Seeing that the SIM is locked, it might be hard to do this, but see if you can find some of his contacts (phone or email), call someone he knows and see if you can get in touch with him.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Found an iPhone in a taxi.... owner will not reply?
- Thread starter anim8or
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
How hard is it to call the contacts on his Favorites lists?
You can call from a different phone, you know?
It's like you sent a few emails and are hoping we'll tell you that it's ok to keep it. Make some calls!
You can call from a different phone, you know?
It's like you sent a few emails and are hoping we'll tell you that it's ok to keep it. Make some calls!
This thread is weird. Why would you email the owner of the phone? why wouldn't you call someone in his contacts, preferably one of his favorites. If someone found my phone and phoned anyone in my favorites, that person would be able to contact me very easily.
I just can't contemplate why you wouldn't call someone? E-mail? seriously?
I just can't contemplate why you wouldn't call someone? E-mail? seriously?
Yes, this appears to be obvious. And he wants to know if he will get caught. But obviously he couldn't say: "I called everyone in his contacts and left messages and two weeks later, no one has called back" because who would believe that.
OP, do the above, then you can keep it.
If it was found at an airport maybe the owner hasn't gotten to a computer yet. I say wait a day or 2 to see if he responds then turn it over to the police. Turning over to the police clears you and it's the right thing to do. IMO I wouldn't keep it... karma
If you don't want to keep it hand it over to the police and don't worry about it anymore. Maybe the guy that left it in the taxi had stolen it and doesn't want contact. That would be sort of ironic. If that is the case the police will have all of his details when they find the original owner if they dont just restore it and keep it themselves.
What i would do if you dont want to hand it to the police is,
Email the person say as of Monday June 8th, they have 6 weeks to email back and claim the phone otherwise the phone will become your property.
So if you dont hear from the owner by the 20th July then the iPhone can be legally yours.
Dont use the iPhone within this time and keep it safe, and save a copy of the email that you send, then no-one can say anything as you have tried everything within your power to get the phone back the owner.
You have emailed them numerous times,
Phoned o2
kept it for 6 weeks,
So you can keep it.
Email the person say as of Monday June 8th, they have 6 weeks to email back and claim the phone otherwise the phone will become your property.
So if you dont hear from the owner by the 20th July then the iPhone can be legally yours.
Dont use the iPhone within this time and keep it safe, and save a copy of the email that you send, then no-one can say anything as you have tried everything within your power to get the phone back the owner.
You have emailed them numerous times,
Phoned o2
kept it for 6 weeks,
So you can keep it.
The email account migh not even be the owners. It seems the OP doesn't really want to keep it so why not just hand it in?
Why are you all so intent on contacting the original owner when, as Ive already said, it now belongs to O2 or the insurance company???
If the OP wants to justify keeping the phone now he has to do the following:
1) Contact O2 again and ask them what they want done with the phone as the original owner has already had a replacement.
2) Hand it in to your local police station and collect it again once the retention period has expired.
Point 2 is important because you're leaving a paper trail with the police that you have taken steps to return it. If you get stopped in say 6 months time carrying the phone they'll check it against the NMPR and see that it's lost/stolen/registered in someone elses name and you'll be lifted.
If it's already documented with the police that you have handed it in then you'll be alright, but I dare say it's harder to prove on the street and slightly less believable to say you emailed the owner 6 months ago.
Regardless, the original owner has nothing to do with it anymore, and would be required to return it if you gave it back to him hence he probably doesn't want to know. He certainly won't be looking for it at a police station.
If the OP wants to justify keeping the phone now he has to do the following:
1) Contact O2 again and ask them what they want done with the phone as the original owner has already had a replacement.
2) Hand it in to your local police station and collect it again once the retention period has expired.
Point 2 is important because you're leaving a paper trail with the police that you have taken steps to return it. If you get stopped in say 6 months time carrying the phone they'll check it against the NMPR and see that it's lost/stolen/registered in someone elses name and you'll be lifted.
If it's already documented with the police that you have handed it in then you'll be alright, but I dare say it's harder to prove on the street and slightly less believable to say you emailed the owner 6 months ago.
Regardless, the original owner has nothing to do with it anymore, and would be required to return it if you gave it back to him hence he probably doesn't want to know. He certainly won't be looking for it at a police station.
this is what I was thinking. Sending an email is iffy. Might have been an account he just used on there.
Call the contacts and see if they know someone who lost their phone. Seems like a very simple solution. I give the OP credit for wanting to try and find the person, it seems, but this was not a tough avenue to pursue.
You have no idea if that is true or not. You are simply saying that to morally justify keeping the phone and not putting in a legitimate attempt to contact the owner.
If the SIM is locked, which we know it is, are the contacts even accessible?
What if there are no contacts on the phone?
