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London taxi driver re-unites jaw-dropping £15,000 left in black cab to grateful owner
A London taxi driver found a jaw-dropping £15,000 in the back of his cab which he managed to re-unite with its rightful owner.
According to the Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association (LTDA) one of its members, a cabbie called Matt, was left breathless after finding a bag containing fifteen bundles of £1,000 in used twenty-pound notes sitting on the floor of the segregated passenger cabin.
The cabbie picked up a man in the Paddington area and travelled to a location 15 minutes away near South Kensington. After the gentleman paid by card and left the black cab, the driver realised that a bag had been left behind.
It was at this point that Matt opened up the bag to find the cash amounting to £15,000. After catching his breath and working out it could only have been left by his last fare he travelled home and immediately called the police to report the find to them.
The police provided Matt with a reference number as confirmation he had reported the find and instructed him to take it to ‘Lost Property’ the following morning. According to the LTDA the cab driver had a ‘sleepless night’ knowing that enormous amount of money was in his house.
Early the next morning, the cab driver was contacted by his card payment company asking if he had found the cash. After confirming the find he spoke directly to the owner of the cash to arrange a meet up to hand the cash back.
The cabbie insisted on doing the handover in a Police Station, due to concerns about knowing nothing about the man and what business he was in that would require carrying £15,000 in cash.
That same afternoon, Matt met with his South Kensington customer at the Police station to hand back the cash. The relieved owner thanked the cabbie for his honesty and rewarded him with £500 for his time and troubles.
On being questioned by the police about where the money had come from the owner of the cash claimed he was a professional gambler, the £15,000 was the man’s stake money.
Lloyd Baldwin, an LTDA Executive, said: “As a cab trade rep, I cannot be prouder of Matt, who after finding this huge amount of cash made sure it was returned to its rightful owner within 24 hours.
“I tip my hat to you Matt, and we at the LTDA are proud to have you as our member.”
