Gary Warner wrote:

Friday Ethics Question:

I ordered parts worth over $1000 to make a trailer. When we went to pick
them up one of the parts, a brake actuator, worth about $135 was the one we
ordered but not the right part for the job. The company agreed that there
was no way for me to know this was the wrong part and agreed that they
should have know and advised us. They gave us a refund for the incorrect
part and said they would ship - at their expense - the correct one.

Yesterday a package arrived with the replacement part and another item we
had ordered. They paid the shipping, as they said they would, and they
charged us for the new item. But they did not charge us for the new
actuator.

So the basic question is: If a company sends you something and forgets to
charge you, do you tell them? And even more telling, WHY?

Many companies have great customer service policies. I have dealt with
some who have sent me parts for free, just as a thanks for using their
products (Bennett Trim tabs comes to mind). This could be something like
that. But I would call first to ask if that was their intention.
Certainly, it would be easy to take the attitude that "they screwed up,
and it's in my favor", and take it to the bank. But those little
"oopses" eventually add up, and usually result in cost increases over
the board to cover them. But if you were willing to pay in good faith to
begin with, this should not be such a difficult decision.

Honesty - it's not just an obsolete concept.

Dave