This debate is now closed.
Should finders be keepers?
A woman whose winning lottery ticket was found and cashed in by someone else will receive £15,000, or half of the prize money. What would you do if you found a winning lottery ticket?
Amanda Stacey, 34, from Swindon, Wiltshire, reportedly found the prize ticket on the floor of her local Co-op. She and her husband spent half the money, but when Dorothy McDonagh reported the ticket as lost the Staceys were arrested and the rest of the money was frozen.
The Staceys admitted fraud and false representation and were given suspended sentences. On Friday Michael Stacey was ordered to pay Dorothy McDonagh £15,111.24, the amount the couple hadn't spent - including interest.
What is the most valuable item you have lost? Or have you found something valuable? What did you do with the item? Is honesty the best policy? Or should finders be keepers?
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Published:
Friday, 24 July, 2009, 09:57 GMT
10:57 UK
All comments as they come in
Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 12:25 GMT
13:25 UK
I was made to pay back the money and went through the police fingerprinting, DNA and drugs test processes as well as a taped interview. I think it's a stupid idea, if someone finds a ticket you were careless enough to lose it's tuff luck in my opinion.
Anthony, Nottingham
well under the law you are a criminal so you deserve to have your DNA on the database. If you don't tell your MP or find a political party that will change it and vote for them, its called democracy
Andrew Salter, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 12:08 GMT
13:08 UK
Don't you just love how the thieves among us try to justify their actions with 'It's what any normal person would do', and 'If you've been careless enough to lose it....' They really don't get the fact that a) lots of us don't agree and b) they are quite abhorrent.
I hope that all those people end up losing something of either monitary or sentimental value, so they have a chance to get a different perspective on it, and perhaps rethink their viewpoint.
RM, Essex
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 12:04 GMT
13:04 UK
Why did she only get half back? Does that mean the judge thought she was 1/2 right? Surely it's a matter of ALL or NOTHING back? Whatever side of the debate you are on you will be on one side or another.
jimley murmer, edinburgh, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:52 GMT
12:52 UK
Why has this person who comitted fraud & thieft not been arrested?
Alan Davis
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:44 GMT
12:44 UK
One thing about the National Lottery (or should it be called the Innumeracy Tax?) is the never ending supply of tales of greed and stupidity that it provides.
Dave L, Leeds, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:42 GMT
12:42 UK
The winning ticket was destined for the bin? Litter is litter unless it is identified as something else!
When the original 'ticket owner' lost or discarded the ticket, she also gave up 'ownership'.
Lost Opportunities, London
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:36 GMT
12:36 UK
I have to wonder if Dorothy McDonagh would have shared her winnings with the person kind enough to have handed in her lost ticket - from what I can see, the answer is NO.
Instead of being grateful the ticket wasn't swept up and destroyed, she's out for blood and wants it all back.
Maybe the Staceys didn't deserve the money, who can say, but then does old sour-faced Dot deserve it any more or any less?
[LordElric], Melnibone, Londinium
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:31 GMT
12:31 UK
Not being interested in gambling, if I found a lottery ticket on the floor it would likely get binned along with any rubbish that was lying around...
Megan, Cheshire UK
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:08 GMT
12:08 UK
The women who found the ticket, and tried to make a frudulent claim, must be arrested & sent for trial. She is a theif.
Alan Davis
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:07 GMT
12:07 UK
"Stealing by finding. It's only a crime when you get caught."
David Hart, North Shields, United Kingdom
Actually, it's still a crime whether you get caught or not !
Robert Dempster, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 11:05 GMT
12:05 UK
If you lost something valuable, you would hope whoever found it would be decent enough to reunite it with you.
Therefore, you should do the same for others. Otherwise, you are inconsistent and your position lacks coherence and merit.
Simples!
Jason Duffield, Bath
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 10:48 GMT
11:48 UK
From time to time we all find things, be they the odd useful bit of cash on the pavement to finding jobs, wives etc. Who should decide at what point we should not keep the things we find – especially the jobs and wives!
However, we must remember that the law is an ass. My question is - why do judges go and prove it so frequently?
Bill Potter, Telford
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 10:45 GMT
11:45 UK
The most valuable thing that I have lost is the Honesty of my country.
I know it was never, ever 100%. But I despair at the amount
of dishonesty running rife.
[glassCanning], Haverhill, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 10:40 GMT
11:40 UK
If someone finds a £1 or 1p coin in the street, and handed it to the police, they might nick you for wasting their time. If you find a walllet with £1000 in it then certainly you should certainly hend it in. I've found in the past £10 notes on the floor, which I've pocketed. Any more than that, I would hand it in.
This couple found the ticket on the floor, and declared that it was theirs. If it had been a loser, no problem, but when it won, they should have handed it in.
[Myles_Harcourt], Elmbridge, United Kingdom
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Added:
Saturday, 25 July, 2009, 10:35 GMT
11:35 UK
7 years ago I was working with a mate doing house clearances. This pensioner had died and we were clearing out her bedroom and found over £14,000 in cash stuffed inside her mattress. We split the money. I don't feel bad about what we did.
K M, London
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Total comments: 954
Published comments: 814
Rejected comments: 84
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