Short story: Friend bought a fridge and the people from the store damaged it moving it in. Sense she bought a closeout model off clearance they said they couldn't give her a new. They offered her a refund or said they would replace her fridge doors. After a very long string of bs she has the fridge, she has the new doors, and they also sent her a check for the full refund.

Clearly it is a mistake. I said cash the check and leave it sitting in a savings account for the next ~4 mo in case they figure it out and ask for the money back but clearly I have no business/ legal knowledge of how this works. Anyone know how long the company would have to ask for her to return the money?

8/24/2009 12:16:40 PM

can't help you but thats funny..similar story happened with my parents in the 90s. Slightly damaged moving in and my parents wanted them to send another. For some reason they just canceled their order and were going to order another one and get back to my parents within a week - but they let them keep the damaged fridge in the mean time. A week went by and my parents called and the manager they had dealt with was fired and their purchase wasn't on record and the new manager didn't understand what they were trying to tell him. They called again a few weeks later and the new manager just said to keep the fridge because he had no idea what had happened So they were left with a free refrigerator that is still running strong

8/24/2009 12:27:14 PM

30 days.

8/24/2009 12:27:31 PM

Quote :

"Sense she bought a closeout model"

I didn't know Sense was a girl.

"Sense.... Oh her? She bought a closeout model."


I always thought it was "since", but anyway, this is an interesting story nonetheless!

8/24/2009 12:31:08 PM

It's a tarp.

8/24/2009 12:31:41 PM

Quote :

"Clearly it is a mistake."

...so she should call the company and tell them they made a mistake. Did being honest about this situation even cross your/her mind?

It's entirely possible that they'll just say, "screw it, keep the check," like what happened to CalledToArms' parents, but she should be honest with them.

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 12:49 PM. Reason : .]

8/24/2009 12:46:35 PM

Sometimes if a company causes a mistake they will overcompensate to keep a customer & not get a bad reputation. Granted with something expensive like a fridge that would be less likely, but it could be intentional rather than a mistake.

8/24/2009 1:08:33 PM

i'd keep that shit and not think twice about it, although a savings account is a good idea just in case

8/24/2009 1:12:55 PM

Quote :

"Did being honest about this situation even cross your/her mind?"

seriously.

8/24/2009 1:50:37 PM

of course it doesn't cross peoples minds

they assume any business has plenty of money to go around and somehow feel entitled to anything they can get out of a company

8/24/2009 2:32:40 PM

Roseanne would resell the fridge

8/24/2009 2:44:57 PM

Cashing it is illegal, so I would advise against it.

8/24/2009 2:45:26 PM

is this friend someone you actually know or was this forwarded to you in an email?

8/24/2009 2:47:54 PM

cashing it actually ISN'T illegal

unethical, yes...against the law, no

8/24/2009 2:48:02 PM

^^ LOL, no this time its an actual friend



Oops, do you know exactly what law or statue it would violate?

Quote :

"Did being honest about this situation even cross your/her mind"

yes she did and so did I. Had her experience and service been better she would. In this case its not so much about dishonesty and entitlement as it does gross negligence on the part of the company. I left out all but the key details of the ordeal but the level of incompetence and disorganization has been undeniably significant, regardless of what department or employee position she dealt with. For example, the company called to inform her that they received her order for the doors and they would be here in a few weeks. At that point in time she had not only received the set of replacement door but also gotten an EXTRA sets of fridge doors, which she sent back. They were about to send her a third set of doors (which mind you cost more then she paid for the fridge in the first place) and had no record of having ordered or received the prior too sets. If it were about exploiting the company for financial gain she would have kept the 2 extra sets of fridge doors they sent her and either sold them or held onto them. This is just one example of the stuff that has been going on. Is it unethical sure, but really, how negligent and financially careless does a company have to be before they deserve the loss?

8/24/2009 3:47:36 PM

maybe they were trying to buy her out so they didnt have to deal with her anymore

8/24/2009 3:54:32 PM

You don't get to decide whether it's right to be honest based on how you've been treated, for fuck's sake.

