moral issue-- extra money

Bambamama

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 5:14 am

Maybe it was 2 bank tellers making a bet to see how honest the Jews are..

OK, maybe not. But never mind the kiddush Hashem to be made if she doesn't point out the mistake... I think it will be a terrible chillul Hashem and embarrassment if the bank calls your friend to tell her about the mistake... What does she do, act like she had no idea? Doubtful, unless that kind of money is insignificant for her. From your post, it sounds like it is not. And if she admits she saw but didn't notify the bank... not good...

mummy-bh

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 5:37 am

When I was about 14 I opened a new bank account. It was a very exciting move for me; the bank provided me with my first ever debit card!

After a little while I noticed that a deposit had been made into my account to the sum of Â£124.58 (I still remember the exact amount!). This was a major amount of money to a person whose monthly incomings were in the region of around Â£8-10.
I took myself off to the local branch and informed them.. A little while later the money had gone.
Then, a few months later the exact same amount was again credited to my account. Again I 'complained', and again it vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared.

To cut a long story short, every 6 months the same amount appeared, and I always informed them. Sometimes it went out again, but most often it remained. This went on for quite a few years. After a while I got fed up, I asked them if I needed to keep coming in every time and was told No, it's a simple clerical error, don't worry about it. I asked if I could then keep the money, and was told they may or may not take it out of the account. If it remains in, I could spend it!

happyone

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 6:02 am

sarahd wrote:

I second what Hinda Rochel wrote. Your friend can get into big trouble if she spends this money, since she knows it's not hers, and yes, she can go to jail for that. I recently read of a case like that.

She will not get into trouble. It's not her mistake it's theirs. The worst trouble she'll get into is having to pay it back.
The facts are that the bank will catch onto it sooner than later and deduct it from her account. Banks have an amazing tracking system and will figure everything out down to the last penny.

Sorry if she viewed this as a bonus from G-d before Yomim Noraim, I think she's have to wait for a letter of inheritance from some missing old great uncle of hers.
(I'm still waiting for mine!)

maidale

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 8:01 am

Why doesn't she just ask her rav what his opinion is? Then she can just follow his advice with a really clear conscience without either regret (for giving it back) or guilt (for keeping it). The rav will most likely tell her to inform the bank even if just to make a kiddush Hashem.

HindaRochel

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 9:03 am

happyone wrote:

sarahd wrote:

Yes she will. Spending the money will get her in trouble; it has happened before.
Tell the bank.

applemartini101

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 9:44 am

The same thing happened just recently to my FIL.. he asked his Rav what to do.. and I think, If I am not mistaken, his rav said you don't HAVE to say anything! however the bank realized a couple days later... so there went all the "money"!! The bank WILL[u][I] eventually catch onto their own mistake!!

cassandra

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 9:48 am

I also had this once and it took a few days to catch (I hadn't even realized it myself until the bank notified me.) Might as well seize the kiddush Hashem opportunity since it isn't likely she'll have the money much longer anyway.

amother

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:10 am

OP here.

The money is still in her account. Her bank is a credit union. There are no deposit slips. You walk in, hand the teller your money, and it is all done on the computer. It was a check & cash. The cash part of the deposit are right. The teller made an error in entering the check, adding an extra zero (going from one thousand dollars to ten thousand dollars). I have no idea why she won't ask her rav yet. I have said it numerous times.

Ironically, as I was typing this question last night, I got an email from someone mentioning that something of theirs was stolen and how upset they were about it. I told this to my relative, and she said she will call the bank this morning and speak with them.

The original receipt she got for the deposit shows she put in 10,000, not 1,000. She didn't even look at the receipt until she noticed her account was wrong 3 days later.

Fabulous

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:14 am

Please let us know what happens. I am so curious as to how this will be resolved. And I have a pretty good reason why she will not ask a Rav. She is probably waiting until she knows for sure they will not notice it because it is very hard to lose 10k, even if it wasn't hers in the first place.

Bambamama

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:18 am

amother wrote:

Since part of the deposit was in cash, is it reasonable to assume that the teller could be accused of theft if the mistake isn't called to their attention by the customer? Unless the bank has cameras or something... I'm sure this isn't the first time this exact thing has happened) I would find it hard to believe that a Rav would say this is OK if there is a possibility of a worker getting into major trouble over this.

amother

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:25 am

The person here is not a member of this site. I have been reading everything you said. The part that really struck her was about it being Elul and having judgment next week. She is going into the branch today to speak with someone and get it taken out. She said she was never going to spend the money. She just didn't know what to do about it.

amother

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:29 am

amother wrote:

She should make sure they know she's a Jew. She should make a joke to them like, I would have loved to keep it, but Yom Kippur, our day of judgment by G-d, is around the corner and I wouldn't want to be judged for that!

Mrs. XYZ

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:29 am

Quote:

But the error was in the check deposit, so they have the check as proof. They just have to find it and see that the check doesn't match the deposit receipt.

flowerpower

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:33 am

I wouldn't think twice about correcting it. It's called honesty. Yesterday I bought a robe and gave a deposit. I saw that the balance was $20 less then it was supposed to be. I told the cashier to fix it. She didn't even seem impressed that I was honest about it. I think it was because that is what jews are expected to do.

ChossidMom

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 11:56 am

amother wrote:

I totally disagree. She doesn't have to "make sure" of anything except to return the money.

shalhevet

Wed, Sep 24 2008, 12:15 pm

amother wrote:

That makes it sound like she wouldn't have returned it in Adar.