Philosophy Now Forum

Hi everyone,

So here is a real life situation. I've got a new job as an education councilor, in a C-level career college. It turned out that my job mostly consists of collecting tuition payments. A week ago an international student came into the office saying that he gave me 2K in cash and it was never credited towards his balance. We did not issue any receipts on cash payments at that point, I would simply make an entry in the ledger and take an envelope with cash to our accountant, writing the name, date and student number on the envelope. There is no entry on the ledger for that payment or that amount (I thought I could have credited it to another student by mistake), there are no discrepancies in the accounting balances. There is no evidence that the payment was ever made, however the student does seem to be quite certain about the fact the transaction took place. I don't remember the payment and when I think I have vague recollection I'm not sure if this is something that happened or something the better part of me wants me to remember.

There are following scenarios to consider:

1. I've made a mistake by not putting his name on the ledger and then accounting made a mistake not noticing they had excess cash. They double-checked and found nothing.
2. Somebody took the cash knowing it was not added to ledger accordingly (all premises are video-monitored, although the recording was erased because it was old, it would be impossible for a thief to determine when exactly the discrepancy would be discovered, they would have to take cash knowing they're caught on camera)
3. The student is a great actor and transaction never took place (I think he is too naive for that, although he is a bright kid)
4. The student remembers something that never happened and he genuinely believes that transaction happened (like people remember alien abductions) although this is not the case.

It is my first month at work and it is possible that I have made a mistake. Although there are too many contradictions in his story (he wasn't sure about a week or even a month of his payment, wasn't sure about who was present at the office, etc) 2K is a lot of money for that kid and it gnaws me because I know that nobody in administration wouldn't really care.

I can lend his some money but chances are I'll have difficulties getting it back from him, his financial situation is already quite difficult.

If I was to do that, to what extent would you rely on someone else's memory in a situation like this ?

Do you know the exact day (and hour) the transaction was made? Where did you put it in your computer, in a database? does it has dates? That's nearly a rule when you do transactions. (So is giving a paper, but...).
You can check that day and all transactions in that day, if you made a mistake, it should be there.

You should try to make a whole story (both of you), in a paper, with details. Where did he get the money (from the bank, or from under his bed), etc, all what you both remember, then, you can go to police. I don't have your memory, I don't know your life or his life, so I can't give a real good advice in this, only... keep searching for the money a little more (a little better). And of course, improve your system.

sajgak wrote:The student is a great actor and transaction never took place (I think he is too naive for that, although he is a bright kid)

He's not that bright, because only a moron would give someone $2000 in cash and not demand a receipt--at least a handwritten, signed note from you (or whoever he gave it to) that $2000 in cash was received.

If I was to do that, to what extent would you rely on someone else's memory in a situation like this ?

I wouldn't rely on memory.

This isn't, per se, an "ethical" situation -- at least, not primarily. The reason is that the terms of the dilemma are not clear to any of the participants, and one definite prerequisite for moral decision-making is an adequate understanding of the real situation. So it becomes like a sum in which none of the actual values of the symbols are known, like % + @ = &. Its ethical status is unclear until the values % and @ are defined...you can't tell whether or not they equal &.

What it is, is a practical debacle. The fault is in the record-keeping procedures of the registrar's office, which might indeed be so incompetent as to be unethical. My suggestions would be that this is unlikely to prove to be an isolated case, unless the registrar learns how to do his or her job in a properly accountable way.

Meanwhile, the reason for keeping precise and exhaustive documentation is so as to be able to trust it. Absent that documentation, all bets are off: you cannot know whether or not you are doing an injustice to the student.

My advice would be this: let the kid have his way, because the fault that creates the dilemma is in the registrar's office. Even if he's being dishonest, it's the fault of the registrar that opportunity exists for him to do that. Eat this one, but fix the procedure for keeping records immediately.

That is no way to run finances.

If there's no record on either side of the transaction, and the books reconcile, then the student is shit out of luck.

Best thing to do: roll the whole nasty situation 'up stairs', let the higher ups deal with it.

Mebbe too: get your resume in order...you might be job hunting soon.

And: not seein' how you're obligated to fork up a dime for the guy.

Immanuel Can wrote: Eat this one, but fix the procedure for keeping records immediately.

Agreed, fix the system. "Fool me once, my fault. Fool me twice, your fault."

If there's no entry in the ledger, no one in the office can remember the money being paid and the accountant has no record of receiving that amount around the relevant time, then it probably never happened. But Henry is right, you should start looking for another job, just in case.

sajgak wrote:Hi everyone,

So here is a real life situation. I've got a new job as an education councilor, in a C-level career college. It turned out that my job mostly consists of collecting tuition payments. A week ago an international student came into the office saying that he gave me 2K in cash and it was never credited towards his balance. We did not issue any receipts on cash payments at that point, I would simply make an entry in the ledger and take an envelope with cash to our accountant, writing the name, date and student number on the envelope. There is no entry on the ledger for that payment or that amount (I thought I could have credited it to another student by mistake), there are no discrepancies in the accounting balances. There is no evidence that the payment was ever made, however the student does seem to be quite certain about the fact the transaction took place. I don't remember the payment and when I think I have vague recollection I'm not sure if this is something that happened or something the better part of me wants me to remember.

There are following scenarios to consider:

1. I've made a mistake by not putting his name on the ledger and then accounting made a mistake not noticing they had excess cash. They double-checked and found nothing.
2. Somebody took the cash knowing it was not added to ledger accordingly (all premises are video-monitored, although the recording was erased because it was old, it would be impossible for a thief to determine when exactly the discrepancy would be discovered, they would have to take cash knowing they're caught on camera)
3. The student is a great actor and transaction never took place (I think he is too naive for that, although he is a bright kid)
4. The student remembers something that never happened and he genuinely believes that transaction happened (like people remember alien abductions) although this is not the case.

It is my first month at work and it is possible that I have made a mistake. Although there are too many contradictions in his story (he wasn't sure about a week or even a month of his payment, wasn't sure about who was present at the office, etc) 2K is a lot of money for that kid and it gnaws me because I know that nobody in administration wouldn't really care.

I can lend his some money but chances are I'll have difficulties getting it back from him, his financial situation is already quite difficult.

If I was to do that, to what extent would you rely on someone else's memory in a situation like this ?

Nothing here seems credible.
Why would you even think that a payment of 2K would not be memorable. How many cash payments are made? Not many I imagine. You would have counted it out, and It is doubtful that you'd have forgotten that.
CCTV films are deleted as "old" in a week? I think not. What sort of antiquated system do you have; video tape?

Does the student typically carry around 2K? Surely he withdrew that amount on a particular day from a bank, and would have a record of that transaction and know the day?

sajgak wrote:Hi everyone,

So here is a real life situation. I've got a new job as an education councilor, in a C-level career college. It turned out that my job mostly consists of collecting tuition payments. A week ago an international student came into the office saying that he gave me 2K in cash and it was never credited towards his balance. We did not issue any receipts on cash payments at that point, ...

Seriously!!!? I think you mean a Z-level career college.