Moral issue? Found a phone - should I keep it?

Found a phone in the cab home friday night. Finders keepers I thought and plonked in my sim-card. I also though it sucks losing all your contacts, so I'm gonna phone orange tonight about the poor fellas sim-card so he can get it back.

Anyhow, today the phone shuts off cause the headset is blacklisted according to orange, so the fella reported it stolen i guess. That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered

Now that means I have a phone reported stolen, that isn't stolen... but I still have a stolen phone... am I morally wrong here to keep it? Or should I just get one of those dodgy geezers on oxford st to wipe it and un-blacklist it?

Wouldn't you want your phone back if you lost it?

Hand it in, its going to be useless to you. Whilst the Oxford Street boys can unlock it for use on any network, they can't un-blacklist the phone's IMEI number - every handset has one of these and it's totally unique. You'll feel better about yourself if you hand it in - most phones are free if you get a contract/upgrade anyhow...

i'd give it back but then people are always saying i'm too nice!

think of all the lovely karma that would come your way.

"That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered"-you don't know that.
i find in situations like this its best to put yourself in the other guys position...how would you feel?

Hey

One point of view:

(1) I once drunkenly left an uninsured LG Shine in the back of an unlicenced cab outside noted Clapham shithole, Inferno. I'd acquired it that very day, and it would've made my day if the guy that found it had given me a call (he didn't, of course).

(2) legally the position is that if you can trace the owner, this is theft (from the owner). Even if you can't trace him, it's still theft from the taxi company, but, like, who cares about them anyway?

yeah i know i -should- hand it in, but I'm trying to bank on the finders keepers thing here, and the fact that I need a new phone

ah well, if it wont work ill hand it in. Does that work though, will orange really sort out so he'll get his phone back?

"the fella reported it stolen i guess. That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered"

What bollocks is that? He reported it stolen so muppets like you can't ring up bills on HIS phone. It doesn't mean it's insured.
I lost my phone and never saw it again. I reported it missing, phone around, filled out the black cab lost forms, etc. It wasn't insured and it wasn't returned to me. That's cost me £hundreds.
Why would you even consider this?! Where did you learn right from wrong? Hand the fscking phone in.

aidan "That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered"-you don't know that.
i find in situations like this its best to put yourself in the other guys position...how would you feel?

no, i don't know that, hence my wording. Anyhow, I'll hand it in on my way from work, the karma argument wins again :)

Alway do the right thing, that way you'll come back as a bicycle riding uber being not a skanky chav...
Ducks.

hand it in.

1 it helps a random guy out.

2 you will get in trouble if your caught with a reported stolen phone.

hippy "the fella reported it stolen i guess. That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered"

What bollocks is that? He reported it stolen so muppets like you can't ring up bills on HIS phone. It doesn't mean it's insured.
I lost my phone and never saw it again. I reported it missing, phone around, filled out the black cab lost forms, etc. It wasn't insured and it wasn't returned to me. That's cost me £hundreds.
Why would you even consider this?! Where did you learn right from wrong? Hand the fscking phone in.

owwwwww!

hippy "the fella reported it stolen i guess. That probably means he'll get a new one on his insurance, so he's probably covered"

What bollocks is that? He reported it stolen so muppets like you can't ring up bills on HIS phone. It doesn't mean it's insured.
I lost my phone and never saw it again. I reported it missing, phone around, filled out the black cab lost forms, etc. It wasn't insured and it wasn't returned to me. That's cost me £hundreds.
Why would you even consider this?! Where did you learn right from wrong? Hand the fscking phone in.

cheesus

i'm not using his sim card, i got some honest bones in my body, not all of them though, don't think many of us have

I'll hand it in, that's decided. I'm still curious though if orange will actually arrange for him to get back

ihatelaw - doesn't the taxi company only have a claim to it if they posted a sign or otherwise expressed their intention to own lost property? therefore if he can't trace the original owner (which in this case you can) it wouldn't be theft...

glad you decided to hand it in though.

Hand it in.

My Mrs found a phone, called the owner who turned out to be from Uzbekistan. He was so happy that the next time he went back home he brought her a present from Uzbekistan, some biscuits or something.

Circle of life and all that.

No question. Hand it in.

Next thing people will be 'liberating' bikes left unattended for 5 mins.

tomasito

Next thing people will be 'liberating' bikes left unattended for 5 mins.

uhm, allright i stepped in the shit first here, but come on that's not really comparable is it? It's not like the owner dropped the phone in front of me and i picked it up and left

kboy uhm, allright i stepped in the shit first here, but come on that's not really comparable is it? It's not like the owner dropped the phone in front of me and i picked it up and left

This is true, but how hard would it have been to find 'Home' in the phonebook and given the fella (or lady) a call to say 'Hey, I just found your phone, want to come pick it up from me?'

If you have to ask the question, you already know that it's wrong..

hand it in, it's bad Karma if you don't.
i lost my phone on a mtb trail in the alps, french walker found it and answered my call and after getting a waitress to speak to him (in french) i picked it up from his hotel. left him ten euro for a beer, i would have been fooked without my phone as i needed to stay in touch for work.

turpe [quote]kboy uhm, allright i stepped in the shit first here, but come on that's not really comparable is it? It's not like the owner dropped the phone in front of me and i picked it up and left

This is true, but how hard would it have been to find 'Home' in the phonebook and given the fella (or lady) a call to say 'Hey, I just found your phone, want to come pick it up from me?'[/quote]

yes, correctemundo, should've done that, will do next time. Will also write me a note to think twice next time before asking people for moral guidance here as it's asking for a shitstorm being regularly moral bout things...

sorry for ranting, but i sensed the shitstorm while typing but thought it'd be interesting to hear your opinions. Now I know and i've bettered myself

I'll call off the monkeys..

Nicholas If you have to ask the question, you already know that it's wrong..

ill pass by the church on my way home to get some confession action

i have lost so many phones, i only ever got one back. dropped it in the pit at a ska show, this girl chased me down outside and gave it back.

kboy [quote]Nicholas If you have to ask the question, you already know that it's wrong..

ill pass by the church on my way home to get some confession action[/quote]

You can do what you like.

Nicholas [quote]kboy [quote]Nicholas If you have to ask the question, you already know that it's wrong..

ill pass by the church on my way home to get some confession action[/quote]

You can do what you like.[/quote]

again, sorry for ranting, just got way more shit for this then I thought

now off to pub, via orange store (that probably will be closed so will have to go back tomorrow) to return phone.

I promise to report any bad luck I have on the way since my karma balance been rocked, or any good for that matter. Oh and hey, I do feel better deciding to give it back, karma works, cheers all!