car got broken into- 10 days old macbook pro gone.....

[bOx]

hello all, so i just purchased a brand new macbook pro 2.5 ghz. had it for literally 10 days - was at school doing work- went to eat with a friend- turns out his car got broken into within that 10 mins timeframe we got food--and they got away with my backpack. -I lost my new macbook pro- two ipods, two external harddrives, a canon sd1000, my wallet, two laptop chargers- I had two of certain things cause they were both mine and my brothers things- and a **** tone of homework and design work backed up in my hard drive- this weekend has been rough for me.

I just registered the macbook pro- and im wondering if there are any other precautions or things i can do to register my serial number as stolen. this is really really really whack!!!!

 

[mkrishnan]

Wow, that sucks, sorry.

Let me ask the obvious since you didn't mention it... you did file a police report and document all your stolen goods with them, right?

 

[MatLane]

Damn

Sorry to hear

 

[rychencop]

file a police report and contact apple. not sure if apple can do anything as far as tracking by serial number or not. your friends vehicle insurance will cover the loss though, so no worries. unless he had no insurance...then you're screwed.

 

[peapody]

Does your friend have a good insurance policy for the car? You might be able to get the computer covered provided you pay the deductible.

My coach claimed several tennis rackets through his insurance when his car got broken into.

 

[bOx]

yeah man it's been a weak ass month. my brother let my car rolled back and bent the door in. my friend car gets broken into. now i find out that his car aint even covered for theft. nothing is covered. so basically im gonna have to eat up the stolen goods and take the money lost. it sucks so bad man. everytime i see someone with a new macbook pro it makes me sad. thats basically 2300 dollars down right there.

anyway. that same day the car got broken into. they gave me a number to file a police report they said they weren't even open saturday. mon thru friday only- wtf do we pay you guys for. then two mins later a police cars rolls by. why didnt' them ****ers roll by earlier. we told them the car got broken into. they told us to go file a report online. it's so lame. anyway. i heard something about home owners insurance. i wonder if i should file a home owners insurance case. this **** is whack!!!!

 

[kobefan234]

Contact apple and tell them. They will keep an eye out in case the notebook comes in for repair at a genius bar or something!

 

[chipchen]

Did you purchase the computer with a credit card? Many cards (AMEX, many Platinum VISA or MasterCard) have purchase protection. I specifically use my AMEX for all my electronics purchases... it gives me an extra year warranty on anything I buy, and it has theft protection for 30 days. (might be 60)

I've filed one claim before with them, lost my Apple bluetooth headset... they were very nice, and credited the purchase price to my account.

So, if you bought it with a credit card, call your credit card company and see what they need. Try to get that police report too.

About Apple, don't bother. They keep registered users in their records, not owners... and they don't have a "theft flagging system." Imagine how many fraudulent cases they would get calls about, from divorcing couples, fighting families, friends, etc... and Apple sells computers, they're not into law enforcement or getting into the middle of it. Makes sense from a outside perspective... not from yours at the moment.

 

[MowingDevil]

Bummer dude, as a person who has been the victim of theft before I feel your pain. Good luck w/ the home insurance angle. I've had them cover items stolen from my car before.

 

[Neil321]

Arr man that sucks, not a week goes past these days without someone posting about a burglary mugging or theft from a car, keeps those Macs safe guys & girls

Hope things workout for you OP

 

[tcphoto]

Sorry to hear about the theft. After living in a number of large cities, I know not to leave anything in my vehicle not even in a trunk. If it was all in a backpack, you can carry it with you and will lose it only if you are mugged or forget it somewhere. It's a tough way to learn a valuable lesson. I hope that you have home owner/renters insurance that will cover most of the loss.

 

[alphaod]

Sorry to hear your loss man, but in my past experience, it's good idea to take the important stuff with you, unless you are sure it's safe.

 

[bOx]

I'm going to try the homeowners insurance angle. I'm not even sure how that'll work, my dad has homeowners insurance. but will it cover theft from a vehicle, especially when the vehicle isn't even ours. it's a friends. I should call the insurance company and ask.

I bought my mac- with my paypal account i wonder if paypal has somesort of policy.

 

[clyde2801]

Wow, that sucks. This inspired me to go to the apple store, brave the crowds, and get the three year lojack protection half priced today. Thanks, and sorry.

 

[Schtumple]

As much as I hate to say, I really would never leave that much stuff in a car, it's pretty much begging to be stolen... Unless all the stuff was hidden under the seats or in the boot of the car, it was inevitable this would happen...

But still, look forward, it's only items, and they can be repurchased eventually, this is a life lesson my friend, you need to be more careful with your things, report all the stuff that's been stolen to the police and who knows, it may come back to you eventually...

 

[ryanwarsaw]

As much as I hate to say, I really would never leave that much stuff in a car, it's pretty much begging to be stolen... Unless all the stuff was hidden under the seats or in the boot of the car, it was inevitable this would happen...

But still, look forward, it's only items, and they can be repurchased eventually, this is a life lesson my friend, you need to be more careful with your things, report all the stuff that's been stolen to the police and who knows, it may come back to you eventually...

And a girl in a tight mini skirt is begging to be raped... The OP was a victim of crime and let's not justify the actions of those that prey upon innocent people. I know leaving it in his car isn't the best thing but the OP is in no way at fault that there are scoundrels around that do these sort of things.

