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My phone has been stolen

  
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
23:24 / 17.10.06
This may not be the sort of thing it's usual to post on Barbelith, but for some reason i can't access the boards where i would usually post this sort of thing, so apologies if this isn't a Barbe-worthy thread...

My phone was (presumably) stolen today. I was helping a friend weed hir allotment, and had left it in my bag for under an hour in the doorway of hir shed. When i got back to it, it had gone. My bag was still there and nothing else in it had been touched, The only other people around were some other allotment gardeners, who were not near the shed, and if one of them stole it they did it very quickly while my back was turned (I asked them if they had either seen anyone else, or seen a phone, and they said no, and i couldn't detect any signs of dodginess or lying). Attempts to call my phone from other phones just got a message saying "you cannot be connected" etc...

The thing is, my whole life was in my phone. I've recently moved to a new city, and have relatively few friends there (and no close friends) I'm temporarily living with not-so-close friends and in a state of major uncertainty about whether there is anywhere my life can go next, and feeling pretty vulnerable especially on the social front.

Luckily i remembered the landline number of one friend, who gave me the numbers of a few others - but, as very few of my friends know each other, there's a very strong chance that *most* of my friends have numbers i'll never get back. (I have email addresses for a few of them, but the majority i was *only* in touch with by phone).

I've heard that it's possible to get your old phone number and maybe the numbers stored on your SIM card back by calling the network people (T-Mobile UK, formerly One2One, in my case). If anyone could tell me whether this is in fact possible, and if so how to do it, you could (possibly literally, given how little it takes to tip me over the edge, and how much difference just one friend answering the phone can make) be a lifesaver...

(possible trouble is, my SIM card was 8 years old, had been in 3 different handsets (all second hand), was a pay-as-you-go tariff that probably no longer exists, and was from One2One before they became(?)/were taken over by(?) T-Mobile... also, it wasn't registered in my name, but in the name of a (now totally untraceable) ex-friend of a sort-of-ex who i bought it from...)

Any ideas?

(I can't fucking believe that this has happened. I have a photographic memory, ALWAYS know where my phone is, and i've left that bag with that phone in it in all kinds of squat parties, house parties, dodgy pubs, etc, and to have it stolen from a fucking allotment... and i can't believe how dependent i am on one little object...)
 
 
Triplets
23:29 / 17.10.06
Dude, fucking sympathies to you. I lost my sim and phone last year and that felt horrid, and I know all my friends locally, so, gah, much love to you at the moment.

Right, what you need to do is first thing get in touch with your network provider and the people who provided you handset about a replacement one. re: retrieving sim numbers, no idea if that can be done but deffo phone both (phone provider and manufacturer) as is likely (from my four years working in call centres) either might give you very different answers. Depending on the time of day even. Or the waxing of the Moon. But you never know.

Chin up.

And let this be a lesson to everyone here, keep your numbers saved somewhere else, yeah?

Hope this clears up for you, Natty.
 
 
Proinsias
00:13 / 18.10.06
Sorry to hear that.

I have no idea if they can retrieve the sim card numbers but surely they should have a record of all the numbers incoming and outgoing recently.

Good luck.
 
 
Triplets
00:14 / 18.10.06
Oooh ooh. Call up your network provider and ask if they have a list of recent numbers called that they can mail you. You can then do a Columbo and find your mates from there.
 
 
Triplets
00:14 / 18.10.06
Yes!
 
 
Proinsias
00:17 / 18.10.06
I was thinking more Diagnosis Murder.
 
 
Char Aina
02:25 / 18.10.06
yeah.
ther should be a record of all the numbers you have ever dialled if it's a pay-monthly phone.
failing that, the same trick might work for any numbers you have called form other lines, say landlines.
failing either of those...
i think you may be fucked.

that said, no one else got their phone stolen, so they can always phone you.
bear in mind they wont all go especially out of their way to(because the dont know you've had it nicked) but the good mates will call anyway.

maybe take the whole thing as a cleansing, sorting out just who the wheaty real mates and chaff-like hangers-on are in your phone book.
 
 
Triplets
02:26 / 18.10.06
Yeah. In the mean time check out the Gathering for other Barbers who are up for a pint, like.
 
 
■
08:08 / 18.10.06
Bummer. Oh, T-Mobile? If you go to their site and log yourself in (presuming it isn't blocked) even with pay-as-you go it can give you all the incoming and outgoing calls you've made recently.
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
09:51 / 18.10.06
that said, no one else got their phone stolen, so they can always phone you.

Except that only works if i can get my number transferred to a new SIM (which, given the age of my old SIM and it being pay as you go (i've always been far too skint and/or paranoid for pay-monthly), is doubtful), since, while the place i'm living at at the moment *does* have a landline, no one knows it, cos i just always use my mobile for everything...

