How honest are Canberrans?

To the very kind person who posted my son’s wallet home (after he had lost it on a night out) with no return address and just “Good Luck” written on the back of the envelope. Thank you!

Left a fairly full wallet in a shopping trolley at Woolies QBN over Christmas once, didn’t even know it was missing till they called me and told me the trolley men had handed it in, was so grateful but didn’t have anyone to thank. Whereas I lost a wallet with a huge amount of money in ($5000) and it was handed in by a QBN South school child – I felt very bad as there was only $50 notes in it (and it wasn’t my money) and I couldn’t even give the wonderful child a reward. I think most people are very honest.

The chances are roughly 50/50 of you getting it back. I think most decent or semi-decent people can relate to the “oh sht, I’ve lost my wallet/purse/phone” and will hand things in. Sometimes it is also dependant on the person realising then remembering where they have been to return to that place. Having worked at a supermarket for a fair length of time, I’ve found most things that people leave when they get distracted. Even our former MLAs get forgetful sometimes, I found Mr Pratt’s wallet years back when he was still a member. I was surprised he was listed in the white pages, gave his number a call and he came to get it, didn’t offer me any money though!

Another time I did find a lady’s handbag left in a trolley late at night who owns a nice restaurant in Kingston. She tried to say thanks by offering me free dinner, too bad I didn’t have a hot girl to take or I would have accepted. She did remind me to go for dinner for years after every time I saw her though.

Found a Hong Kong resident’s driving license the other day folded in with an Avis car rental receipt. Handed it in to Avis in Braddon. I hope they sent it to the owner.

I had a beer (when i was waiting for one of the kids to finish work) at about 6 pm on a Saturday at Ojays (sp?) at the back of the hyperdome, they were setting up for a 21st. Next morning i realised i had no wallet, drove down there and asked and was handed my wallet still full of cash. big kudos to those guys

tch, you’ve all got sooo much money you need a wallet.

i’d always return property, and have done so, usually even going so far as to make at least some attempt to locate the owner of notes i find now and again. often as not, no owner = money to charity. not mine, but finding it a good home seems right.

I found a wallet in Hawker once, looked like it might of been stolen and dumped, there was no cash but there was a credit card and might of been a licence too. I phoned the person offering to return it and they didn’t seem the least bit interested or grateful, just told me to mail it back to them, don’t even think they said please or thanks.

I lost my own wallet once, fell out of my backpack while I was riding my bike back from Bungendore. I realised it was lost when I got back as far as the Federal Highway. I drove back along the route in my car but couldn’t see it anywhere. Only had about $30 cash in it, it was the credit cards, licence and other ID that I was concerned about. Thought it was gone forever but the next day I received a phone call from a lady telling me that her husband found the wallet halfway up Smiths Gap while driving his backhoe. Everything was still intact including the cash. I was very grateful even though I had already cancelled my CC.

I found a wallet once but couldn’t get a phone number and didn’t have a way of getting to their house so I just posted them to the address on the drivers licence… someone might have done that for you… maybe?

I never heard anything back which I thought was a bit rude as I had left a note saying where I found it etc. There was money in it but I didn’t snoop too much.

i found a wallet once, didn’t even look if there was cash, looked at the drivers licence, found out they lost it outside their own house, no one was home so i left it at the front door. (it was well away from the road, not seen) I’m a firm believer in karma… and what goes around, comes around, even if these people didnt know it was me who returned it.

i always think that it might be a set up for one of those a current affair shows, “how honest are you really” type segments!

Ring the coppers, someone may have handed it in.

I’ve found 3 watches, in 2 cases quite valuable ones and handed them in. After 3 months I got a call coming to say come and collect them, no-one has claimed them. This wasn’t in Canberra though.

AngryHenry said :

I found the reward was being able to instill fear into a fellow citizen and then confuse and ultimately suprise them by giving them something they’d lost instead of stealing it.

Epic Win.

In a moment of distraction I left my wallet with the week’s pension behind.

Of course, I didn’t notice until I got home – then it was almost the worst afternoon of my life, trying to call around where I had been to ask if it had been handed.

Just an hour after I got home I got a phone call from the people who had found my wallet, telling me they had it. I had my wallet back within a couple of hours of leaving it, and it had my pension in it too.

I *have* to point out this family lived in some of the roughest guvvy flats in Red Hill – but were more honest and compassionate than people who have had all the advantages one could hope for in life.

AngryHenry – that is too funny!!

I saw a lady drop her wallet at Belconnen mall. Tried to get her attention, couldn’t so a mate and I drove out to her address we got of her drivers licencse. She pooed herself wen we showed up at her front door thinking she was about to be subject to a home invasion, instead we retuned her wallet cash and all.

I found the reward was being able to instill fear into a fellow citizen and then confuse and ultimately suprise them by giving them something they’d lost instead of stealing it.

About 8 years ago I found $380 in cash in the tray of the ATM at the Service Station in kambah (the one near the indoor sport ctr). I tracked the owner down the next day (his mum rang teh servi asking if anybody found the cash and he was an 18 year old kid who was taking out his pay before going to footy training. Turns out he was runing late and forgot to actually pick up ths cash before getting back in his car and leaving. The kid offered me some money to buy a case of beer a a reward but I turned him down, seeing hs smile was good enough for me, poor kid.

More recently, i found a swish mobile phone at soccer at Calwell last Saturday. I had to wait till someone rang on it to ask who they were after so I could ask around for them at the game. Happy ending all round.

