lost phones in taxi's

thehamo

Dont ya just wish that all taxi men had the decency to hand in a phone when you loose it in their taxi. Its a tall order i know but its nice to dream!

Noelie

Well taking that the phone is still turned on when they find it, yeah it would be nice if they spent 10 minutes trying to find out who owns the phone.

But there is also the chance the the next passanger could have found it and pocketed it or that the phone is dead when he finds it and can't find out who owns it.

monkey tennis

I wish everyone knew how to use apostrophes properly. Alas, we don't all get what we want...

thehamo

thats very true, but the can hand it into the carrage office and it can be collected there. Tried that today but no joy:(

Collie D

It does happen. I've had two friends who've left their phones in taxis and driver has returned them the next day, direct to house and every thing. They're not all tea-leaves.

HashSlinging

I had mine returned.

Niamho!

i've heard more positive reports than bad on phones lost in Taxi's mysmelf.

if i was in a taxi and saw a phone o nthe backseat i'd probably get it back to the owner myself sooner than hand it to the Taxi man...alot of them are decent but ya just dont know....

Worse thing is losing something in a Pub. Nightmare!! pretty much guaranteed never to see it again.

Owen

I lost a fairly expensive (read 800 Euro) phone in a taxi in NYC. The guy drove 2 hours to deliver it to me, and wouldn't accept a reward or tip. There are indeed good guys out there!

thehamo

there is no denying that there is decent taxi drivers out there i have had wallet and phone returned the same night but its just a pitty that all taxi drivers are not the same! only had the phone a week.... ah well life goes on

biko

How do you loose a phone in a taxi? Do people just put it on the seat next to them? Drunken dropping it on the floor and immediately forgetting about it?
Falling out of the back pocket and not checking the back seat as you exit?

Tellox

My mam drove taxi's for about 10 years, and always returned any phones that had been left in the back. Normally if the phone was on, she'd ring the owners mam or dad, or last dialed etc etc.

In one case where the phone was switched off, she made the effort to bring it into a nokia store, and have them retreive the numbers for it.

You cant really blame taxi drivers in general for not turning in phones, just the people who choose to become taxi drivers.

thefinalstage

Double posty!

thefinalstage

Tellox wrote:

My mam drove taxi's for about 10 years, and always returned any phones that had been left in the back. Normally if the phone was on, she'd ring the owners mam or dad, or last dialed etc etc.

In one case where the phone was switched off, she made the effort to bring it into a nokia store, and have them retreive the numbers for it.

You cant really blame taxi drivers in general for not turning in phones, just the people who choose to become taxi drivers.

Thats a very condescending comment there at the end.

BKtje

I lost my keys once in a taxi and was dropped into me the following day.

I was totally confused as to how he got my address before i realised that i'd booked the taxi instead of flagging one down as usual

Tellox

thelastangryman wrote:

Thats a very condescending comment there at the end.

care to elaborate?

fergusdo

As a taxi driver I am reading the thread with interest and bemusement. Its reasonably representative of the sort of 'stuff' that I encounter on a regular basis. Maybe you can help me out here; if the 'phone was 'lost' in a taxi then its not lost; you know where it is - its in a taxi, its not lost. At the end of each journey the meter system automatically prints a reciept that details the time, date of the journey and the unique number of the taxi. Call the Taxi Regulator, provide the details and ask them to interviene on your behalf.

In the course of a day, most of the people I come across are wonderful, but it's true that there are some strange people out there: some are taxi drivers and some are passengers. In an evening the passenger might meet two or three drivers, but the driver might meet twenty or more passengers. On the numbers alone (forgeting the drunks who can't remember where they live, the ones without money, etc) who, the driver or the passenger, is the more likely to meet the undesirables? In spite of this, I've yet to see a drunken driver berating the passengers but I can't say the same for passengers abusing the driver. So have some patience with the driver, its not possible to imagine the hassle he/she has to take. As an example, YOU 'lost' your 'phone and its the taxis DRIVER'S fault - YEA? I wonder where the 'phone really is?

rubyred

Why should they go to all the effort of returning it? You should take more care of your belongings in the first place. It's not like the back seat of a taxi is soooo big that you can't check you have everything before you get out. After all you know where you are going - so three mins before you get there check that you have everything. Then you just pay and get out.

luckat

I've never been given a receipt by a taxi driver. Never.

Why should they go to the trouble of returning it? Because if they don't either give it back or give it in to the Gardaí, they have committed the crime of stealing by finding, and could find themselves in the nick with no taxi licence.

I lost my wallet in a taxi - one of the 8022222 ones - the other day, complete with credit card, sprog photo, annual bus pass worth €700, about €100 in cash, health card, etc.

