Dear Kally,
I’m writing in confidence, hoping you will help me. I don’t mind publishing this out however, I must remain anonymous until I decide my next steps otherwise there would be bad consequences for me.
Beginning of this year, I made a mistake in one of my clienteles’ account. Instead of purchasing 15 worth of goods, I made the error of placing 51 worth of goods for them. When my client realizes my mistakes, he threatened to tell my company. You see, my family depends on my income and in the last few years, my dad has become sickly, piling up heavy medical debts that I alone couldn’t have cleared it, if not for the company’s assistance.
My client now wants undisclosed cost price of the current and future new goods from me in exchange for his silence. I have all the information at hand and no one will know if I pass on these pricing to her. I know it is not right but I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to risk my job and getting deeper in debt.
My final decision was to turn my client down until yesterday, my youngest sister told me she was accepted and given a place into one of the prestigious school in our city and she is going to start school in the next semester. I really don’t want to burst her bubble by telling her I won’t be able to afford her fees if I lose my job. I can’t confide in anyone so please help me.
In fact, you are already helping me by hearing my ramblings. So thank you!!
Yours Truly,
Erwan A
Dear Erwan,
I am sorry to learn that you have the whole world on your shoulders and you are sagging from the weight of the burden. Without your current problem, I can tell you are already struggling to make ends meet.
Yes, the last thing you need is to be fired from your company. However, do weigh the consequences if you go ahead and reveal the confidential information from your company. That alone is considered fraudulent and it is a crime in many countries. To lose your job, you still able to find another one, be it tougher in this economy but to lose your freedom, should you be charged by the court of law.
I would be honest and tell your boss the mistake you made but also let the company know that you are being blackmailed into revealing sensitive information as well. If there are enough evidence, your company can choose to take legal actions against the client of yours. But because this is your job and this situation has heavy consequences, I urge you to consider carefully. You may wish to consult a private lawyer to see what your next steps are.
With regards to your sister’s education funds, I believe the school will have programs such as scholarship to apply for if her results are great. She should have a talk with the school administrators soon, regardless of the decision you make.
I wish I can advise you more but at this point of time, you need to clear your head rather than to be bogged down with suggestions. Look deep into your heart and conscience, you will do the right thing. If not, you wouldn’t have written to me at all.
Take care, my friend.
Regards,
Kally@MiddleMe.net
MiddleMe 
I second you Kally. I would rather loose job and find another one than being suffocated by blackmail and do unethical things..
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Very true.. If you succumbed to blackmail, you’ll never know when it will end
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Yes. Money u can again gain but imagine the amount of mental stress u have to undergo
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No question! An honest mistake you can live with. Don’t dig a deep, deep hole. You’ll carry that for the rest of your life.
Do the right thing and leave it in God’s hands.
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The deep deep hole is probably the one he can’t climb out from. Thanks for the advice.
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He’s in a tough spot.
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Perfect and professional advice for someone who seems so young, you are wise! 🙂
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Thank you so much!! I’m not very young anymore. Haha.
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Professional advice as always kelly. I would rather lose my job than my freedom. if I were in this guy’s shoes I will have confronted my manager since day one about my mistake thus not allowing the client to take advantage of me.
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In this case, I totally believe honesty is the best policy!
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Agree with Kally and the people above! All the best for Erwan and good luck in making a decision what feels right for you.
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Let’s keep our fingers crossed for him and hope he chose the right path.
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Well done you! Never compromise your morals xxx
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Thanks, Daisy!
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Life presents us with hard decisions and compromises, hoping that we will step up and trust that there is one greater than ourselves that is watching over us and will help us sort it all out if we make the right choice.
We can always see the right choice if we are not intimately involved. When we are in it though, it seems more difficult.
You gave the right advice Kally. I hope the recipient has the strength of character to receive it.
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The same hope I have for Erwan as well. It is up to him to pull this through.
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Good advice, especially the honesty part. Boss needs to hear it from you first. If you compromise on principle, you will always be suspect. Let the boss deal with the client, if necessary. That’s what bosses are for.
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Good wisdom.. I do hope he takes your advice too.
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It’s true..another mistake doesn’t make it right, is that make sense? Feel sorry for him as everybody can make mistakes.
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That makes a lot of sense
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One mistake is risking to become two….
Your advice is the best, Kally!
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Awwww… You’re nice!!
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Kally this consultancy thing you got going on is amazing
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Thanks, James!! So glad you are enjoying yourself here.
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I agree. Fessing up to your employer about an honest mistake carries far less risk than collusion with an unethical client. With the light of honesty, many problems reduce in size, and solutions can be found. With dishonesty, problems, even small problems, grow beyond proportion.
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Very true.. It’s scary how someone would resort to blackmailing. It is best he confessed rather than to be under someone’s thumb.
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