Q&A: An Israelite’s Mistake
An Israelite’s Mistake
Question
A student’s parent (who is well-off) gave me a gift card to a certain store. It said on the envelope that it was for $20, but when I paid at the store, the cashier returned the card and said that there was still $25 left on it ($45 total).
The question is whether someone here made a mistake and I am obligated to return it or report the remaining money because of an Israelite’s mistake, or whether I can use it and assume that only the amount written on the envelope was mistaken.
Answer
I think it would be proper to ask. If he intended $45, what do you lose? He’ll confirm it. And if not—then this is an Israelite’s mistake.
Discussion on Answer
The law of a penny is the same as the law of a hundred, and there is no difference between a store and a supermarket. In my opinion you need to return a mistaken overpayment / pricing error. However, if the law obligates them, then halakhically it is permitted. Beyond the letter of the law, it is still proper to return it, because it’s just a mistake.
I mentioned the size of the chain for the moral aspect.
If it’s permitted according to Jewish law, why do you think it’s still proper to return it?
Like any case of going beyond the letter of the law, where halakhically it is permitted but morally it is proper to return it. What’s unclear here?
I thought that the size of the chain, together with the legal requirement, makes taking advantage of the mistake completely morally acceptable. After all, the chain’s loss is utterly negligible, and it’s reasonable that the owners don’t care that in each such rare mistake the customer comes out ahead.
It’s money that belongs to them, and therefore in my opinion morally it is proper to return it.
At most you could say that they have given up hope of recovering it, but even a lost item after such resignation is still proper to return. To say that the owner actually wants you to keep it seems unreasonable to me.
Does the same apply in a supermarket that priced a product by mistake at a lower price than intended?
I should note that according to the law they are usually obligated to sell at the displayed price (there are exceptions that I don’t remember).
This happened to me a few days ago. Morally speaking, of course, if it were a neighborhood grocery I wouldn’t take advantage of it. But we’re talking about a chain worth many billions.
I’d be happy for an answer. Thank you very much.