I once stole something by accident, but then was too scared/embarrassed to take it back.
I returned a large item to a warehouse and enlisted the help of a friend. we pulled up in my van and my friend said he would start unloading if I went to stake a place in the queue for the returns desk. I waited in line for about 10 minutes whereupon he showed up again with the box on a trolley. It was about 30 minutes before we shuffled up the line to the desk. I then transacted my return and got my refund. The box was wheeled away by a warehouse drone and we returned to the van. I dropped off my friend at his flat and went home. The following day I opened up the back of the van to find... the box I had returned the day before. I began to think I had dreamed the previous day's activity, but I checked my wallet and there was the return slip. How? Why? WTF?

I called my mate and he said rather sheepishly, "err sorry, it was my fault...". It turns out that because he couldn't lift the box out of the van single handed, he had just wandered into the warehouse and waltzed out with another example of the same hardware and gone direct to meet me at the returns desk. His theory was that they could just scan the code and we could then get the original one from the van together. Fine in theory, but being a bit absent-minded, he forgot to tell me plan, and after half an hour of chatting in the queue he had completely forgotten that the box we had was not the one from the van.

So... dilemma time. Do I own up and face the prospect of being accused of stealing, or sit tight and wait to see if the OB to fetch up at my front door?

What would you have done?
( notoolsovernight you're all luvvly an' 'orrible, Thu 7 Nov 2013, 15:44, 1 reply)

Taken it back.
I'd have turned up and dropped it on the loading bay out back as though I belonged there then left them to check the inventory.
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Thu 7 Nov 2013, 18:35, closed)