116) Counterfeit
Business at Ballard’s Stationers was going through a rather hard time. The supermarket in the shopping complex was stocking more and more stationery and at more competitive prices than we could afford to offer. They bought in such large quantities they could negotiate better deals with the suppliers than we could. At the beginning of each school term they would have big “Back to School” specials and many of their prices were lower than Di Ballard could get from the wholesalers that she had dealt with for many years. There had to be some restructuring of the business so Jim, the accountant, was made redundant. Di did all the bookkeeping herself and I took over the job of doing the banking that Jim had done before.
When I got into the shop in the morning I would count the previous day’s takings and make up the bank deposit slips so that when Lois came in at 1 o’clock I would be ready to take the money to the bank before I went home. One day when I went to the bank the teller counted the money and without saying anything left his desk and went to an office at the back. He came back and said that the R200 note that I had tendered was a counterfeit. I was stunned; I had not actually taken the note from the customer it must have come in during the afternoon when Lois was in charge. I had to admit that I had thought it was rather strange that the note was so dirty and creased as two hundred rand notes had not been in circulation for very long and this one looked pretty old. I asked the teller what I should do about it and he said that he thought I should go and have a good meal in a restaurant with poor lighting. But after his little joke he advised me to report it to the police. Not that he thought that they could do anything about it but he thought that they might like to know that there were fake bank notes circulating in the area. I went to the police station and got pretty much the same reaction there. The young police officer on duty told me to put a big bet on the favourite in the weekend race meeting but he did ask if I would inform all the other shop owners in our complex to be on their guard.
When I told Lois she was very upset as she felt guilty but both Di and I assured her that we would have been fooled too, she was not to blame. I took the note and went into each shop in turn and asked if they would change it for me. I went to the hairdresser next door, then the sewing shop, the coffee shop, the gift shop, the toyshop, the chemist and the supermarket. Without exception they all took it and said, “Yes”. So then I pointed out that it was a fake and they were all very surprised. I suppose that as they all knew me and trusted me they were less likely to be suspicious but once I “confessed” they all said that if it had been handed to them by a customer they would have accepted it too. At least this made Lois feel a bit better. Di Ballard was very understanding and did not expect Lois to repay the money. She took the note and I never saw it again. I often wonder if she and Geoff went out for a meal or maybe to the bookie with it.
When I got into the shop in the morning I would count the previous day’s takings and make up the bank deposit slips so that when Lois came in at 1 o’clock I would be ready to take the money to the bank before I went home. One day when I went to the bank the teller counted the money and without saying anything left his desk and went to an office at the back. He came back and said that the R200 note that I had tendered was a counterfeit. I was stunned; I had not actually taken the note from the customer it must have come in during the afternoon when Lois was in charge. I had to admit that I had thought it was rather strange that the note was so dirty and creased as two hundred rand notes had not been in circulation for very long and this one looked pretty old. I asked the teller what I should do about it and he said that he thought I should go and have a good meal in a restaurant with poor lighting. But after his little joke he advised me to report it to the police. Not that he thought that they could do anything about it but he thought that they might like to know that there were fake bank notes circulating in the area. I went to the police station and got pretty much the same reaction there. The young police officer on duty told me to put a big bet on the favourite in the weekend race meeting but he did ask if I would inform all the other shop owners in our complex to be on their guard.
When I told Lois she was very upset as she felt guilty but both Di and I assured her that we would have been fooled too, she was not to blame. I took the note and went into each shop in turn and asked if they would change it for me. I went to the hairdresser next door, then the sewing shop, the coffee shop, the gift shop, the toyshop, the chemist and the supermarket. Without exception they all took it and said, “Yes”. So then I pointed out that it was a fake and they were all very surprised. I suppose that as they all knew me and trusted me they were less likely to be suspicious but once I “confessed” they all said that if it had been handed to them by a customer they would have accepted it too. At least this made Lois feel a bit better. Di Ballard was very understanding and did not expect Lois to repay the money. She took the note and I never saw it again. I often wonder if she and Geoff went out for a meal or maybe to the bookie with it.
posted by MC at
7:27 pm
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