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How is there even a question about this? Keep it!

You want them to not lose money correct?
It will cost more for them to pay shipping and processing to get it back than itll cost um to make a new one. Keep it. You will be lowering their costs, and helping them out. Rationalization at its finest point, when it is based on logic and not feelings, ie betrayal on the part of customers.

Honestly, I would contact them about it, and find out if they do want it back. Chances are high that they gave you the extra one as a gift. If not, then chances are high they may just give you it anyways out of good will. If they ask you to return it, ask them to cover the shipping and give you the steps needed to send it back, and do so.

 chromedog wrote:
Yeah, well, that's like your opinion, man.

We're just gonna have to disagree on this. We're never going to see eye-to-eye on it.

It's not just an opinion. It's law. If you dishonestly appropriate something belonging to another person, with the intention to permanently deprive them of it then that is theft. Plain and simple.

So if you keep some extra stuff that FW put in the box by accident, and have no intention of keeping it, it's stealing. Now, would a reasonable person assume that FW intended to put two items in the box? Or would the reasonable person assume that to be a mistake? Would the reasonable person take steps (such as a simple email) to find out if that extra item had been included accidentally?

If you really believed that the extra item was a free gift, then fine. Go about your business. But the OP clearly didn't believe that. He even stated that he thought it was a moral dilemma because he believed it was not intentionally sent to him. To then keep it is dishonest, and theft. For something small, like a chicken nugget, it's not a big deal. But I doubt the OP would have created this thread for an extra shoulder-pad or servo-skull. I may have missed it, but I don't think the OP ever actually said what the extra item was, but I believe it to be of significant value. This ties into the further charge of 'theft by finding' where an item is found, and reasonable steps to find the owner are not made. Reasonable is variable, and often relates to the ability to find the owner and the value of the item. It's not reasonable to drive four towns over to return a dollar coin, after you realised the cashier gave you too much change. It's not reasonable to drive back to McDonalds after finding an extra chicken nugget. But it is reasonable to email Forgeworld to find out if the extra item in the box was intended or not. Who decides what is reasonable? Well, that's what we have judges for.

Either way, it is morally reprehensible to believe something to be given to you in error, and to keep it anyway.

 Kaldor wrote:

 chromedog wrote:
Yeah, well, that's like your opinion, man.

We're just gonna have to disagree on this. We're never going to see eye-to-eye on it.

It's not just an opinion. It's law. If you dishonestly appropriate something belonging to another person, with the intention to permanently deprive them of it then that is theft. Plain and simple.

Hardly anything, in practice, is plain and simple in the law. The English Theft Act has pages of clarification of the various terms in that basic definition, some of which actually shed light on this situation. Notably:

2“Dishonestly”
(b)if he appropriates the property in the belief that he would have the other’s consent if the other knew of the appropriation and the circumstances of it; or

“Belonging to another”.
(4)Where a person gets property by another’s mistake, and is under an obligation to make restoration (in whole or in part) of the property or its proceeds or of the value thereof, then to the extent of that obligation the property or proceeds shall be regarded (as against him) as belonging to the person entitled to restoration, and an intention not to make restoration shall be regarded accordingly as an intention to deprive that person of the property or proceeds.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/crossheading/definition-of-theft?view=plain

Basically, I think that there are two strong arguments that keeping a mistakenly sent item is not theft. First, as GW customers we would have a reasonable belief that FW would simply let us keep it. Second, the item was received by mistake, and there is no clear obligation for the customer to return it.

So if you keep some extra stuff that FW put in the box by accident, and have no intention of keeping it, it's stealing. Now, would a reasonable person assume that FW intended to put two items in the box? Or would the reasonable person assume that to be a mistake? Would the reasonable person take steps (such as a simple email) to find out if that extra item had been included accidentally?

Well, if you are talking morally, I think a lot of people would try to find out what they should do with it. But under the law, inaction is rarely the source of criminal or civil liability.

If you really believed that the extra item was a free gift, then fine. Go about your business. But the OP clearly didn't believe that. He even stated that he thought it was a moral dilemma because he believed it was not intentionally sent to him. To then keep it is dishonest, and theft.

I'm not sure it's either. You could argue that it's immoral, but aside from lying to himself, who is he deceiving? I suppose it's theft in the broadest sense of "getting something that isn't yours," but you have to assume a moral duty to correct the errors of others, which is a pretty big step.

