Thread: Hypothetical question on integrity

I think legally they are not bound to stand by such an error so you would be liable to pay up (not 100% sure on that one- definitely the case with advertised prices). Ethically, it would be dependent on a few factors- for instance, if it was an honest tradesman who had done a good job at a fair price, turned up on time etc I would treat it differently to 99% of the trades I have experienced who price gouge and do the absolute least they can get away with for the most they can get. In those cases, 'sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windscreen'. If, say, you had been surprised how low the bill was and it turned out they had forgotten to bill the materials that they had supplied, of course you should pay up.

If, after a long, hard look, it was ascertained to be a genuine error, I'd pay, especially if it concerned a small business.

If it was clear to the customer that there was a accounting error, which in this case it seems to be, because said customer is 'laughing all the way to the bank' then said customer is a scumbag and needs to recompense with all haste.

Originally Posted by BigJon

If you had some sort of work done, be it on your house, car, boat or whatever and paid the bill at the end of the work, what would you do if the service provider contacted you later and pointed out that their itemized bill contained an clear error / computer glitch and you still owed money for the work?

Would you pay the difference or would you laugh all the way to the bank?

Just pay the bill, I am pretty sure that IF the bill was wrong in the service providers favour the bill would be questioned.
This is exactly the same as someone giving you extra change at the supermarket and if you have a problem with handing back the extra money given to you by mistake then 'Hypothetically" there is something drastically wrong with a persons Moral Compass.

I've had it once or twice. Once I told them a shop they had undercharged me and they then tried to give me the product for free. It was Big W or target in Perth. Saucepan set was scanned at $50- price was a lot more. Something to do with scanning code of practice. I did not want the money back and they did not want the correct amount from me The same happened with a home brew kit before I paid- Free Beer!

At work I bill people for visits to their Doctor and at times for rather expensive travel vaccines which I stock and pay for. More than a fe honest people have point out that they had the vaccine and we had not asked ( or been told) the doctor have given them the vaccine. My losses for charged vaccines and similar stuff is very very low. On the other side of it we do not charge pensioners kids or health care card holder to visit their Doc. Its not that uncommon for us to find out later that a new person fitted the health care card or pensioner category. I refund the money even though not legally required to do it.
Unless something seemed very unreasonable, for genuine mistakes I would pay extra.

Hi,
Yep! Honest pay for honest work.
That way it won't come back and bite you.
Cheers

If I knew that the work was done, and done to my satisfaction - I would pay it myself.

Pay, low act otherwise.

Clearly the money would be set aside to pay the full amount.

Some people have no moral compass.

How do you justify to yourself not to pay? Luck?