What would you do if you found a lost wallet

osarusan · 02-10-2017 12:31PM

Readers Digest did an experiment a few years ago, dropping wallets with the local equivalent of $50 as well as ID and a family photo in 16 cities, to see which were returned in the highest numbers.

Helsinki was top, with 11/12 wallets returned.

Lisbon was 1/12, and the couple who returned that wallet were on holiday, not local.

gmisk · 02-10-2017 12:31PM

Aliyah Clever Pretzel wrote: »

:eek: What happened?

Hopefully he got a punch in the face...cheeky sod!

Agent Smith · 02-10-2017 12:33PM

endacl wrote: »

No bank will do anything other then ask you to hand the card in to a branch.

I found a wallet with a three figured sum in it a while back.

handed it into the local AIB (there was a AIB Debit card in it)
Bank offical asked for my details.

Got a call 2 days later thanking me!

I couldnt in good conscious keep a wallet or Purse I found.

quad_red · 02-10-2017 12:46PM

endacl wrote: »

No bank will do anything other then ask you to hand the card in to a branch.

Not true. Found wallet, called AIB and provided details. They then passed my details onto the person who called me directly. Met that evening and I passed it over.

Happy to do the right thing but the total lack of appreciation was a bit galling!

Kirby · 02-10-2017 12:48PM

When I was young, I found a wallet in a car park. It had several hundred in it. A lot of money for a kid. I wanted to keep it but my Dad insisted we track down the guy from the wallet and return it. I was not happy.

So we find their home number and call them up on my Dads fancy mobile phone (they were very new at the time) and tell them we have it. They give us their address and WE DRIVE TO THEM. We knock at the door, the wife answers. She looks at us, grunts, snatches the wallet and closes the door on us. Not even a thank you. Nothing. This was a lot of money at the time. At least a weeks wages. And yet that was the reaction we got.

We are heading home and I'm fairly fuming. He turned to me and said something along the lines of "Next time, you can keep it."

Lesson learned.

redbel05 · 02-10-2017 12:54PM

In a bigger town/city, I would definitely bring it to the local garda station. If there wasn't a Garda station nearby (such as the town where I live),I might leave it into the nearest business. Then onto social media.

I was in the unfortunate position of having lost my keys a couple of months ago. Ended up having to get a new car key cut(no spare), replace the locks in our business premises (too much stealable equipment). Then the stress of not having a car until the new key was cut, having to get a neighbours kid to crawl in through the open bathroom window to let me into my home... Complete mess!

Two and a half weeks later I got a call from Cara pharmacy that my keys had just been handed in to them and they had gotten my phone number by scanning the fob on it. Turns out a customer had lifted them off the counter at work, and then decided to hold onto them for a while

corner of hells · 02-10-2017 01:00PM

I found a purse a few years ago , I busily going through it after pocketing the cash when the owner appeared.
Spent a few nights on the spare room , turned out the purse was my wife's.
Who'd leave a purse on the kitchen table, it's not as if I went through her handbag.

OldMrBrennan83 · 02-10-2017 01:02PM

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De Bhál · 02-10-2017 01:16PM

Patww79 wrote: »

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had a wallet lost wallet returned to me years ago. Gave the person 50 from it.

Gyalist · 02-10-2017 01:43PM

Last June I lost my wallet containing €980 and my bank cards on Rathmines Road at 2:30 in the morning. I discovered that it was missing when I got home so immediately retraced my steps but didn't find it. At first light I was out again looking for it. I had already reconciled myself to losing the cash but was hoping that I'd at least get my cards back.

Around 8:00 I got a call from the office of a sports club where I'm a member that the Gardai in Rathmines had rung at 4:00 am and left a message on the voicemail saying that my wallet had been handed in. They couldn't trace my address through the bank but instead called the club as my membership card had my name on it.

It turned out that the wallet was found by a young guy on his way home from work at The Bleeding Horse who took it immediately to the station.

Thank you very much Sean @ The Bleeding Horse.

c68zapdsm5i1ru · 02-10-2017 02:43PM

Kirby wrote: »

When I was young, I found a wallet in a car park. It had several hundred in it. A lot of money for a kid. I wanted to keep it but my Dad insisted we track down the guy from the wallet and return it. I was not happy.

So we find their home number and call them up on my Dads fancy mobile phone (they were very new at the time) and tell them we have it. They give us their address and WE DRIVE TO THEM. We knock at the door, the wife answers. She looks at us, grunts, snatches the wallet and closes the door on us. Not even a thank you. Nothing. This was a lot of money at the time. At least a weeks wages. And yet that was the reaction we got.

We are heading home and I'm fairly fuming. He turned to me and said something along the lines of "Next time, you can keep it."

Lesson learned.

She was a rude wagon, but the vast majority of people would have been falling over themselves with thanks, and probably have insisted on giving you a few quid as well. Why let one ignorant person prevent you from doing the decent thing in future?

dubstarr · 02-10-2017 03:12PM

I lost my purse on teh da of my mams funeral.Didnt notice till the next day.There was nothing in it but a few bits and bobs.

Somebody knocked and handed it in to the house.They found it on the road,so i must have dropped it gett ig out of the car.I was very greatful.And i would hand in any purse or wallet i found.

kylith · 02-10-2017 03:20PM

Aliyah Clever Pretzel wrote: »

:eek: What happened?

gmisk wrote: »

Hopefully he got a punch in the face...cheeky sod!