For something small, like a chicken nugget, it's not a big deal. But I doubt the OP would have created this thread for an extra shoulder-pad or servo-skull. I may have missed it, but I don't think the OP ever actually said what the extra item was, but I believe it to be of significant value. This ties into the further charge of 'theft by finding' where an item is found, and reasonable steps to find the owner are not made. Reasonable is variable, and often relates to the ability to find the owner and the value of the item. It's not reasonable to drive four towns over to return a dollar coin, after you realised the cashier gave you too much change. It's not reasonable to drive back to McDonalds after finding an extra chicken nugget. But it is reasonable to email Forgeworld to find out if the extra item in the box was intended or not. Who decides what is reasonable? Well, that's what we have judges for.

Again, not quite. Theft by finding is just that: you find something, and don't determine if it is abandoned (with rejected ownership) or lost. The OP knows who the owner of the property is. By definition, you cannot be guilty of both theft, and theft by finding, in the same action.

Either way, it is morally reprehensible to believe something to be given to you in error, and to keep it anyway.

I actually had to look it up, but technically reprehensible simply means deserving censure or condemnation, and so you are correct. I'm still not sure I'd call something like this reprehensible, but that's a matter of style.

Whatevs.

AFAIK, I just treated it as a hypothetical - as I don't BUY FW stuff so it can't ever happen to me.

Honestly, I'd call them up and give them a polite heads up, but stress the fact that the second model is definitely miscast. They won't want a miscast back, but if you tell them it's miscast and offer to send it back if they pay shipping, it's all yours, guarantee, and your conscience is 100% clear. You haven't lied, you offered for them to correct their mistake, and you should be fine. I know it's too late, as you already kept it, but that should have been the correct action.

I was dealing with a company that sent me a replacement product before asking me to return the defective product. In these situations, it's best to be honest. You don't want to make a company distrust its customers. That doesn't do anything but hurt the product, and prices.

Just be honest. I know it's hard, and you may have to spend money to ship it out, but morally, you'll be making the right decsion.

I personally would shoot them a quick e-mail to contact them about the shipping mishap, and ask them if they care to do anything about it. But that's just me.

Now, saying that, I completely expect them to tell you just to keep it. With what little it actually it costs them to make a model, versus what you paid for the original, their shipping fee and the time for an employee to even care about the oversight would be more than what they lost shipping you an extra model accidentally.

LOL how did an extra miscast model get turned into an allegory for homophobia and theft? Seriously? The company fethed up. End of story. There's no moral dilemma here. You paid for something with the reasonable idea that they would get it right. They didn't. He didn't defraud anyone or lie to anyone.

I love all the bs armchair moralizing from some of these posts.

And I love people with no sense of morality whatsoever. If it isn't yours at the very least offer it back to them.

I can't believe people are whinging on about 'taking advantage of a company'.

Any corporate entity goes out of it's way to pay less then it's fair share of tax, makes sure to provide it's staff with as little pay and as fewer benefits as possible, GW in particular goes out of it's way to rip you off at every turn, and it's every action is designed to take more money than what you are receiving is worth.

Rip them off by all means. They're doing it to you specifically when you buy the models, and society in general through 'legal' corporate policy.

It's funny how us little guys are educated to be 'moral'...whilst our benighted leaders bomb whom they please with abandon, and our corporate friends use their power to avoid paying appropriate taxation. That being 'morally' appropriate, which is what we're discussing.

Keep it. I would.

So, your argument is 'somebody else doesn't do it right therefor I don't have to'? Sounds like you're making excuses to do what you'd do anyway, without the facade.

I had a similar issue half a month ago.
I had bought and received a set of Cataphractii Terminators with a special weapon pack and a power fist set.
The Cataphractiis where heavily damaged, some of them even partially melted.
Send them back and 3 weeks later I received a new set which was perfectly cast. No mold lines, no bubbles nothing at all.
But inside the ^box was a sprue with 3 additional Cataphractiis.
I phoned them and asked if they wanted them back but I made clear that I was not willing to pay the reship costs.
Long story short I have a new set of Cataphractiis with a Chapter master in Cataphract Armour, a Chaplain and a ^Librarian.

Moral thing to do? Contact them and see if it was a mistake.

Immoral thing to do? Contact the internet and try to find justification for the action you've already taken.

Keeping something you didn't pay for isn't something I see as a moral issue. It is a LEGAL issue, pure and simple.

It's only a moral issue if you see the "laws of god and man" as the same thing.

I don't have a belief in god, so there are ONLY the laws of man.
No moral issue, period.