People on here jump to conclusions way to fast. I'm not defending the OP (not that he did anything wrong), but you guys are the first to assume that the OP is trying to keep it.
What if there are no contacts on the phone?
People on here jump to conclusions way to fast. I'm not defending the OP (not that he did anything wrong), but you guys are the first to assume that the OP is trying to keep it.
Did you mean to quote me then?
The OP has said in an earlier post that he spoke to O2 and they told him that the owner had received a replacement phone and SIM card. The phone therefore belongs to O2 or the insurance company (whichever has covered the cost of the replacement phone)
Point 1 I mentioned above was to contact O2 as they should be the owner of the phone and will be able to advise the OP what they would like done with their property. I'm not at all trying to justify the OP not returning it, but to the rightful owner which is O2 or the insurance company.
If they tell him they don't want it then I would look to point 2 to cover my arse.
That doesn't change anything.
The guy likely bought the phone himself. It was not paid for out of insurance or by O2.
It is still his phone, and he has the right to have it back, and if the OP really did want to do the right thing, he would do it, and still can do it.
At least the owner could potentially sell the phone to help off-set the cost of buying a new phone.
The guy likely bought the phone himself. It was not paid for out of insurance or by O2.
It is still his phone, and he has the right to have it back, and if the OP really did want to do the right thing, he would do it, and still can do it.
At least the owner could potentially sell the phone to help off-set the cost of buying a new phone.
If they haven't contacted it at all...then you know what screw it report to the police because they probably won't call for it and the you have a shiny new iPhone!
I think it's far more likely that the insurance covered the cost of the phone. I don't know many people that don't have insurance on their phone, although admittedly of course there are some. However I don't see him spening around £500 to buy a new one from O2 or eBay without first trying to at least call his old one and when it's common knowledge that a new one MIGHT be announced several days later.
But regardless, my advice still rings true. When he calls O2 and enquires about what they want done they will be able to tell if it was an insurance replacement or not won't they?
But regardless, my advice still rings true. When he calls O2 and enquires about what they want done they will be able to tell if it was an insurance replacement or not won't they?
If I lost my iPhone I really hope that some honest person finding it would go to the ends of the Earth to re-unite me with it. Even if I had already had it replaced on insurance with a Sankiarola Turdo Z14. I'd quite happily return that to my insurers in return for my beloved iPhone. However, if that honest person had contacted my insurers rather than me, I doubt I'd ever hear of it.
(Except I'm one of those with no insurance on my phone, so maybe not)
Bet the OP's wishing he'd never bothered asking now
Ok, so here's the simple option...
The iPhone was found in a taxi close to an airport and the owner does not reply to emails. Does that not imply that the owner is now on a beach somewhere out of email contact (since he doesn't have his iPhone any more)?
So what you do is email the owner to say that you've handed the phone into xxxx police station, and then hand it in to the police station.
Then wait.
The iPhone was found in a taxi close to an airport and the owner does not reply to emails. Does that not imply that the owner is now on a beach somewhere out of email contact (since he doesn't have his iPhone any more)?
So what you do is email the owner to say that you've handed the phone into xxxx police station, and then hand it in to the police station.
Then wait.
he wouldnt be lifted for finding a phone....The original owner will probably say hes lost his phone as opposed to saying his phone has been Stolen. If the phone was reported Stolen then yes it would be reguarded as a criminal act but if the owner has now recieved another device, its unlikely he would have even registered as missing with the police and just put it down to damn bad luck and moved on with his shiny new phone
on a side note wouldnt 02 have automatically blacklist the phones imei when the owner reported it
Hi,
I appear to have lost my Apple Iphone, last seen in a taxi............. I'm so lost without it, I can't pick my emails up or anything. I dont remember is it was a black or white one, if it was 8 or 16GB, but I do remember leaving it in a taxi somewhere..............
I'm kidding, just in case!!! lol
Me personally, if you have checked with O2 and they arent bothered I would maybe just try like a couple of other people said to make a call to one of the numbers in the phone book. failing that, try make a call from the phone to one of the numbers, if its someone this person knows then they will answer the phone.
If after all that nothign......... then hey happy days an Iphone and welcome to the club!
I appear to have lost my Apple Iphone, last seen in a taxi............. I'm so lost without it, I can't pick my emails up or anything. I dont remember is it was a black or white one, if it was 8 or 16GB, but I do remember leaving it in a taxi somewhere..............
I'm kidding, just in case!!! lol
Me personally, if you have checked with O2 and they arent bothered I would maybe just try like a couple of other people said to make a call to one of the numbers in the phone book. failing that, try make a call from the phone to one of the numbers, if its someone this person knows then they will answer the phone.
If after all that nothign......... then hey happy days an Iphone and welcome to the club!