Found a neighbor's package on my porch, opened it by mistake, and it was a $200 gift. Do I tell them?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_taylor2mo agoMost Upvoted

I used to think finders keepers was fine... but my mom got a wrong delivery last year and was so upset. You should probably just tell them.

henryp402mo ago

Oh man, @the_taylor, my buddy kept a misdelivered package once and the guilt ate him up for weeks. He ended up tracking down the guy to give it back.

wadew512mo ago

Actually finders keepers is theft in most places. Your buddy did the right thing in the end.

the_elliot2d agoTop Commenter

@wadew51 I get where you're coming from, but I think "finders keepers" gets a bad rap when it's not that simple. Like, if someone clearly drops a wallet on the ground with ID in it, yeah that's theft if you keep it. But a misdelivered package is different in my book. The company sent it to the wrong house, so it's more of their mistake than you taking something that belongs to someone else. I'm not saying you should never try to return it, but I don't think it's the same as stealing from a person directly. Your buddy felt guilty which is fine, but legally it's not always cut and dry like that.