it is clearly theft to me. Obviously not to you

Quite right. I call it good fortune.
I have absolutely no problem with banking it. It's a very small amount, nothing to get all moral about.
If they ask for it back, I would give it back.

 

[Roadrider48]

Criminal matter. But putting that to one side I am struggling to see the difference between this and some little old lady paying me twice for mowing her lawn by mistake. Would you keep the second payment in that case? I guess so, or is it the fact it is a big faceless corporation that the money belongs to the issue, rather than the circumstances?

I would take the second payment in any circumstance. If anyone is stupid enough to pay twice that's their fault.

 

[windym]

The point is they messed me around repeatedly for several weeks, never communicated when they said they would, no one in head office bothered to apologise (there was no note of apology with the first check and nothing with the second), no one really apologised for being crap. Also, I have ended up with tyres that are different to the others...I gave up with them trying to get their act together and actually get the tyres as it was taking too much time from my work day. Indeed, only after 2 weeks of visits and calls did they say that the tyres had essentially been discontinued and they were struggling to source...nothing to do with the company.

Of course I wouldn't take two lots of money from the little old lady in the circumstance described, and actually thus far, nor have I from Halfords

The choice of tyres was in the end your choice as per your original post that is not in question, what is in question is you asking for opinions on keeping money that does not rightly belong to you. I see no difference in the little old lady and Halfords, its all about morality

 

[Roadrider48]

The point is they messed me around repeatedly for several weeks, never communicated when they said they would, no one in head office bothered to apologise (there was no note of apology with the first cheque, just the compliments slip with someone's name on (no idea who s/he might be) and nothing with the second). No one has ever really apologised for being crap. Also, I have ended up with tyres that are different to the others...I gave up with them trying to get their act together and actually get the tyres as it was taking too much time from my work day. Indeed, only after 2 weeks of visits and calls did they say that the tyres had essentially been discontinued and they were struggling to source...nothing to do with the company.

Of course I wouldn't take two lots of money from the little old lady in the circumstance described, and actually thus far, nor have I from Halfords

Vickster. Just bank the cheque....job done.
Giving stupid examples of old ladies and grass cutting is completely irrelevant to this.

 

[vickster]

Shouldn't a large corporation actually have checks in place within their finance system to stop this happening? Surely someone in some sort of authority had to actually authorise the cheques being sent regardless of the amount

 

[windym]

Honest you say, when you condone keeping money that does not rightly belong

 

[vickster]

Who? I have been making use of the ignore function after the other barney started

 

[Roadrider48]

Honest you say, when you condone keeping money that does not rightly belong

It arrived through her door with her name on it....it's hers!
Lighten up with all this morality bollox and Vickster might even split it with you.

 

[Brandane]

Criminal matter. But putting that to one side I am struggling to see the difference between this and some little old lady paying me twice for mowing her lawn by mistake. Would you keep the second payment in that case? I guess so, or is it the fact it is a big faceless corporation that the money belongs to the issue, rather than the circumstances?

As things stand, it is a civil matter.
Halfords have sent 2 cheques out to Vickster, off their own back. Nothing criminal has been done to obtain those cheques; no false claims, no fraudulent applications, nothing.
It is possibly an administrative error by Halfords, but the OP does not know this. It is quite possible that one of those cheques is a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience the OP has suffered, while the other is a refund for the difference in tyre prices. No covering letter was sent with the cheques to explain.

It would only become a criminal matter if the OP banked one of the cheques in the knowledge that it had been sent to her in error, and at the moment that is not clear. Even then, how does she know which cheque is genuine, and which was sent in error? Is it her problem to chase them up to verify this?
If anyone from Halfords took this matter to the Police, they would be getting told to go and see a lawyer.

 

[vickster]

Time and aggro not withstanding, if I had actually held out for the holy grail tyres I had originally ordered, halfords would have been left with a £150 pair of part worns driven for several hundred miles on the UK's roads of supreme quality!

 

[stephec]

Time and aggro not withstanding, if I had actually held out for the holy grail tyres I had originally ordered, halfords would have been left with a £150 pair of part worns driven for several hundred miles on the UK's roads of supreme quality!

Stop trying to justify it young lady, you know you've been naughty.