I'D HAVE DONE THE RIGHT THING IF THEY'D DONE THE RIGHT THING FIRST RABBLE RABBLE

8/24/2009 4:05:48 PM

I would talk to some cashier, they usually tell me to just keep it

8/24/2009 4:09:14 PM

Say you made a mistake and left your at the bar. Honest mistake, right? Similar to the honest mistake this company made by issuing a refund for merchandise that wasn't returned.

So, using your logic, you feel that whoever found your wallet would be justified in spending all the money inside rather than returning it to you.

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 4:11 PM. Reason : a]

8/24/2009 4:11:03 PM

Quote :

"Is it unethical sure, but really, how negligent and financially careless does a company have to be before they deserve the loss?"

You can't rationalize being unethical. What the company is doing has no bearing on whether you're being unethical or not, so either be honest and return the check or just accept the fact that you're stealing money from them and stop trying to sugar coat your greed.

8/24/2009 4:11:27 PM

Quote :

"You don't get to decide whether it's right to be honest based on how you've been treated, for fuck's sake."

8/24/2009 4:43:20 PM

Quote :

"You don't get to decide whether it's right to be honest based on how you've been treated, for fuck's sake."

haha, sure you do...i mean, i guess you can sit up on your high horse and judge others by YOUR personal code, but the FACT is that "honest" is subjective in this situation...she doesn't know that they didn't mean to send her the money and you can't say that she must absolutely do everything within her power to ascertain the "true" intentions

that said, of course i agree with you that she should at least make the effort to return the money...but it makes me laugh every time someone tries pretend like their personal opinion is an absolute truth

8/24/2009 5:40:33 PM

Explain to me how keeping it and not telling them of their possible mistake is honest.

Sure, you're not lying, but you're not telling the truth, either.

8/24/2009 5:47:43 PM

I think this is a bit more than a personal opinion though. I think that pretty damn near 100% of people know what the right thing to do in this situation is.

8/24/2009 6:11:53 PM

one time i went to the bank, deposited some cash through the window and the teller sent my cash back in the envelope with the receipt for the deposit. when i got home I had a message from teh manager to call him but I never did and never heard anything else from it.

8/24/2009 6:24:14 PM

insurance company sent me an extra 8 grand or so a couple of years ago and my lawyer told me to throw it in a 1yr CD and if I don't hear anything about it by then -- I could divide it however I saw fit between the hookers and blow.

8/24/2009 7:11:40 PM

lol.. how did you divide it?

8/24/2009 7:13:52 PM

Back in the day before ATM machines and direct deposit my mom got an extra $200 in her bank envelope after she deposited a check at the teller window. She didn't realize it until she got home. When she realized it, she drove back to the bank and gave it to them.

Karma is a motherfucker, and I would hope if I ever made a mistake with money that the person on the receiving end would do the right thing and return it.

8/24/2009 7:18:53 PM

^^Not anywhere near as cleverly as I should have.

^Those situations are a bit different. Tellers usually have that type of stuff on lock. I know these days, say if you make a mistake on your deposit slip either in your favor or the bank's, despite what your immediate balance says, once they realize something didn't add up, your account is automatically adjusted. Definitely not worth even attempting to do anything other than return something like that.

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 7:26 PM. Reason : .]

8/24/2009 7:24:17 PM

i^^it wasn't their money though. FDIC insured, bitches.

8/24/2009 7:27:22 PM

all I'm saying is, that shit comes back around. so when you drop your wallet and someone goes on a shopping spree with your credit card, don't get angry about it.

8/24/2009 7:35:32 PM

why would i get angry about it?

i can get all that money back with a 5 minute phone call to citibank or whoever is behind the card.

8/24/2009 7:46:39 PM

I won't, I'll just report the card as stolen. What goes around doesn't come back around and I'm sure the loss from me hasn't kept the government from spending anything.

8/24/2009 7:47:55 PM

^^So your bank will just take your word for it that you didn't make the purchases without doing some sort of investigation? Damn, looks like I need to switch banks. Last time I disputed some bogus internet charges on my account it took a month and a half to resolve, and it was a huge pain in the ass.