Rang a couple of places it might have been, then thought of the taxi company and rang them. They identified the driver and left a message on his phone and when he came on shift that night he dropped it in to my workplace. He'd actually found it the night before and phoned in to the company, but the message hadn't got passed on.

Bless his heart. He wouldn't take any compensation.

fergusdo

It's not a question of being given a recipt. You are entitled to it, just ask, it's there printed automatically when the meter is switched to Stop.

Log on the regulator's site and check you rights as a taxi passenger. You will get the facts there.

If you don't go to the trouble of knowing your rights you are putting yourself at a serious disadvantage. The taxi driver's responsibilities are also on the site; educating the passenger is not listed.

Pythia

My friend got a taxi home from my house one night.
The next day I got a taxi from the same company. Turns out it was the same taxi driver who had brought my friend home the night before. My friend had left his wallet in the taxi, when the driver found it at the end of the night he drove back to the house and put it in the letter box.
My friend thought they had just dropped it by the door on their way in. They didn't know they'd lost it til the taxi driver told me the story the next day.

Anyway, my point is, there's definitely some good guys out there.

Hagar

I have to agree, many times I have been astonished at the honesty of taxi drivers and members of the general public. Credit where it's due.

mikemac

I've never lost a phone but I've left my glasses case in a taxi twice.
It happened once before a college exam (and I'd be fecked without my glasses for reading) and fair play to the driver, he came straight back to meet me after I rang his company. I offered to pay but wouldn't take anything.

It was the on Gerry Ryan show that some taxi driver handed in over €250,000 in diamonds and cash in Naas afaik. I think he was given an award by the President. Tried a google search but couldn't get a link

The guy

It's really like anything else, it all depends on the person.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Another good taxi driver story.

I got a taxi from the National Boxing Stadium with my son last night.

I was meeting up with friends for an after fight party in twon, but my son was travelling onwards to Malahide. So I'd to get off in town.

Just passing the Goblet pub on the Malahide road the taxi developed a problem and began to give trouble.

The driver said he'd couldn't continue the journey. So my son went to pay him for the journey so far. The driver wouldn't take a penny, and insisted on getting my son another taxi rather than leave a 15yr old lad on the side of the road late at night.

I wish I'd got the driver's number. I'd have sent in a nice big 'thank you' to the regulators office for sure.

RuggieBear

i know the daughter of a taxi driver who gets any phone that is left in her pop's taxi.

TwoShedsJackson

My wife left her phone in a taxi about a year ago and he dropped it up the next day after ringing the Home entries in the address book to see where she lived, and he refused to take €20 she wanted to give him for his time and trouble.

The sister in law also left her glasses behind in a taxi whilst going to do an exam and rang the taxi company, the driver drove up to the exam place straight away to give them to her as she probably could not have done the exam without them.

I know taxi drivers get a lot of stick, and I've had more than my share of ****e ones, but they're human, folks, there are good ones and bad ones out there.

arybvtcw0eolkf

RuggieBear wrote:

i know the daughter of a taxi driver who gets any phone that is left in her pop's taxi.

A father's love for his daughter, ahhhhhhhhh. Thanks for sharing that lovely story, I've just went into my daughters bedroom and given her the biggest hug

Cianos

It's not the responsibility of the driver to be running around after people who left stuff on the back seat. I'd expect out of common decency them to go through the phone, make a phone call and let the person know where they can pick it up. Any further effort on their behalf is commendable. I'd say you meet so many asshats doing that job.

Cianos

Tellox wrote:

My mam drove taxi's for about 10 years, and always returned any phones that had been left in the back. Normally if the phone was on, she'd ring the owners mam or dad, or last dialed etc etc.

In one case where the phone was switched off, she made the effort to bring it into a nokia store, and have them retreive the numbers for it.

You cant really blame taxi drivers in general for not turning in phones, just the people who choose to become taxi drivers.

wtf is this supposed to mean?!

120_Minutes

If more people realised that they can ring their network provider and have the phone blacklisted once its lost, then more people who find a lost phone would realise the phone is worthless to them, and return it. you can then whitelist the phone and use it again.

common sense

simple common sense.

I've lost 2 phones in ten years in taxis and got both of them blacklisted immediatly, making them nice paperweights for whoever finds them.

aidan_walsh

"Common sense" isn't a term that applies if the majority don't know.

impr0v

I left my phone in a taxi about 3 months ago. The guy rang numbers on my last dialled list until he got hold of someone who knew my housemate's phone number, left a message for me, and then delivered it to my door later that afternoon.

wexford12

I have a Taxi and at least once a month either a phone or wallet would be left in the car.I do return every one not that hard to find out who they are if phone is still turned on.I did have one case where a chap tought he left his wallet in my car i never saw it but maybe one of the next fares did and slipped it away or maybe he didnt leave it at all,but did he belive did he heck.Of dozens of phones etc that i have returned only once did someone offer to give a few bob for driving back to there house.I have talked to a few drivers about this in the past most say they leave anything in the local police station as they are sick of going back to houses and not even getting a thank you.What i would like people to keep in mind if you leave a phone in the car its very likely the next fare or so will take it.I check most times when people get out that the back seat is clear but in the dark you cant see everywhere.