I’ve never had anybody return anything to me yet though, but then again, I haven’t lost much either (except my mind once).

When I was a teenager, I left a bag with a bunch of records in it at the bus stop (member of the radio club at school – so geeky!) and an adult noticed it after all the kids were gone and handed it in to the admin ladies. I remember feeling so amazed and relieved when I found out they’d been handed in! So that experience made me a serial giver-backerer, unless it’s a note that’s fluttering in the breeze on its own.

Over the years I’ve chased several people down the bus to return wallets left on/under seats and last year handed some a young asian woman the $100 she’d just dropped while walking in the mall. She seemed freshly arrived in Australia – I’d heard her struggling to work out the currency, paying to get some keys cut. I reminded her that the green notes are the most valuable ones. 🙂

People are generally very grateful to find there are still honest people out there. I just hope Karma brings my wallet back the day I lose it.

I’d give it back. Its not mine to keep. (I handed in a pay envelope with ~$400 in it the week before Xmas about 10 years ago- the bloke who came to collect it with his 3 small kids in the back of the car looked very relieved). Plus, Karma has its way of repaying you whatever action you take..

Jim Jones said :

I found someone’s lost phone, so I tried calling them to let them know I had it. But every time I rang, they were engaged.

What does the person getting married have to do with giving them their phone back?

I’ve found several wallets over the years, and have always returned them without taking any money. I have never had anyone give me money as reward, but don’t really care. I also found a phone last year at a concert, so when I got home I rang a number labelled ‘mum’, and the lady sounded amazed I’d called. It was kinda late (ie midnight) but she really wanted the phone, so I gave her my address and left it in the mailbox. At 7am it was gone.

Losing stuff sucks. I am a firm believer in handing things in.

FC said :

My phone was lost and returned to me by someone who had found it.
I was VERY appreciative as my phone is also my camera/ipod/diary/note taker.

I found someone’s lost phone, so I tried calling them to let them know I had it. But every time I rang, they were engaged.

My phone was lost and returned to me by someone who had found it.
I was VERY appreciative as my phone is also my camera/ipod/diary/note taker.

Just a few weeks ago, I lost my son’s blue book. I must have put it on the roof of my car and drove off. It is a bad habit I have. I put things on the roof when sorting out things in the back seat.

Someone found it and returned it to a police station.

Over ten years ago I did the same thing with my purse. It had everything including my passport and residency visa. Again someone turned it in to the police.

Nice people in Canberra.

Lost my wallet in Seattle airport either at a phone booth or actually still on my seat on the plane (it was a layover). Gone..

Danman, I only wish the wallet you found was ours… but looks like it’s not.

I agree with you johnboy – finders should definitely get a reward for their honesty. It gives a nice warm and fuzzy feeling but also incentive to keep up with their honest ways.

A few years ago my mum spotted notes flying around the road in Evatt. She stopped the car and got us kids to (carefully) gather up the cash. We found a wallet too and drove around to the lady’s house to return it. Clearly she’d left her wallet on the roof of her car and drove off.

Instead of thanks, she looked in the wallet, screwed up her face and said, “There’s some missing.” No thanks, nothing. Clearly, if we had wanted to keep her money we wouldn’t have bothered driving to her house to return what we did find.

Moral of the story – if someone does you a good turn (like returns a lost item) be generous in your thanks.

Back when I worked in cinemas I used to find a lot of lost wallets, always handed them in to box where they’d try and find contact details to call.

Classiest thing I ever saw was a guy ask to speak to the usher who’d found the wallet, open it up and take out all the money in it, some 500 pounds sterling, and give it to the usher saying “you could have taken it, and this way I don’t have to replace all my cards”.

Anyone getting their wallet back should at least think about it. If everyone did it we’d see a lot more wallets handed back in.

I lost my wallet twice. Once, I never saw it again. The other time, a woman behind me pointed out that I’d just lost my wallet and gave it back to me.

About five years ago I found a wallet at the uni of Canberra it had about $180 in it. I looked up the owners phone number using the adress on his drivers licence and gave him a call, His Mother answered and was so happy thta I had called, she said hwer son would come over straight away and collect it. I told her that I had to leave for work in half an hour, and she said he would be there before then.

so I waited and waited and eventually about an hour and a half later a bloke turned up and took his wallet he did not even say thanks.

So I think there are honest Canberran and disonest Canberran. I guess it is lucky dip if you loose your wallet

Apologies if that was dry humour and I’ve gone and ruined the joke

BenjaminL said :

I’d take half the cash as payment for returning it.

That would be theft

I’ve been in both positions. I once lost a wallet with about $250 cash, cards and license etc. Never saw or heard of it again.

About a year ago my son found a wallet with about $300 in Borders in the city, we drove it over to the address on the guys drivers license – he wasn’t home, but we ended up connecting up with him and returning it – he gave my son $50 reward (not bad money for a fiver year old).

I’d take half the cash as payment for returning it.

A couple of years ago I lost my wallet in the O’Connor area, some school kids found it(it had $300 cash in it) and handed it into the school reception, who contacted me.

Funny you mention that – I saw an abandoned wallet on the bench where you load your shopping in ALDI in Canberra cantre today around 11am.

I didnt want anyone else to steal it, but did not want to take on the duty of care for it, so I handed it to the cash register operator.

Hopefully the rightful owner remembereed that they put it down in ALDI and returned to get it.