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Schtumple]

And a girl in a tight mini skirt is begging to be raped... The OP was a victim of crime and let's not justify the actions of those that prey upon innocent people. I know leaving it in his car isn't the best thing but the OP is in no way at fault that there are scoundrels around that do these sort of things.

Sorry for your loss.

I didn't mean it like that, I just mean you always need to be careful, there are thieves everywhere these days, you gotta make sure you don't slip up.

 

[HLdan]

And a girl in a tight mini skirt is begging to be raped... The OP was a victim of crime and let's not justify the actions of those that prey upon innocent people. I know leaving it in his car isn't the best thing but the OP is in no way at fault that there are scoundrels around that do these sort of things.

Sorry for your loss.

It's very nice that you are patronizing the OP but it's stands to rest that it was his fault bar none. He left 2 iPods, a brand new $2000+ MBP, his keys and his wallet and you say he's not at fault. Sorry, I feel for him but he I don't patronize people here, I tell it like it is. You have to be responsible for the decisions you make. Now if he was carrying all that stuff with him and got mugged then yes, he's a victim but he chose to leave all his worthy stuff in a deserted car and went for a bite to eat and left the car out of his vision. I hope the OP will get his things recovered through insurance somehow but this is a lesson to be learned.

 

[McShizzel]

Sorry to hear about that, try contacting Apple and filing a police report but more likely than not it's gone forever.

A little too late but I have a small program called Undercover installed on my Mac it's supposed to locate the mac once it's stolen. Here's the link http://www.orbicule.com

 

[bOx]

actually I did not leave anything and everything out in the open- so nothing could have been seen. What scares me is there must have been someone watching or following us.

i keep everything in my backpack. which pretty much conceals everything. I placed my backpack hidden on the floor behind the passenger seat. the passenger seat was then leaned back so there was no way possible that you would notice my bag nothing was exposed.

what upsets me so much is, we literally walked two blocks to get food and came back- the car was parked literally in front of my college- i dont understand how the security guards couldn't' have caught glimpse of the robbery.

i will admit- it wasnt' a smart decision to leave all that stuff in the car anyway. but being a student you tend to carry many things with you. i guess it's a lesson learned.

 

[bOx]

it just sucks, it makes you feel vulnerable. you really didnt' have control of the situation. anyway that program undercover seems like a fantastic program. i wish i knew about it sooner.

 

[MowingDevil]

In the past when my band did a soundcheck we'd naturally leave our gear setup on the stage and go rest/shower/get ready for the show...then once bassist w/ us said that was crazy and we should bring our guitars up to the hotel room. You know what, its a pain in the ass but he was right we were gambling everytime we left the venue w/o guitars since they're so attractive to thieves (easy to unload). I'd always been good about not leaving big ticket items in the car and its a hassle always lugging the stuff around but so far I've been lucky at shows. I hear of so many bands that have their equipment (and sometime their van) stolen while they sleep on the road. Now I take the guitars up to the room w/ me after soundcheck...its just not worth the gamble. I don't want to increase the odds of becoming another theft victim...yet again (had my car broken into/apartment broken into/MBP stolen recently).

Its a pain in the butt but you never know when something like this can happen. I know a guy who lost his cherished Strat while unloading gear from his van to the venue on the night of his CD release party! You never know when opportunistic eyes are spying.

To the OP, perhaps leaning your seat back was a clear indication there was something valuable behind it? Who knows what these guys are thinking. Did he pick the lock or smash the window?

It is a hard lesson to be learned and I suppose we all have to be responsible for our own actions. One of the first rules I learned about dog obedience was do not leave anything you don't want chewed around the puppy's level. It took me 3 remote controls to learn that lesson. I didn't like hearing it from the trainer that is was OUR fault for leaving them on the coffee table. How could that be? I've always left them there...and its the DOG who needs to learn not to chew my gadgets. Well he was right and lesson learned.

This is BS and we should all, not only be able to leave a bag in our car but, be able to leave our cars unlocked. Sad reality abo our society. I really hope you're able to make a claim on your father's insurance. I made a claim on my dad's coverage but it was my car. Not sure if that should matter but (speaking of crooks) insurance companies are always looking for an opportunity not to cover you. Man, I hat thieves!

 

[California]

Any security cameras on campus? Stoplight cameras nearby?

Dude you were followed. I'm so paranoid that when I picked up macbook today I dropped in my Gap bag to carry it.

Check craigslist for the items, btw.

Offer a reward on Craiglist, too.

Check ebay as well.

Apple may be of some help as it was registered to you. Anyone buying it and trying to get Applecare on it later could also be a lead. Make sure you tell Apple there is a police report on it.

 

[steve31]

Sorry to here about this. I got all four of my tires slashed last week in my 2008 Chevy truck last week so I know how you feel. It would be great to catch the creep in the act!

 

[bOx]

yes they smashed the windows.

and yes, i need to call apple tomorrow. and i'm also taking a trip to all the nearby pawn shops to see if i get anyluck on finding mylaptop. all ican is cross my fingers.

i read some reviews on homeowners policy with state farm. turns out some people have had some crooked agents trying to skimp them from getting items that are rightfully theirs. they make people jump through loops to get a replacment. but then again. there are people out there who abuse the opportunity....

anyway......

ps. it's funny how you learn so much about programs you can enroll in. that can potentially boost your chances of getting your laptops back after the fact that i've already got my sh*t stolen. hahaha. it only proves i need to be more aware of these thigns.