^ I wish you the best of luck in life

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 7:49 PM. Reason : a]

8/24/2009 7:48:45 PM

Quote :

"one time i went to the bank, deposited some cash through the window and the teller sent my cash back in the envelope with the receipt for the deposit. when i got home I had a message from teh manager to call him but I never did and never heard anything else from it."

The bank has an unlimited time to find that error and correct it. So if they haven't already, one day your account will just show up minus the money.

I'd be surprised if the Teller didn't find out about it when they counted their drawer up at the end of the day and it's already been fixed? Do you know if it has or not?

8/24/2009 7:52:28 PM

Quote :

"my lawyer told me to throw it in a 1yr CD"

taking ethical advice from a lawyer... lulz

8/24/2009 7:59:12 PM

it happened years ago

8/24/2009 8:02:02 PM

Quote :

"So your bank will just take your word for it that you didn't make the purchases without doing some sort of investigation? Damn, looks like I need to switch banks. Last time I disputed some bogus internet charges on my account it took a month and a half to resolve, and it was a huge pain in the ass."

yep. i had $500 taken out of my bank account, disputed it and they gave it back instantly and sent me a new card. had similar happen with a credit card once and they put it on hold, sent me a new card and some paperwork to dispute anything on my next statement that wasn't me and that was the end of that

all w/citibank.

and they CAN investigate but for a few hundred bucks it wasn't worth it to them i imagine.. if i did the shit once a month i think they'd have a bigger problem with it, lol

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 8:14 PM. Reason : s]

8/24/2009 8:14:14 PM

Quote :

"i^^it wasn't their money though. FDIC insured, bitches."

You need to review FDIC. What you described isn't covered by FDIC.

Where do you think FDIC money comes from anyways?

8/24/2009 8:49:17 PM

What? If a tellers drawer is short the bank just gets the money back from the insurance. They don't even persue bank robberies. The money comes from the fed government.

8/24/2009 8:54:12 PM

^^^deck says he's sorry for that.

8/24/2009 8:57:15 PM

^^ FDIC only protects you, the depositor, in the event the bank becomes insolvent (or is it at risk of becoming insolvent). It doesn't protect the bank and it doesn't cover theft or accounting errors.

Where do you think the federal government gets its money?

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 9:17 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2009 9:16:44 PM

federal government just prints more/jk

when banks are robbed or money shows up missing they are also protected by insurance real talk. they teach tellers to let them have all the money if they rob the bank because its insured.

this amount of money is essentially 0 to the government that constantly spends billions that it doesn't even have every day.

8/24/2009 9:20:17 PM

Banks do have private insurance for things like robberies. The insurance cost is ultimately passed on to the account owners.



Hopefully the bank treats you better when it makes a mistake in its favor (and hopefully the teller didn't lose their job when the drawer came up short).

[Edited on August 24, 2009 at 9:26 PM. Reason : ]

8/24/2009 9:25:37 PM

Quote :

"In this case its not so much about dishonesty and entitlement as it does gross negligence on the part of the company."

wait, they FIXED the problem, right?? you are mad b/c they fixed it TOO much?

8/24/2009 10:38:27 PM

So wait. Am I to understand that mambagrl is a goddamn TEACHER?

I hope she's a teacher in some fake-ass bullshit religious school or something and not an actual place of learning where she could do damage.

8/24/2009 11:09:31 PM

Quote :

"wait, they FIXED the problem, right?? you are mad b/c they fixed it TOO much?"

8/25/2009 1:35:38 AM

Quote :

"I hope she's a teacher in some fake-ass bullshit religious school or something and not an actual place of learning where she could do damage."

Hahahaha

8/25/2009 7:24:55 AM

I bet she teaches Economics.

8/25/2009 8:36:14 AM

Quote :

"when banks are robbed or money shows up missing they are also protected by insurance real talk. they teach tellers to let them have all the money if they rob the bank because its insured."

When banks are robbed they tech the tellers to cooperate so the tellers don't get shot by the robbers.



If money turns up plain old missing they look for it because banks are tight-assed about their dollars. Anyway they can find to get another penny, they do it. My guess is that they fixed it already and you didn't notice it.

8/25/2009 9:37:19 AM