So a buddy of mine has a very peculiar problem.
The company he worked at for years terminated him this summer.
But every two weeks, as regular as clockwork, his paycheck arrives in the mail. That's right: every 14 days, they send him a check. Just as if he was still in the plant. Doin' his job. But he ain't. They know that.
"How much money are we talkin' about?" I ask.
"Would you believe 10 grand so far?" he laffs.
He puts each newly-issued payroll cheque in a desk drawer.
"I want to see how long it takes them to discover they've screwed up," he claims. "They'll go bananas! Heads will roll!"
"Is it a computer sending you payroll cheques?"
"No!" he sez. "Each cheque has been hand-prepared. Each one has TWO original signatures of company pay execs! It's totally nuts!"
"Cash them all!" I urge. "Let them try to get the money back!"
He just laughs.
"I always figured the execs never knew what I did when I was there," he sez. "It's no surprise nobody's noticed I'm gone. But, duh! What does that say about me, Dunf? I'm kinda insulted. Still, it's such a hoot. I can't wait to see how it turns out."
"You could call your old company," I laugh. "Beg them to stop."
"To hell with that," sez bud. "I don't work there any more. Why is that my responsibility? To solve their screw-ups? Beg them to stop sending me money? Who fired who? Let it ride, baby! Let it build til it blows!"
So if you were my buddy, would you...
(a) call the company to helpfully point out they're idiots
(b) cash all the cheques immediately
(c) ask your buddy to put it on his blog and solicit advice?
He's chosen C. What would you do?
2 comments:
I would invest it in a savings account. Make some money off their money. When they ask for the money back, pay them what was issued. I would of course photocopy each cheque first.
Can you say free money? Over a month, with enough saved in the savings account, you might have enough for a lunch at Tim Horton's. Who said there was no such as a free lunch?
I'd pick (D) - keep throwing the payroll cheques in a drawer to see how many the company can send before detecting the error. Any attempt to cash or deposit the cheques would prove intent to defraud. But let Dunf know the final cheque count for another blog on corporate mismanagement.
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