I learned my lesson: won't be leaving my stuff unlocked anymore.
What would his lesson be if I offered him money for something he stole from me? He's not going to get punished, but I don't think rewarding him is the way to go.
Crappy evening made crappier
- Thread starter Erci
- Start date
I learned my lesson: won't be leaving my stuff unlocked anymore.
What would his lesson be if I offered him money for something he stole from me? He's not going to get punished, but I don't think rewarding him is the way to go.
Believe in Karma mate, what comes around goes around. I would still pursue it with the Police. Any CC-TV cameras where you parked?Had my backpack stolen out of my car this evening, in the grocery store parking lot. I live in a really nice area.. have lived here for over 10 years. I rarely lock my doors and when the weather is nice I leave my windows down. So.. yeah, obviously my fault for inviting trouble.
The only valuable item in the backpack was my brand new Droid RAZR M (about 2 weeks old).
So I get home and call Verizon. They deactivate the stolen phone and reactivate my old Samsung Galaxy S (which I switched out because it was locking up 2 times a day).
Here is where it gets *funny*. As soon as the phone is activated, I get a phone call from unknown #. It's showing location as a not-so-nice town about 20 miles from me. So I can only guess whoever stole my phone started calling his friends and they're returning his calls. As soon as I answered, the caller hung up.
Shortly after that, I got another call and this time a girl asked for "Andrew".. "sorry, Andrew is not here right now, but I'm actually looking for him myself. Can you tell me where I can find him? Oh and how did you get this #?"
Girl: "Oh he called me from this number 20 minutes ago. He lives (and gives me his address.. it's a rooming and boarding house about 10 miles from where I live)". Tried to get his last name from her, but at this point she caught on and hung up.
And this is where it gets crappier:
I call my local police and tell them the story. The lady tells me to come in and file a report. I go to police department and tell the lady "I have the suspect's name and address". The lady asks me to write down my name, address and phone #. Once done, she says "ok.. have a seat and we'll get an officer to come out and talk to you".
I can see 2 officers standing just behind her having a chat.
10 minutes go by and I walk over to the window. I say nothing.. just look through the glass. A minute goes by and she turns to me and says "the office just got an emergency call. We're trying to get someone out to you".
The 2 officers behind her are still chatting and giggling. Another 15 minutes go by and I've had enough. I walk over to the window again. The lady who talked to me twice is 3 feet from the window, but this time, she doesn't even turn around. The other, far meaner looking lady looks at me and says in a very hard voice "yes?"
"I just want to let you know that I'm going home. I had a long day. I don't want to spend my whole evening here".
Lady in a hard voice again: "That's your choice"
Me: "I know. Thanks very much and have a good night".
Serve and protect.. well done!!
*sigh*.. the end
Nelly
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2008
- Messages
- 9,644
- Reaction score
- 160
- Points
- 63
- Location
- Ipswich , Australia (+10 GMT)
Sorry to hear that man Hope you can recover your gear somehow....
Hope you can recover your gear somehow....MG-242
Member
Sorry! Thieves suck!
Is car insurance or home owners insurance an option for compensation?
Is car insurance or home owners insurance an option for compensation?
FIZZER6
The Angry Blue Mantis
Probably, if you want to pay a deductible that is likely higher than the phone is would cost to replace.
Called car insurance. They won't cover it. My home insurance deduct is too high to even bother asking them. Good ideas though! :thumbup:
So I rode to the address the girl gave me, this morning.
It's a crystal shop. Single story building. I'm guessing she's used to calling him on a stolen phone and has her story solid without having to think about it.
It's a crystal shop. Single story building. I'm guessing she's used to calling him on a stolen phone and has her story solid without having to think about it.
ccew
Junior Member
Yeah that just sux. Too bad you couldn't set up a buy annonymously and just take it back.
Anyway, i admire your handling of the insensitive interaction with the police. I could use some of that. I get frustrated easily....too easily, when it comes to others' lack of basic consideration.
Purely from a financial standpoint for you. You mentioned something like $350 to replace it, $175 on Ebay? Offering &75-$100 to get it back, he may or may not go for it. You're not going to be able to change his habits, he will most likely steal again whether you buy it back or not.
I'm sorry Erci! My guess is that your phone has already been sold or dropped off into one of those "cash for phones" kiosks at the mall. It's a bummer, but I doubt it will slow you down for long.
The thing about the police...I'm glad you didn't waste any more time and got on with your life. :thumbup: Life is too short to let others ruin your peace of mind.
The thing about the police...I'm glad you didn't waste any more time and got on with your life. :thumbup: Life is too short to let others ruin your peace of mind.
- Joined
- May 8, 2008
- Messages
- 14,996
- Reaction score
- 1,162
- Points
- 113
- Location
- San Diego, Ca.
This is a good question! Maybe your comprehensive would cover it without the deductible?
pookamatic
Junior Member
Didn't read the whole tread but I'll add my condolences. Bummer. I'm generally trusting and often will leave my car unlocked, helmet hung on lock but not engaged, etc. Been lucky thus far, but I don't do these things for extended periods of time.
For the police... I'm not condoning their behavior... it was crappy the way they treated you. However, from their perspective, an emergency call trumps a stolen backpack. This is especially true in a strapped economy when everybody is trying to do the work of 2, 3, or more people. Still doesn't excuse them for the way they treated you and from the story, it sounds like they weren't all that busy. A simple, "We're not going to be able to work on your case until x" would have cost them nothing and not put you in a further bad mood.
For the police... I'm not condoning their behavior... it was crappy the way they treated you. However, from their perspective, an emergency call trumps a stolen backpack. This is especially true in a strapped economy when everybody is trying to do the work of 2, 3, or more people. Still doesn't excuse them for the way they treated you and from the story, it sounds like they weren't all that busy. A simple, "We're not going to be able to work on your case until x" would have cost them nothing and not put you in a further bad mood.
Se7enLC
Nerd
I assume you didn't have any specific tracking apps installed, but did you know about Android Device Manager? It's a built-in service now, not sure what version is required.
Also Location History if you turned on location reporting.
Some of the better security apps let you remotely operate the mic and camera. I almost hope my phone gets stolen just for the justice of finding them and busting them for it.
Also Location History if you turned on location reporting.
Some of the better security apps let you remotely operate the mic and camera. I almost hope my phone gets stolen just for the justice of finding them and busting them for it.
Last edited:
I asked them few days ago, Cliff. They won't cover any personal property. Only car stuff. Good thought though!
Thanks for the ideas, Jeff! Yeah, I screwed up. Well.. so did Verizon. They should have KNOWN that all new androids have built-in tracking. I specifically asked the operator and was told there is no such thing. Only iPhone can be tracked
So when I view location history, I can see where the a-hole traveled to (general direction), but once I asked verizon to pull the plug, history ends.
I've made my peace with it. It's not coming back. No more leaving doors unlocked or windows rolled down.
edgeofnj
Junior Member
sorry about your loss. +1 on the android device manager. if it's registered on your account, maybe you could at least perform a remote wipe & lock. it should work if he happens to be online (e.g., wifi).
Based on history, phone has not been online since I had Verizon flag it stolen.
