Do I Have to Speak Up if Someone Fails to Cash My Check?

Three times in the last month I have been the beneficiary of administrative errors that, if they stand, will save me thousands of dollars. I’m a bit pinched financially at the moment and would like to think it’s the gods smiling on me, but I wonder about my ethical obligations.

Situation 1: We receive gas and electric services from the same utility company. The most recent bill showed only the electric charges and said that the gas account had been terminated, with no explanation. But we’re still getting gas, free. Before this, the company had been estimating our gas bill — on the high side, I believe, because they incorrectly claimed they couldn’t access the meter. Do I need to inform them of their error?

Situation 2: For the second time in the last year, our landlord has not cashed our monthly rent check. The first time I reached out to let her know, and she said she couldn’t find it, and I sent a new check. (The check is mailed by the bank, and it’s highly unlikely that she didn’t receive it.) They’re nice people but apparently have enough money that they don’t notice the missing rent. How many times am I obliged to correct their oversight on this?

Situation 3: I mailed my car-registration renewal to the D.M.V., and the check was sent back with a note that said they couldn’t locate that registration. The next day I received the new registration. But the check for $194 was never cashed. It’s a bizarre occurrence, and I’m not sure I could sort it out if I wanted to, but it seems similar to the situations above in that I am receiving something that I didn’t pay for. — Name Withheld

From the Ethicist:

You’ll have to ask a lawyer about the legal implications here, but the ethical situation strikes me as pretty straightforward in each of these cases. You owe the utility company for the gas you’ve used, whether or not you were sent a bill. An honest person would alert them to their screw-up. You owe your landlord the rent. An honest person would point out that she failed to deposit your check. And the same goes for the D.M.V.: An honest person would tell the department that your check hadn’t been deposited.

A good starting place, in other words, isn’t the question of what your duties are or what the consequences will be; it’s the question of what kind of person you want to be. Still, prudence and principle are aligned here. If a check hasn’t been cashed, the other party could take the position that you never sent it and are in default. You don’t want your gas cut off. An undeposited check can be a hassle too: You’re liable for the funds of that check — you can’t freely spend the money it represents — and then, if it eventually becomes stale-dated (which often happens after six months), you’ll have to write a new one.