[/B]ALWAYS LOCK THE DOORS... It only takes once and just an instant to learn a valuable lesson. The one time we didnt lock the doors to the car; my wifes purse was stolen. We had done it many times. Pulled into a Mc Donalds to get food, coffee or just use the restroom. We ALWAYS locked the doors
no matter what time of day or night.
This time it didnt happen. It was 6:20 AM at the Mc Donalds in Sweetwater, TN. I went in to get the coffees and Elaine was going to buy a paper and wait in the car. I paid for the coffee and was waiting for it to finish brewing so Elaine decided to come in and help me carry four cups to the car. We were parked DIRECTLY in front of the door with plenty of light. Not many people in Mc Donalds. A lot of cars using the drive though. (We should have) Elaine waited for the Decaf to finish brewing while I went to the car to fill my insulated cups. When she came out to the car, she asked me where her purse was. I thought she was kidding and had put it on the floor and covered it with a blanket. NOT!!!
She said she had left on the seat. IT WAS GONE!!!! Time of discovery 6:30 AM. Police were called; I checked the area surrounding the Mc Ds hoping they just took the wallet and tossed the purse. No luck. The police showed up at 6:35 and took the report. We left the Mc Ds at 6:45. Nothing more we could do there. E started calling credit card companies using my cards, closing all the accounts. We contacted VISA about 7:20 AM.
There were 2 charges at a CITGO the next exit down. Two charges at the Wal-Mart Super Center- West, Knoxville. One for $841.00 and another for $142.00. Less than an hour!!!!!!!!! None of the other cards had any activity on them when we contacted the companies. We were lucky in one respect, our Debit cards had different numbers so only Elaines had to be shut down. We learned a good lesson. ALWAYS lock the doors.
We also learned that it is a good thing to have a cell phone. Elaine learned not to carry ANY cards that she was not going to use, just carried incase. Pennys, Sears, Kohls etc. Always keep a separate list of all cards and contact numbers. Or subscribe to a service to do it for you. If offered, make sure the numbers on any joint debit cards are different. If one is lost or stolen, the other will still be able to be used.
Still working on getting the proper reports for any insurance claims.
A LESSON LEARNED .THE HARD WAY!!!!!!
This time it didnt happen. It was 6:20 AM at the Mc Donalds in Sweetwater, TN. I went in to get the coffees and Elaine was going to buy a paper and wait in the car. I paid for the coffee and was waiting for it to finish brewing so Elaine decided to come in and help me carry four cups to the car. We were parked DIRECTLY in front of the door with plenty of light. Not many people in Mc Donalds. A lot of cars using the drive though. (We should have) Elaine waited for the Decaf to finish brewing while I went to the car to fill my insulated cups. When she came out to the car, she asked me where her purse was. I thought she was kidding and had put it on the floor and covered it with a blanket. NOT!!!
She said she had left on the seat. IT WAS GONE!!!! Time of discovery 6:30 AM. Police were called; I checked the area surrounding the Mc Ds hoping they just took the wallet and tossed the purse. No luck. The police showed up at 6:35 and took the report. We left the Mc Ds at 6:45. Nothing more we could do there. E started calling credit card companies using my cards, closing all the accounts. We contacted VISA about 7:20 AM.
There were 2 charges at a CITGO the next exit down. Two charges at the Wal-Mart Super Center- West, Knoxville. One for $841.00 and another for $142.00. Less than an hour!!!!!!!!! None of the other cards had any activity on them when we contacted the companies. We were lucky in one respect, our Debit cards had different numbers so only Elaines had to be shut down. We learned a good lesson. ALWAYS lock the doors.
We also learned that it is a good thing to have a cell phone. Elaine learned not to carry ANY cards that she was not going to use, just carried incase. Pennys, Sears, Kohls etc. Always keep a separate list of all cards and contact numbers. Or subscribe to a service to do it for you. If offered, make sure the numbers on any joint debit cards are different. If one is lost or stolen, the other will still be able to be used.
Still working on getting the proper reports for any insurance claims.
A LESSON LEARNED .THE HARD WAY!!!!!!