Reku

Knew a lad who's entire family were taxi drivers and sadly they would've been an example of bad eggs in that they always kept and sold any phones in the back of their taxis.

thefinalstage

wexford12 wrote:

I have a Taxi and at least once a month either a phone or wallet would be left in the car.I do return every one not that hard to find out who they are if phone is still turned on.I did have one case where a chap tought he left his wallet in my car i never saw it but maybe one of the next fares did and slipped it away or maybe he didnt leave it at all,but did he belive did he heck.Of dozens of phones etc that i have returned only once did someone offer to give a few bob for driving back to there house.I have talked to a few drivers about this in the past most say they leave anything in the local police station as they are sick of going back to houses and not even getting a thank you.What i would like people to keep in mind if you leave a phone in the car its very likely the next fare or so will take it.I check most times when people get out that the back seat is clear but in the dark you cant see everywhere.

I'd charge them for petrol.

Collie D

I think it would be reasonable to ask the driver how much the fare would have been if he is dropping it to your house. He is paid to drive and ferrying someone's phone is a loss of business to him.

intheknow

120_Minutes wrote:

I've lost 2 phones in ten years in taxis and got both of them blacklisted immediatly, making them nice paperweights for whoever finds them.

Any phone can be unlocked for a tenner, slip in a new sim...Bingo !
Sorry to shatter your illusion...............

thefinalstage

intheknow wrote:

Any phone can be unlocked for a tenner, slip in a new sim...Bingo !
Sorry to shatter your illusion...............

I believe he refers to the unique ID code in each phone which can be used to lock it for good.

arybvtcw0eolkf

thelastangryman wrote:

I believe he refers to the unique ID code in each phone which can be used to lock it for good.

Nope, you can still have most of 'em unlocked.

Healio

thehamo wrote:

Dont ya just wish that all taxi men had the decency to hand in a phone when you loose it in their taxi. Its a tall order i know but its nice to dream!

Surely they appear in the next issue of buyandsell.

Reku

Mairt wrote:

Nope, you can still have most of 'em unlocked.

Well not on the same network, not sure if they pass the number on to other networks though.

phasers

my dad is a taxi man and always brings anything he finds to the carriage office

except umbrellas.
I have about 27 umbrellas.

Cailinor

i have to say guys, by the sounds of it, ye have great luck with taxi drivers:)
i however think that while the taxi drivers will hand things in,
its at the carriage office where the messiness starts! those guys are useless for picking up the phone or returning calls. i musta spent circa 2-3 months continuously ringing them to see if something had been dropped in!
on a worse note, i know 2 taxi drivers who keep all the phones people leave in their cars, their families have an endless supply of phones!

luckat

Yeah, a taxi driver was telling me the other night that the carriage office has always been notorious for leaving the phones ringing/being understaffed (he didn't know which, but said you could never get through).

Femelade

I was out in town last sunday night (cork)..and when i got up i couldnt find my phone in my bag, i had no idea where it was as i hadnt taken it out all night..anyhow, i rang meteor the next day after trying to ring my phone for hours but no answer. Teh meteor girl siad she would block the sim and the handset and would ring me back on the landline. she rang back a few mins later saying she had rang my phone and a man answered saying he was a taxi driver...so i rang him and he was very nice, he said he would drop it into the garda station but they wouldnt take it, so was there anywhere in town that he could drop it into, i told him where my sister lived and he dropped it in to her that night...

Terry

I'd say he did.

artnotort

take more care of your stuff.

anonymous69

Only last night a woman rang me saying her husband, a taxi driver had found a phone in his car, and had given it to his wife and she was ringing all the numbers in the phone to try and find the owner...so wen she rang me, i realised it was a friends of mine, and my friend is going to get it back tomorrow.

SO I guess some are good...lol but i was surprised, but it was very nice of them to do that

macroman

In all fairness most taxi drivers will go out of their way to return lost items to their owners - although you'll get some tight arse who'll keep the phone, more than likely sell it on!

My Dad usually hangs onto them for a day or so and wait for the owner to ring (9/10 times they do), if not he'll give them into the carriage office or the cab office.

Junior #8

Hate to have to do this but lost my phone in either Corbetts, Amber or most probably the Sevens taxi (minibus) we got from the house.
a score as a reward would certainly not be out of the question.
Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Black/Red
Wallpaper of DkITRavens ice hockey club,
PM me if you have any details.
Cheers.