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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
John Jones

Man applauded for good deed after finding money left in Asda cash machine

If you found a bank note on the street, or some loose change left at the bottom of a self-service till, what would you do?

Many of us would probably pocket it for ourselves - that is, if the owner is nowhere in sight and the opportunity to reunite them with their cash has passed.

But one man has set a good example for the rest of us by doing the admirable thing in that very situation, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Read more: Mum left stunned by note on car windscreen after Christmas shopping trip

After finding some money left in a cash machine inside the Asda in Birkenhead North, the man handed it into the cigarette counter in case they came back, despite the person who left it behind nowhere to be seen.

Posting on Facebook in the hopes of finding the owner, he wrote: "If you left your money at the cash machine at Birkenhead North Asda today (December 2) at 12ish ... I handed it into the cigarette counter in Asda. They were going to log it in their book.”

The man’s actions soon went viral online, and people commenting on his post were quick to praise him for his good deed.

"Well done for being an honest person," wrote one person, while another added: "You have restored my faith in human nature. Well done.”

A third said it was "great to see honest people," and another person commented: "Well done, nice to see there are still some honest people."

However, others insisted that the man should have left the cash where it was, as cash machines often retract the money and re-credit the account that it came from.

They wrote: "Better to let it go back into the machine as it gets credited back to account," to which the man replied: "I thought that, but also thought leaving it might have seen it taken by someone else?"

"This way the Asda team will make sure it gets returned to the account."

According to Link, the UK's largest cash machine network, ATMs will usually wait a few seconds before retracting the cash and re-crediting your account.

However, if you don’t get your money back, you should get in touch with your bank or building society.

Link said: "They can check your account and if necessary, contact the ATM operator. If possible, try to have the following information to hand: Where the ATM was, the date and time you tried to use the ATM and the amount of cash you tried to withdraw."

Millions of pounds are withdrawn from cash machines every week, though, according to data collected by Link, the number is falling.

In 2016, a record high of over £3 billion worth of transactions was recorded, but with the rise of contactless payment, that figure halved to £1.5 billion in 2020 - an amount lower than what was withdrawn during 2001.

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