We pulled into Wiicannia going from Broken Hill to Cobar earlier this week and I decided to top up the car at the self serve 24hr BP fuel bowser in the back street as it was 15c/ltr cheaper than the servo on the Hwy. its was one of those unmanned pumps where you set the amount and pay with your credit card before filling. After I had finished I saw a wallet on the ground hidden under the hoses so I looked inside and it contained cash, credit cards, drivers licence, Medicare care card and various business cards from the Cairns/Innisfail area. I couldnt find any phone number, I didnt know how long it had been there and I had no idea which direction the guy was heading. I thought the best option was to drop into tne Wilcannia Police Station and see if maybe they could contact him using his drivers licence or his medicare card info. Took me half an hour to finally raise someone on the call box at the station then another 45 minutes to write a statement and sign a declaration and then along with the officer empty the wallet and list exactly what we found which apparently was to cover ourselves from any accusations of wrong doing. Probably added an hour and a half to our trip but I was thinking if it was me who had lost my cash, credit cards and other documents I would have had a pretty sick feeling when I found that it was missing. You would be immediately trying to contact the bank to cancel your credit cards and then try to organise replacements for all your other documents I thought at least if the police contacted me and said it had been found intact 90% of my worries would disappear.
BB
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Friday 23rd of February 2024 01:12:28 PM
Possum3 said
01:26 PM Feb 23, 2024
Great to know there are honest people around. Well done.
yobarr said
01:34 PM Feb 23, 2024
Possum3 wrote:
Great to know there are honest people around. Well done.
x2
Craig1 said
02:59 PM Feb 23, 2024
well done BB
Are We Lost said
03:06 PM Feb 23, 2024
In hindsight, it may have helped to leave a note at the servo. Most likely the owner would realise the loss and if still in the area go back and check. If it was not there, maybe he would not bother with going to the police station.
The Belmont Bear said
04:55 PM Feb 23, 2024
Are We Lost wrote:
In hindsight, it may have helped to leave a note at the servo. Most likely the owner would realise the loss and if still in the area go back and check. If it was not there, maybe he would not bother with going to the police station.
Its not really a servo there is a small transportable shed on the site but it isnt always open its a 24hr self serve with a prepay terminal next to a bowser once the amount is approved you pump your own fuel. When we dropped in there on our way out to Broken Hill there was an old lady sitting on a plastic chair under a tree this time there wasnt anybody at all.
The police had more chance of contacting him on the road than I did they should have been able to get his phone number pretty easily from his QLD licence. Medicare card or even inform the bank that they had his credit cards and they would likely have contacted him.. I told the guy who was waiting behind what I had found and that I was going to drop it into the police station and he agreed with me that it was probably the only real option.
Thanks guys for the vote of confidence but I tend to believe that most travellers would have done something similar..I wouldnt be as confident of it being handed in if it had been dropped in the street somewhere.. in Broken Hill the police were patrolling through our CP both day and night due to the number of thefts.
BB
Whenarewethere said
06:08 PM Feb 23, 2024
I found a pair of trousers on the road, near the beach. There was a wallet including cash in the pocket. No contact details.
Took them to Manly Police. All I had to say was when & where I found them & leave my phone number.
Next day got a call from the pant's owner. Thanked me very much & said he was surprised there were honest people still about.
He had put them on the car roof & drove off. He was from the other side of Sydney, so big round trip to collect them.
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 23rd of February 2024 06:15:00 PM
Whenarewethere said
06:17 PM Feb 23, 2024
The most expensive item was a diamond core drill left on the Council strip Friday night. Monday morning went to a nearby building site... Has any lost a drill?
Eventually worked out an apprentice left it.
I had it our garage a few hundred metres away. The builder was very greatful to get it back & offered a box of beer. I refused!
I told him that it could have been a lot worse & the apprentice "lost his trousers", story, we had a good laugh!
oxleigh said
04:59 PM Apr 27, 2024
Just read this story and It reminded me of the time on one Christmas eve I was stopping at traffic lights and saw what looked like a thick wallet in the gutter just at the stop light post, I jumped out and picked it up, it was about 40mm thick with cash notes, I threw it on the passenger seat as the lights changed, when I got home We checked the wallet and found what we guessed would have been over 1 thousand dollars along with a licence, when I checked the phone book there was a number for the owner. I called the number and asked for the bloke, I asked if he was the person on the licence and some questions about the details, then I asked if he had lost anything, he answered n the negative, I asked if he had been at those traffic lights, he said he walked across the road there, then I said he should check his wallet, He started to sound upset and said he couldn't find it in his work bag. He was so happy i had found it. He wanted to get a taxi to come and pick it up but as he was quite a few Kms from me I said I would deliver it, it turned out it was all his holiday pay and that they had just had a new baby and they were traveling to his family by plane on Christmas day to Queensland to see family, He opened his wallet and offered me $100 which naturally I refused but he gave me a slab of beer instead, But unluckily I don't drink. Over the years We have picked up all sorts of stuff, handbags, wallets and money and jewelry and all have been returned to owners by some unusual miracles, and research, I would hope if it was reversed someone would do the same. Happy travels everyone and enjoy life.
