Son found some cash, now has to sell his xbox :-(

Post Reply New Topic

Well, last weekend my 17 yo son and his friend were at the store. When they got out of the truck they found a wallet on the ground. My son picked it up and opened it and there was no ID or anything but there was right at $300 in it. He wanted to take it in the store to give to the girl who owns it in case somebody came back, but his friend said nooooooo and took half of the money and gave him the other half.

Legally, yeah they can do that. But my son felt bad about it and he told the girl inside about it. Then they went and spent some of the money and all.

A few hours later the girl from the store calls him and tells him this one guy they knew came in and had lost his wallet with his paycheck in it. No ID was in it cause he had took it out at the bank to cash the check and stuck it in his shirt pocket. So my son told her that they split the money and to have the dude call him and he would give him back the half that he had.

He took everything back to Wal Mart and got his money back for all that and the rest of the cash that he had and he went up to the store and gave it to the dude. He was about $35 short and told him he would get it for him within the next few days, apologized because he felt bad about the whole thing and made sure he had the other boys number because that boy just fell off the face of the earth when he found out they knew whose wallet it was.

Now, my son's managed to get all but $15 of his half paid back and the dude has been calling the other boy and can't reach him. He's not trying to make my son pay back any more than the money he actually had, and he's furious with my son's friend for disappearing, as is my son. So, my son is wanting to sell the xbox knect that we got him last Christmas to go ahead and get the rest of the money for the guy. Not just the $15 he owes, but the whole $150 that the friend of his has! As nice as that is of him, I am ticked about the business of selling the xbox. That was his Christmas present from me last year! I told him NO, but he said that he feels responsible, even though he knows he's not.

He wanted to do the right thing to begin with, but his friend didn't and basically just took the wallet out of his hand, handed him half the cash and kept the rest and the empty wallet. The guy has been real nice to my son about it, cause he knows him sort of, but doesn't know the other boy from Adam. As it turns out, I was friends with that boys mother and he used to come over here with her when she would come to town and see me. They lived across from my oldest son's boss at his second job (crazy Bob who put in floors) and that son bought a go cart of his that his mother sold because she thought it was dangerous and wanted it out of her yard. His sister used to have a thing for my oldest son, but he didn't like her because she (like her brother and all of that bunch) has a pointy face.

Anyway, I think my son's sense of responsibility is blown totally out of proportion here. He does not need to sell his own stuff to pay back his friends debt. Not at all. I think he needs to just pay back the $15 he still owes (which ole dude ain't even in a big hurry for cause he does trust him) and tell him where the friend lives and step out of the situation.

I told him a few minutes ago that if he sells that xbox, I'm not buying him another good Christmas present like that ever again!

The Xbox360 sucks, so selling one isn't that big a deal. Just get a Nintendo Wii-U or PS3 some other time.

That isn't the issue. He's enjoyed it very much. The issue is that he is selling an expensive gift, that he enjoys using, to pay something that someone else owes.

Your son should tell the wallet's owner he's lucky that he got ANYTHING back.

I do have to wonder whether the guy is even telling the truth. Most people have some other identifier in their wallet such that if the ID was removed for some reason there would be other cards in there, no? Store cards or old photos or what have you? The fact that your son told the girl in the store, and then later a guy said the wallet was his, doesn't prove anything. I applaud your son's desire to do the right thing.

I'm proud of him for doing the right thing. The dude isn't pressuring my son for the money, if he did that then I guarantee you he wouldn't get anything back, but my son feels bad that his friend isn't doing anything to give back the money.

I just don't want him to sell the Xbox.

I am sorry OliveOilMom, I don't follow your posts much, but did you say that your son is on the autism spectrum at any point?
I have found this for myself and in the case of some other aspies as well, we seem to feel guilty about things that aren't even our fault. As a result, we may come across as too nice and people may take full advantage of this.

Oh, she didn't say anything to the guy. The wallet guy (lets call him Matt) had gone back to every store he went to that evening to see if he dropped it in there. He went in and asked if anybody found it. She asked for a description, and so he told her. Thats when she called my son.

Matt had told Cindy (store girl) that he had gone to the bank and cashed his check, and put his ID in his shirt pocket because he was in a hurry and about to need it when he went to buy beer. (They make you take it out of the wallet at the beer store) Matt works with Cindy's brother, and also his mother was a friend of mine.

The kid isn't but maybe 21 and doesn't have credit cards. He had a few business cards of people's in there, and the cash, but that was it. Cindy didn't go around asking about it, the guy came to her. So yeah, she didn't bring it up.

Trust me, nobody is going to go around asking "did you lose a wallet without an ID and with $300 in it?" LOL! Cause everbody you ask that to would have lost it!

I said I think he may be. He's got quite a few traits, ones that I especially recognize in myself. However he's never had social issues. He's very outgoing and has no trouble making friends.

I'm big about feeling guilty about things too though, so I know what you mean. He said that he just feels like a douche for not telling the store girl right away and telling her to hold on to that $150 to see if anybody claimed it. He also said he feels guilty for not just snatching it from his friend and handing it in and telling her to hold on to it for a few days in case anybody came back looking for it.

There's a very fine line between being a nice person and letting yourself be taken advantage of. This situation falls under the latter.

The situation sucks for the person who lost their wallet - but that does not mean your son needs to make him whole. He did the right thing by returning the money that he had - but selling his possessions to pay for something he didn't do is setting himself up to be taken advantage of - not by the man who he's giving the money to, but by his "friend" who is essentially sticking him with the bill.

He did nothing wrong - the man who dropped his wallet should not expect to see any of that cash again - and the fact that he got any of it back is something of a miracle. I've lost my fair share of wallets, and if someone has the courtesy of going out of their way to return it to me - in my mind they deserve whatever cash is inside of it, because they could have easily taken it anyway.

I think your son is missing the other point that selling a gift - while certainly done with the best of intentions - hurts the feelings of the person who gave the gift to him in the first place.

lol no. Especially Wii. There's NOTHING I really care to play on Wii.

Your son did the right thing returning the money.

I don't think he should sell his xbox.

He did what was right, you can't always control what others do.

Try convincing him that he just needs to pay back the other 15 bucks only?

If that doesnt work and your son is convinced that he has too pay back his friends money, consider giving something thats worth that amount, and give it to the guy?

As far as I know the XBOX 360 or XBOX is worth more then $150

So what finally happened ???

Get better friends. Seriously, if his friend took half the money and is now refusing to pay it back, then that's his problem and not your son's. I'd have him tell the guy the truth, that out of the $300 half he used and half he gave to his friend, and tell the guy exactly who his friend is and how to get in touch with him. They can hash it out themselves for the remaining $150, and as far as his friend getting upset goes, it sounds like he's an untrustworthy person anyways since he was the one who insisted on keeping the money.

If anything, your son should give his "friend"s name to the guy and say, "this is the guy that spent your $150 - I hope you can convince him to give it back."

I know what it's like to have a good heart taken advantage of... just be sure to use the soft touch to try and convince your son. HE DID HIS PART! The heavy-handed approach probably won't work on him.