DO THE RIGHT THING?

A few weeks ago, I went up to the Permanent TSB (BANK) and lodged €1250 cash, into my account so I would be able to pay my mortgage. As I walked out of the bank I looked at my statement and seen that the bank teller had lodged €2250 by mistake, that’s an extra €1000.  Now, I cannot emphasise how long it takes and how much of a struggle it is, to save €1000 when you don’t have a job. It means I do not have a social life of any kind and my finances are in a really bad way. One example of this is my central heating boiler broke down and needs to be replaced, but I just can’t afford to do this and it will be the second or third winter without any heating in the house. That €1000 would almost pay for a new gas central heating boiler OR having that €1000 would have given me a small bit of breathing space with my bills and debts and I would have been able to go over to England and visit my family, which I really want to, but just cannot afford.  With anything that was left over, I could have got my tooth fixed which has been nagging at me for over a year, since my filling came out. Yes, €1000 would have gone a long way in my house hold and made a great impact on my life.

Well, I’m one of these guys that does the right thing and without question; I joined the back of the queue again and went to the bank teller so the mistake could be rectified. Which means I gave them back the €1000. The bank teller looked at me as if I was some kind of an ejit and I’m very sure that is what he was thinking as well. He corrected the amount that was in my account, although I personally think he should have had the decency to thank me as I almost certainly saved him from getting the sack as his till would be €1000 down.

Now, the thing is, there was no way it could have come back to me, regarding the extra €1000, as I had paid in cash which the teller counted (although incorrectly) and it was then put into the till with the other notes. So there was no way of proving what money I had given. If it happened again, I would still, without question, do the same thing, but I am starting to feel that I would have been better off saying nothing and keeping the money. I am starting to feel that being honest, equates to being nothing more than a fool.

I didn’t feel any better, being honest and doing the right thing. If anything, I felt a bit pissed off that the teller didn’t even thank me. On the other hand, if I had kept the money, I just wouldn’t be happy and would have felt like it was stolen money and I know I would have felt bad that someone may have lost their job due to me not manning up and doing the correct thing. However, I have seen, over and over again, people I worked with and for, and people I now, doing things that I just would not do. I have been over charged and ripped off and lied to by people that I should trust. But it seems that most people seem to get away with it.

I know I will always do the correct thing, or at least try, but my belief that “what goes around, comes around” is just bull shit. I’ve seen it so many times in my personal and work life and the dishonest people, just seem to drive better cars, go on holidays, live in better homes and just have it better all round.

There are no rewards for being honest and it seems I tend to get the shit end of the stick, most of the time. It seems that if you go out of your way to do some one a favour or do something honest, you get treated like a moron and seen as a fool.

Here are a few other examples of my crazy honesty.

Over ten years ago, when I was saving to buy my house, I was living in a rented house with a load of other guys. The landlord would call round every Monday, to collect the rent. One Monday, he left his rent money behind him. When I say rent money, I mean, it was a big wod of notes as he had about 15 properties that he collected from. There must have been over £3,000 if not more. What did I do, I put the money aside and called his house so he would know that he didn’t lose his money. To give you an idea how much that money could have gone towards my house, I won £618 and it was only due to that win, I was able to buy the house as I was saving almost every penny at the time. That £3,000 would have helped me buy a house in a better area or given me more money to buy furniture, carpets and curtains.  But at the end of the day, I am still happy I gave back the money, even though the landlord didn’t even thank me.

Another time was when I used to do a lot of cycling and I traded in my bike for a better one. We agreed on a price and I came back to collect my new bike and pay the balance. The balance was £100 less than the agreed price and I went back the next day to pay the £100. OK, now I think that was just foolish, but I just would not feel happy that I was doing the shop out of £100, which at the time was 70% of my weekly wage.

The saying goes “honesty is the best policy” but I am not so sure any more. What goes around, comes around, is another saying. Not sure if that is correct either. I don’t know if I could be dishonest, but I am thinking there must be something better than being seen as a fool.

Tell me what you would have done in my shoes?