We pulled into Wiicannia going from Broken Hill to Cobar earlier this week and I decided to top up the car at the self serve 24hr BP fuel bowser in the back street as it was 15c/ltr cheaper than the servo on the Hwy. its was one of those unmanned pumps where you set the amount and pay with your credit card before filling. After I had finished I saw a wallet on the ground hidden under the hoses so I looked inside and it contained cash, credit cards, drivers licence, Medicare care card and various business cards from the Cairns/Innisfail area. I couldnt find any phone number, I didnt know how long it had been there and I had no idea which direction the guy was heading. I thought the best option was to drop into tne Wilcannia Police Station and see if maybe they could contact him using his drivers licence or his medicare card info. Took me half an hour to finally raise someone on the call box at the station then another 45 minutes to write a statement and sign a declaration and then along with the officer empty the wallet and list exactly what we found which apparently was to cover ourselves from any accusations of wrong doing. Probably added an hour and a half to our trip but I was thinking if it was me who had lost my cash, credit cards and other documents I would have had a pretty sick feeling when I found that it was missing. You would be immediately trying to contact the bank to cancel your credit cards and then try to organise replacements for all your other documents I thought at least if the police contacted me and said it had been found intact 90% of my worries would disappear.
BB
-- Edited by The Belmont Bear on Friday 23rd of February 2024 01:12:28 PM
x2
Its not really a servo there is a small transportable shed on the site but it isnt always open its a 24hr self serve with a prepay terminal next to a bowser once the amount is approved you pump your own fuel. When we dropped in there on our way out to Broken Hill there was an old lady sitting on a plastic chair under a tree this time there wasnt anybody at all.
The police had more chance of contacting him on the road than I did they should have been able to get his phone number pretty easily from his QLD licence. Medicare card or even inform the bank that they had his credit cards and they would likely have contacted him.. I told the guy who was waiting behind what I had found and that I was going to drop it into the police station and he agreed with me that it was probably the only real option.
Thanks guys for the vote of confidence but I tend to believe that most travellers would have done something similar..I wouldnt be as confident of it being handed in if it had been dropped in the street somewhere.. in Broken Hill the police were patrolling through our CP both day and night due to the number of thefts.
BB
I found a pair of trousers on the road, near the beach. There was a wallet including cash in the pocket. No contact details.
Took them to Manly Police. All I had to say was when & where I found them & leave my phone number.
Next day got a call from the pant's owner. Thanked me very much & said he was surprised there were honest people still about.
He had put them on the car roof & drove off. He was from the other side of Sydney, so big round trip to collect them.
www.rd.com/list/most-honest-cities-lost-wallet-test/
Here is an interesting "lost wallet" experiment with surprising counterintuitive results:
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734141432/what-dropping-17-000-wallets-around-the-globe-can-teach-us-about-honesty
-- Edited by dorian on Friday 23rd of February 2024 06:15:00 PM
The most expensive item was a diamond core drill left on the Council strip Friday night. Monday morning went to a nearby building site... Has any lost a drill?
Eventually worked out an apprentice left it.
I had it our garage a few hundred metres away. The builder was very greatful to get it back & offered a box of beer. I refused!
I told him that it could have been a lot worse & the apprentice "lost his trousers", story, we had a good laugh!
Just read this story and It reminded me of the time on one Christmas eve I was stopping at traffic lights and saw what looked like a thick wallet in the gutter just at the stop light post, I jumped out and picked it up, it was about 40mm thick with cash notes, I threw it on the passenger seat as the lights changed, when I got home We checked the wallet and found what we guessed would have been over 1 thousand dollars along with a licence, when I checked the phone book there was a number for the owner. I called the number and asked for the bloke, I asked if he was the person on the licence and some questions about the details, then I asked if he had lost anything, he answered n the negative, I asked if he had been at those traffic lights, he said he walked across the road there, then I said he should check his wallet, He started to sound upset and said he couldn't find it in his work bag. He was so happy i had found it. He wanted to get a taxi to come and pick it up but as he was quite a few Kms from me I said I would deliver it, it turned out it was all his holiday pay and that they had just had a new baby and they were traveling to his family by plane on Christmas day to Queensland to see family, He opened his wallet and offered me $100 which naturally I refused but he gave me a slab of beer instead, But unluckily I don't drink. Over the years We have picked up all sorts of stuff, handbags, wallets and money and jewelry and all have been returned to owners by some unusual miracles, and research, I would hope if it was reversed someone would do the same. Happy travels everyone and enjoy life.