WA News

'I squealed like a school girl': Freo man on hunt for Good Samaritan

A Fremantle man wants to find the Good Samaritan who returned over $2000 cash after he left it in an ANZ bank machine just before Christmas.

Zim Wither had just wrapped up nearly a months' worth of odd jobs before the holiday period, and was looking to deposit his earnings at his local branch.

He stopped by the ANZ branch on Cantonment Street in Fremantle on December 23 at around 2pm and deposited the cash into one of the ATM machines.

"I was feeling impatient and pretty frustrated and I double-parked in a bus stop in a hurry," Mr Wither said.

"I ran in and deposited my money, and then left.

"But then I woke up at 3am with a really sick feeling in my stomach, and I checked my bank balance.

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"I realised what I'd done, I was so disappointed in myself... I couldn't go back to sleep then."

Mr Wither attempted to contact his local bank, but the Christmas-period meant the branch was shut until early January.

"It crushed my spirit... I was absolutely deflated," he said.

Mr Wither waited out ANZ's holiday-period patiently, despite having -$30 in his account for nearly two weeks.

"I couldn't do any Christmas shopping or food shopping... this year has been a really big financial battle for me," he said.

"[Earlier this year] I bought a ute, and bought my parents tickets to Europe to celebrate their anniversary... but then I lost my job and I've been battling since then.

"This money was literally three to four weeks pay from different jobs all around the city, like contracting, labouring and a bit of photography."

Eventually, Mr Wither was able to get in contact with his ANZ branch to ask what he could do about his missing money.

While the teller said there was nothing the bank could do, she mentioned that someone had walked into the branch on December 23 and had handed in quite a large amount on the same day.

When Mr Wither said just how much it was he had lost, the reaction was immediate.

"I squealed like a school girl," he said.

"And in the background [of the phone call] I could hear them all squealing too."

Mr Wither has since claimed his month's worth of wages, but wants to personally thank the Good Samaritan that handed in the cash.

"It's quite important for him or her to know that this year has been crazy," he said.

"I can't afford to do too much for them, but I'd love to give them a small token of appreciation.

"This means so much to me."