Is this stealing?

[ComputerGeek25]

Hi all,

Say one goes to a store where payment is based on an honor system. Said person buys some goods and leaves. Several hours after the fact (and quite a drive later), said person realizes he mis-counted the goods bought and paid $3 less than was needed. This was totally unintentional, and said person thought he counted right. Said person will send them the rest of the money owed by mail.

This is probably a venial sin, at worst, right? Reason being it was totally uintentional at the time, the amount of money short was $3, and the money owed was eventually sent in a reasonable amount of time…

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

On what basis would you consider it even a venial sin? You made a mistake and you have rectified it.

 

[bilop]

Accidents are not sins. You attempted to pay, and miscalculated.
No sin.

God Bless

 

[CreatioNova]

Sounds like a genuine honest mistake. I can’t see any fault in that - but then you went further than many would, and rectified it immediately and sent the money on.

By doing so, you have probably restored several strangers faith in human nature

I would say not only no sin, but a wonderful example to many

 

[lynne06]

A slight variation on this topic that Iive been wondering:

Say you went through the checkout in a regular store, and a coupon or price adjustment or something like that was accidentally done incorrectly by the cashier. You realize that you end up paying less for your order than you should have. Is it sinful if you don’t mention it? You did not intend to steal in the first place…my thought would be that it depends on the amount. Thoughts?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

A slight variation on this topic that Iive been wondering:

Say you went through the checkout in a regular store, and a coupon or price adjustment or something like that was accidentally done incorrectly by the cashier. You realize that you end up paying less for your order than you should have. Is it sinful if you don’t mention it? You did not intend to steal in the first place…my thought would be that it depends on the amount. Thoughts?

Would you say something if you were overcharged by the same amount? Probably so. Then it works the same way if you’re undercharged. I would point it out to the checker.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

It is not a sin, simply pay them the three dollars next time you visit.

 

[Pax_Vobiscum_57]

I’ve gotten out to my car, realized there was an item I didn’t pay for, and took it back into the store.

On the other hand, I was behind a couple at a U-Scan machine on Friday, and they walked off without paying for their stuff. Over $100. There’s one cashier having to watch 6 or 8 machines, and I guess they saw an opportunity for ill-gotten gain. The cashier began crying, and I gave her my name and telephone number if she needed it for her boss. So far, I haven’t heard anything.