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found gift card

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tower9

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CA. About 2 months ago i found a $300.00 major bank visa pre-paid gift card. The card has no name on it & i have checked the balance on & off for 2 months. $300.00 is still the balance. If i use the card will i get busted ? I will have to sign the store receipt & the card doesnt have a pin number. Its a visa pre-paid gift card thats not reloadable.
 
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justalayman

Senior Member
If somebody has the number of the card and reported it lost or stolen, you may get caught and quite possibly end up in jail.

Found money is not your money. It belongs to somebody and that somebody is not you. Turn it in to the bank or the police.

anything else is stealing.
 

JustAPal00

Senior Member
If somebody has the number of the card and reported it lost or stolen, you may get caught and quite possibly end up in jail.

Found money is not your money. It belongs to somebody and that somebody is not you. Turn it in to the bank or the police.

anything else is stealing.
I second this. If it's not claimed, then it should be yours to do as you please. Believe me, $300 is not worth the risk of getting cought.
 

tower9

Junior Member
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
 

ErinGoBragh

Senior Member
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
If you try to use it, and it's flagged as stolen- it will come up as such, and you can be arrested.

If you feel the risk is worth a measly $300, please, go right ahead.
 

Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
Finders-keepers is not a legal theory. You only get to keep property that has been abandoned. You can't keep property that has been lost or mislaid.

California has laws regarding lost property. I suggest you locate them and read them.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
if you are going to go ahead and steal the money, why are you even here asking about it?

Oh, keeping cash you find on the ground is also illegal so yes, in that manner, the gift card is just like cash.
 

JustAPal00

Senior Member
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
Look, you very well may be able to get away with it. But is the risk worth it? If you've already got a criminal history and another charge on the record is no big deal to you, then getting cought with stolen property might not be a deterent. I personally find it hard to believe that a person would lose a $300 gift card and not call Visa. If it were lost and that happened, Visa could easily just cancel the card and issue another. However if the card had been stolen, I could see them working with the local police and just flagging the card to help catch the thief. If the later is the case, you will be in big trouble. If you contact Visa or the local police on the other hand, and the card hasn't been reported lost or stolen and the owner doesn't come foreward to claim it, then it truely is a case of finders keepers. It's your choice, you came here for legal advice.

On the moral side, how could you do that? That may have been some kid's Christmas present. I continue to be let down by the selfishness of people. In case you're wondering, I did have to make the same choice once, only it was for a lot more money and it was cash. It was claimed by an elderly woman who would have lost her job had I not returned the days deposit for the business she was working at.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If the card was reported lost or stolen then the card would be cancelled by the bank. Gift cards are just like cash. Its been over 2 months & the full balance is still available. Finders keepers.
Fine - then turn it in to the police and wait the appropriate time. If no one claims it, it's yours. Had you done that 2 months ago, it would likely be yours NOW.
 

tower9

Junior Member
If a gift card is stolen the issuer will cancel the gift card. I checked the balance today. Its still 300.00. Its been over 2 months now. I found the card on a supermarket parking lot.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If a gift card is stolen the issuer will cancel the gift card. I checked the balance today. Its still 300.00. Its been over 2 months now. I found the card on a supermarket parking lot.
so what do you want? You aren't going to get blessings from anybody here to steal another persons money so do what you want and live with the consequences.
 

tower9

Junior Member
If a gift card is lost or stolen & reported to the bank its then cancelled. Its been almost 3 months & the 300.00 is still available. I have found cash laying on the ground in the past (100.00, 20.00 & 10.00) & i have spent it. Where does it say its illegal to spend cash you found on a public lot like walmart or even on the street ?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
If a gift card is lost or stolen & reported to the bank its then cancelled. Its been almost 3 months & the 300.00 is still available. I have found cash laying on the ground in the past (100.00, 20.00 & 10.00) & i have spent it. Where does it say its illegal to spend cash you found on a public lot like walmart or even on the street ?
in the statutes of the germane state.
 

Mass_Shyster

Senior Member
Where does it say its illegal to spend cash you found on a public lot like walmart or even on the street ?
CA CIVIL § 2080 - 2082

§ 2080. Duties of finder

Any person who finds a thing lost is not bound to take charge of it, unless the person is otherwise required to do so by contract or law, but when the person does take charge of it he or she is thenceforward a depositary for the owner, with the rights and obligations of a depositary for hire. Any person or any public or private entity that finds and takes possession of any money, goods, things in action, or other personal property, or saves any domestic animal from harm, neglect, drowning, or starvation, shall, within a reasonable time, inform the owner, if known, and make restitution without compensation, except a reasonable charge for saving and taking care of the property. Any person who takes possession of a live domestic animal shall provide for humane treatment of the animal.

§ 2080.1. Delivery to police or sheriff; affidavit; charges

(a) If the owner is unknown or has not claimed the property, the person saving or finding the property shall, if the property is of the value of one hundred dollars ($100) or more, within a reasonable time turn the property over to the police department of the city or city and county, if found therein, or to the sheriff's department of the county if found outside of city limits, and shall make an affidavit, stating when and where he or she found or saved the property, particularly describing it.
 

KnownOne

Member
Sorry I'm a few days late posting this,

...except a reasonable charge for saving and taking care of the property.
Does this mean that for any and all property found, a "reasonable" charge (greater than $0.00) may be issued to the owner before the return of the property? If so, I can't wait to employ this in my daily routines (I'm surrounded by careless people losing stuff all the time :D).
 
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