I was at Dunkin Donuts with some friends and I left my purse on the back of the chair. 60 miles on our way to Orlando later, I realized I didn’t have it and my friend called the store to see if they found it. They said no, they didn’t have it. We pulled over and I checked the trunk and with other people we were travelling with. No purse, so my friend called again and was told that yes, they did have it. She gave the phone to me to verify the contents and my identity, and the woman said, “No, I’m sorry but we *don’t * have it”. Apparently one of their employees, a male, gave my purse to another male. He didn’t verify the contents, or verify the owner of the purse. By the time we called, his shift was over and he’d left. There was no manager on duty, and they weren’t going to call one to have him call me. Then I was hung up on.
I drove back to the store and had the local police meet me. The patrolman spoke with the one woman who could speak English, as the 3 other employees he tried talking to claimed not to understand him. He took my report, told me to follow-up with the detective the next day. I’ve spoken with her and it hasn’t gone anywhere. She hasn’t spoken to the manager or anything. I’ve called again today with no answer or call back.
What’s the best thing for me to do? Do I keep calling the detective, or will that just annoy her? Should I consult with a lawyer? I have no hope of getting my purse back, and it was my fault for leaving it behind, but I’d like to see some action taken to try to recover it.
Was your cell phone in the purse? Ditto checkbook, credit cards, etc.? First, cancel service to all of them, and then track any activity that’s taken place since your purse disappeared. Cell phone records in particular can help you (or police) track down the person who stole it if they’re dumb enough to use it.
Yes, I’ve cancelled my credit card and had my phone service shut off. I verified the last transactions on the card and there was no activity after it was taken.
I’d like to press charges, or at least do something. The cop who took my report said that I may have a civil case against DD because they didn’t take “reasonable care” with my purse and could be liable. He could have been blowing smoke for all I know…I’ll have to talk with a lawyer about that.
They got away with my phone and my digital camera with an extra battery. Because the value of everything was over $300, it qualifies as a grand theft case. I don’t know if that makes any difference from being reported as lost/stolen property, but I’ll just keep calling the detective. She has to pick up sometime!
That sucks, and I’m really, really sorry. I know what it feels like to have something like this stolen or taken. It’s a huge invasion of privacy and it makes you feel violated. My car has been broken into a few times, and my ex-girlfriend’s purse was stolen from our table while we were sitting at it! But that’s not the point.
The point is… forget it. I know it seems like you need to do everything you can and keep calling the detective until the bad guys go to prison, but all you’re going to do is annoy the detective and keep her away from solving rape cases or something. The first time my car was broken into, the cop basically said “this is what insurance is for. Let it go.” It sucked, but I appreciated his honesty.
You’ve admitted it was your careless mistake to leave the purse. It sucks, but chalk it up to an expensive lesson learned, have a beer, and try to forget about it.
This kind of thing makes me so angry. I had my handbag stolen from the staffroom where I used to work a few years ago. Good luck trying to get everything sorted.
I had a similar thing happen to me–I left my wallet on a cafe table, a good samaritan gave it to the counter people and thn some scumbag walked up and said, ‘I left my wallet’ and without checking the id inside to verify (I am female, I even have id to prove it ;)) they gave it to him. So the story went when I returned ten minutes later to get my wallet, realising I had left it behind.
I really wish I had thought to call the police and file a report. I was just so frustrated and hopeless since it had all my money for the week in it (this was before credit cards were accepted everywhere and I had a local bank’ atm card that often just stopped working at other atms) and had been supposed to travel the next morning to see my grandparents in the next state over. This was not money I could afford to lose, yet I had forgotten my wallet at the table. A second to check the id was all it would have taken, but they didn’t (or participated in the theft). At least calling the cops and having them come and filing a report would have emphasized the seriousness of the error(?) and would have made me feel a little less helpless. It sucks.
Similar thing happened to me. I left my wallet at a restaurant, called and left a description and my phone number. They called me back later and said they had it. When I went to go get it, it was gone.
My mother also had this happen to her. She left a gift on an airplane, called and was told they had it and were holding it for her, but when she went to claim it, it was no longer there.
Well, it helps to know I’m not alone! Thanks for the stories.
I left another message with the detective today, and still nothing. I’ll give it a few more days, and if nothing happens I’ll try the cop I dealt with directly, the patrolman who took my report. Maybe he can help update me.