Today we went to Five Guys to have a burger and fries. We rode our motorcycles so it seems I always have a ton of things to keep track of; glasses, keys for DH saddlebags, keys for my bike, wallet, gloves, and phone. I'm not very good at keeping track of this stuff and occasionally I misplace stuff or drop it. I've always managed to gather it up and keep going. But today, I set down my wallet at the condiment station - loaded up ketchup, napkins and black pepper and wandered to find a table.
We ate our meal and left, only to realize shortly after that I didn't have my wallet. We returned to the shop and asked if anyone had turned it in, to no avail. Some one stole my wallet and didn't turn it in. There were only a handful of people there and I know who was at the counter right after me, but by then it was too late. We checked the restrooms, checked the garbage can and realized it was a lesson learned.
I probably had about fifty bucks cash, along with my drivers license, Visa card, Debit Card, AMEX card and my Busch Gardens season pass. I canceled the credit cards and ordered a replacement drivers license for $25, and my BG season pass will cost $5. It's a hassle but not the end of the world since it didn't have all my gift cards, other credit cards, CWP, security license and BP gas cards that are in my purse.
I wish more people in the world were honest though. I was reading a couple blogs that discussed this topic, The Simple Dollar and Free Money Finance this week. After being the victim of misplacing my wallet and having some one take it when they could have returned it, I am disappointed.
If you ever find money, here is a good principle to follow for handling all found money.
If you find money with identification attached to it, please try to return it. If there is ID with the money, or any identifying feature that could be described by the person who lost it (like a unique design, a money clip, or keychain) please make some effort to return it to its rightful owner. It doesn't matter where you find it – if you have some information that makes identification directly possible, try to return it yourself.
If there is no identification and you're in a store, or business location, inform customer service or the manager but retain the item. Just go to the manager and let them know you found some money and would like to return it to its rightful owner. Offer to leave contact information there, or offer to check back in a day to see if anyone has inquired and then ask for the contact information of the person who lost the money. Don't turn over the money to the person at the counter because that money is not likely to be returned. Wait and see if anyone contacts you and can identify the exact amount lost. If someone does, then return it to them. If no one inquires in a reasonable amount of time, like a week, check back at the location and if no news, then just keep the money.
If there is no identification and you're in a public place, like a street or a park, keep the money. There is no simple or effective way to return the money in this situation because there is no effective "lost and found" for someone to seek the item. But, if someone returns while you're still there and is searching for the money, ask them what they're looking for and if they tell you, then give them the money that was found.
Take a few minutes to empty out your wallet and just copy it on your printer, it can save you the headache of replacing stuff later. I didn't know the account numbers on my debit card, and now I don't have copies of my motorcycle registration, or my insurance information either. I also realize that if some one did want to return my wallet, my cell phone number was not located on anything in there either.
