Lost my wallet in a taxi

PDLM · 20-12-2009, 11:09 AM

Frankly, if no-one answers it when you call then you aren't getting it back. The taxi lost and founds charge several hundred dollars just for putting out the radiocall (and in any case shifts have changed by now and so on), and I don't think I've ever heard of anyone getting a phone back that way. Even if you have a receipt with the taxi number on it the driver is very likely to deny all knowledge.

What happens when you call the phone?

Dreadnought · 20-12-2009, 02:42 PM

My experience with leaving personal belongings in taxis:

- Whatever it is that you have left in the taxi is not yours anymore, so let it go.
- Do not bother with the radio broadcast, as you will just lose more.

I have twice left a wallet behind. Both times I filed a report with the police. Both times I called and paid for a radio broadcast, and both times I posted a HKD 500 reward for returning the wallets, with or without the cash inside them. Never heard back from either the cops or the taxi company. I am not bitter about it, that is just the way it is.

A friend left her laptop in a taxi and never got it back. My girlfriend left her mobile phone in a taxi and also never got it back. They had both followed the above procedure.

Unless there is another way to go about this, you are pretty much left with having to come to terms with letting go of whatever it is that you have lost.

Of course, it is not all that hopeless. There have been instances I know of in which people have been lucky enough to have their belongings returned to them after having left them in a taxi:

- A good samaritan got into a taxi after my uncle left his phone inside. The gentleman called the last-dialled number and reported the phone lost. He then went back to the place my uncle got off the taxi (where he got on) and returned the phone. He also refused when offered to be re-imbursed for the taxi fare.
- My girlfriend left her shopping bag in a taxi on Wyndham St. and the taxi driver got out, walked over to her, right up to the doorstep of a restaurant she was entering and personally returned the bag to her.

Note that, on both occasions, the time lapse between lost-and-returned was absolutely minimal. I think that is the key.

Indeed the world would be a much better place if there were more selfless people like that around.
Posted via Mobile Device

wtbhotia · 20-12-2009, 02:52 PM

It all depends on the next person who gets on the taxi. Usually the drivers cant see behind and wont know if anything is left there unless its huge.

As PDLM says, try ringing the phone, if it go straight to voicemail or an ansewring tone" The person you have dialed is busy" etc then assume the phone has been turned off and your sim card thrown away, most likely but the next passenger.

Katiedot · 20-12-2009, 06:57 PM

It makes more sense to blame the next person who uses the taxi for unreturned items than the taxi driver. If you leave something small like a phone or wallet in the back seat, chances are the driver won't even see it.

hong kong pearl · 20-12-2009, 07:02 PM

When I call it the phone it rings but no one picks up. I called this taxi lost and found hotline and they said they would send out a radio dispatch and call me if they find it ... on the plus side they didn't charge me for this. On the negative side they haven't called me back. I have come to terms with my loss ... I know what I'm getting for Christmas now anyway!

dipper · 21-12-2009, 10:27 AM

I'm pretty absent-minded so I get lot's of practice in this sort of stuff and my experience has been that I usually get things back that I lose in a taxi (I reckon 4 out of the 5 times I've done it). What has usually happened is that when the driver has noticed he drops it off at the nearest police station and the police find my business card, a receipt in my bag etc, give me a call and I go and pick it up.

I also left my phone in a bar and they called the first few people on my call register and so I had people e-mailing me all day saying "Hey, dipper, you've left your phone in xxx bar."

I did leave my Canon DSLR and lenses on the MTR once and they dissapeared between getting off, realising and hopping back on again (it was the last stop, at HK station).

Whether I get things back or not, clearly it's nobody's fault but my own for being such a dumb schmuck in the first place.

BlueValentine · 21-12-2009, 02:17 PM

Had a heart breaking experience a couple of years ago. My brand new (a day old) mobile phone slipped off my coat while I was getting off the taxi and I realized it as soon as I entered my house. I immediately dialled my mobile number and was overjoyed to get a reply. But, it proved to be short lived when the moron on the other side pretended as if he didn't understand the language and disconnected the phone!! I tried calling the number several times but it was a lost cause already.

Originally Posted by hong kong pearl:

I lost my phone, I think I left it in a cab last night. Does anyone know the lost and found number for the taxi centre? (Is there a taxi centre??!!). Thanks ...

dipper · 21-12-2009, 02:26 PM

Hardly heart-breaking tbh. You lost a small piece of easily replaceable consumer junk.

quackquack · 29-01-2010, 09:19 PM

There is also Taxi complaint system which is very effective. I've used it once for a driver who was constantly talking on hand held phone while driving. The number is 28899999.