He got short shrift alright. I asked him if he really thought I'd have take hours out of my day to track him down and get his wallet back to him if I'd robbed him, and he didn't have an answer for that; just grunted and hung up. Bad cess to the git.

On the other side of the coin I found a document wallet (the same day, coincidentally), and even though it didn't look like much I tracked down the owner of that too, who I met on my way to meet Wallet Guy. Turned out it had reports from his work in it and he fell over himself with thanks. Didn't offer me anything, but gratitude is reward enough.

I got €50 from another guy for getting his phone back to him, which was no mean feat cos it was off (someone had robbed it and, unable to unlock it, dumped it in my garden) so it meant the phone shop tracking him through the sim number or something. Was tempted to keep it and get it unlocked cos it was a pretty new iphone, but I kept thinking how I'd feel if it was me, so I couldnt keep it in good conscience.

cml387 · 02-10-2017 03:20PM

I once found a wallet or large purse on the side of a busy road miles from the town (I was cycling).

I looked to see if there was any ID but apart from a small sum of money I found a number of blank social welfare cards (the white credit card type).

I handed in to the gardai. I wonder if the guards were interested why someone should have social welfare card blanks?

TheIrishGrover · 02-10-2017 03:29PM

I've found a wallet. Credit cards in it, no cash. Contacted CC company and the person contacted me. Confirmed there was no cash in it first and then posted it to them. Found a phone 2 days later. Was an old phone, no lock. Phones "Home" they lived around corner and dropped it in.
I would never pocket a wallet or phone as all of us either have been or could be in that position very easily at any time and you'd like to think the finder would do the same.

andekwarhola · 02-10-2017 03:44PM

Dunno about handing in a wallet full of cash to a Garda station. Get the feeling it might end up behind the till in Coppers for a Christmas do.

I'd try and ring the credit card company, company or bank if there was cards in it.

My kids found 50 euro in a plain little purse thingy near our street before. No other identifying info so I let them choose and buy toys with it to give to my office Christmas SDVP appeal.

I found a phone before and was able to arrange to meet the owner by ringing some numbers in it.

kylith · 02-10-2017 03:53PM

andekwarhola wrote: »

Dunno about handing in a wallet full of cash to a Garda station. Get the feeling it might end up behind the till in Coppers for a Christmas do.

Not necessarily. My niece found a good sum of money a few years ago and handed it in to the Gardai who took her contact details. When it hadn't been claimed 4 months later they called my niece and she wound up €400 richer.

Permabear · 02-10-2017 03:54PM

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whoopsadoodles · 02-10-2017 03:56PM

Permabear wrote: »

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It's the same here in Ireland.

OldMrBrennan83 · 02-10-2017 03:56PM

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DaeryssaOne · 02-10-2017 04:02PM

Would like to think I would exhaust all avenues and try to get it back to the rightful owner. I was in Hong Kong visiting a friend a couple of years ago and lost my purse on the very last night of the holiday. Was raging as it had a lot of sentimental notes / old photos in it but had to just suck it up and forget about it. When I got back to work the following week I had an email from a girl who's uncle was a taxi driver in HK and he didn't have much English but found my business card inside so asked her to contact me on his behalf. She then met up with my friend who posted it back to Ireland, I couldn't believe the effort they had gone to, thought it was so lovely of them to do that, obviously asked my friend to give her HK dollars from the purse and use the remainder to post it home.

Permabear · 02-10-2017 04:13PM

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Akrasia · 02-10-2017 07:48PM

There's research to show that if you keep a picture of a baby in your wallet, if you lose it, it's more likely to be returned to you.

So even if you've got no kids, stick a stock photo of the kid from Look who's talking into your wallet as a free insurance policy.

Permabear · 02-10-2017 07:48PM

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02-10-2017 07:59PM

uberwolf wrote: »

I've found at least two. One had a drivers licence and an engagement ring in it. Garda were given it and the owner dropped up two bottles off wine to the house.

Just think, that guy could be at home right now thinking "wish that fecking do gooder had at least tossed the ring"...;)

Snotty · 02-10-2017 07:59PM

anna080 wrote: »

I had to hand it in I didn't have the heart to keep it.

If it's just a small amount of money on its own, keep it. I worked in a Shopping Centre for years, €10-50 are handed in every-so-often but never claimed, a larger amount might be.
Management said it was given to charity if not claimed but I reckon it went towards their Christmas party.

02-10-2017 08:09PM

Akrasia wrote: »

There's research to show that if you keep a picture of a baby in your wallet, if you lose it, it's more likely to be returned to you.

So even if you've got no kids, stick a stock photo of the kid from Look who's talking into your wallet as a free insurance policy.

Thanks. Sorted. Just used this stock image.

Richard Hillman · 02-10-2017 08:11PM

It wouldn't be worth the bad karma to keep it. Saying that though if it was a couple of grand and the wallet belonged to one of the Kinahans, Id be keeping it.

Gerrup Outta Dat! · 02-10-2017 09:00PM

If I lost my walet with cash in it and the person returned it in full, I'd give them the cash for their honesty. I very rarely carry cash anyway. I'd say 95 % of people would pocket the cash. Perhaps a poll OP?

iLikeWaffles · 02-10-2017 09:01PM

Honestly I would try to return it. Its never the thought of losing money in a wallet its the trouble of replacing the cards inside it!

What would you do if you found a lost wallet

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