Bank error in your favor When Richard went to the ATM,he got a very pleasant surprise. He requested £100 with a receipt.What he got was £10,000 with a receipt – for £100. When he gothome, he checked his account online and found that, sure enough,his account had been debited by only £100. He put the money in asafe place, fully expecting the bank swiftly to spot the mistakeand ask for it back. But the weeks passed and nobody called. Aftertwo months, Richard concluded that no one was going to ask for themoney. So he headed off to the BMW dealership with the heftydown-payment in his pocket. On the way, however, he did feel atwinge of guilt. Wasn’t this stealing? He quickly managed toconvince himself it was no such thing. He had not deliberatelytaken the money, it had just been given to him. And he hadn’t takenit from anyone else, so no one had been robbed. As for the bank,this was a drop in the ocean for them, and anyway, they would beinsured against such eventualities. And it was their fault they hadlost the money – they should have had safer systems. No, thiswasn’t theft. It was just the biggest stroke of luck he had everhad.

Discuss the following questions:

1. As a moral agent, evaluate the action of Richard? What shouldhave he done after finding out the mistake? Why?

2. Does he have a moral and civil liability or responsibility inhis actions? Can you consider his action stealing? Why? Whynot?