I've never been to T-Mobile's website (don't even know where it is) so i don't know if i could log in there...

don't think phone manufacturer would help, as the handset was second hand, had nothing to do with the SIM (which all my numbers were on), and i don't even know what model number it was (didn't say on it, and the person who gave it to me had forgotten)...

thing is i don't know if any of my friends (apart from the couple whose numbers i've got back now already) would ever bother trying to call me if i didn't call them... pretty much all of my friendships are probably far more important to me than to the other party in them...

i was literally just about to call some numbers i had found and saved which could have led to me finding a house, as well...

feeling slightly calmer than last night, but still pretty headfucked...
 
 
Tabitha Tickletooth
10:08 / 18.10.06
I had a T-mobile pay as you go phone that was on its last legs, so I went and got a shiny new phone (still pay as you go T-mobile). I did not, however, buy this from the T-Mobile shop (carphone something-or-other shop...). I wanted to keep my old number so they told me to just swap the sim card. However, the sim card was so old that it didn't support picture messaging, so T-Mobile customer service said they would send me a new sim card with the same phone number. They did so, without ever having physical access to my old one, and imagine my surprise when I discovered that it had all my phone numbers on it!

Clearly they can do it - and will do it for pay as you go customers if they feel like it (I suspect that because I am such a pathetically low spend customer it was only the thought that they might get more money from me if I was able to send pictures - which they did - that made them help me out).

I went to my local T-Mobile shop and the guy was really really helpful. I'd try that! Best of luck.
 
 
Char Aina
10:12 / 18.10.06
i think you should be able to get a new SIM with the same number.
i've certainly done it before.

see, you're SIM is only an identifier, like a bank card for a bank account.

when you turn a phone on, it asks the relevant network what SIM number 894466001etc is meant to be doing according to their computer systems.
the SIM related to your account can be changed much like a bank card can be.
all that happens is the network is informed that SIM number 894411002etc is to access your account instead, something that is done on the systems of your provider.
changing SIM doesnt change account, or mobile number, and
this means when you turn on SIM number 894411002etc, you will be using your phone as before.

you should be able to get a new SIM for free, but if not tit shouldnt be more than a tenner.
i'd be surprised if it wasnt free, seeing as how it was stolen.
if not, try reminding them that you are away from home/in the middle of a messy divorce/awaiting the birth of your first child/about to leave your job/a great customer who has just had an offer from O2.
 
 
Char Aina
10:13 / 18.10.06
They did so, without ever having physical access to my old one, and imagine my surprise when I discovered that it had all my phone numbers on it!

this may also have been because the numbers were stored in the phone.
if not, it certainly bodes well for the retrieval.
 
 
pointless & uncalled for
10:16 / 18.10.06
It's true, phone companies keep a surprising amount of information on you such as name, address, numbers called, numbers received, spending habits, call time habits, movements, key words used in conversations etc. Most of the time I consider it fairly objectionable but in certain circumstances it can be useful. Time for a little payback on all of the money you've handed over to them.

As for the future, and to anyone else running the risk. Build a little redundancy somewhere lest the all the eggs be found in the basket with the dodgy bottom.
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
10:46 / 18.10.06
That's really sort of scary (even tho undeniably right now useful)...

i'd always assumed that the SIM card physically contained all the information stored on it, like a little tiny hard drive or something...

got a customer service phone no from the T-Mobile website, which is supposed to be the one to call if your phone has been lost or stolen... now i just need a phone to call it from (it's 0845, so probably won't cost too much to call from a landline... right? i know nothing of landlines...)

also, might it be a problem that the name the phone/SIM(?) was registered in (way back in 1999 or so) isn't my name? should i pretend to be person X's name (it's a name traditionally of the opposite gender to my (assumed) identity, but there's at least one moderately famous male singer with that name IIRC), or explain that the phone was second hand and therefore not registered to me?
 
 
ONLY NICE THINGS
10:48 / 18.10.06
0845 is a local-rate number, just for reference.
 
 
Tabitha Tickletooth
11:01 / 18.10.06
I think you've got rather a major problem there, Natty, in that if the account is not in your name, they are unlikely to give you access to anything. I know with T-Mobile I hit some problems with my account ages ago because I had moved several times without changing my address and couldn't remember what the original address was.

They will probably either want some id to prove you are the registered holder of the account, or will insist on sending any information to the original address only. In fairness, you probably wouldn't want them to give all that information to just anyone who asks for it, but I fear this could be your undoing.

Still, it certainly can't hurt to give them a call and ask.
 
 
pointless & uncalled for
11:14 / 18.10.06
There is no legitimate requirement to register a pay as you go phone to yourself as the account user. Be warned though, they may not be willing to replace the numbers without a police report so be prepared for that.
 
 
Tabitha Tickletooth
11:29 / 18.10.06
Anyone can use it, disingenuous, but if someone is requesting information held regarding it, they are going to ask for some proof of identity. What would be to stop me phoning up and getting the address book and personal details of anyone who I happen to have the phone number for otherwise?

Interestingly (if you are a saddo like me) I recall that this stuff came up when PAYG mobile phone vending machines were launched. Virtually untraceable phones - depending on your point of view either a welcome opportunity for people to have access to a phone without the usual high level of monitoring or ideal for crime! I believe the police subscribed to the latter...
 
 
pointless & uncalled for
11:37 / 18.10.06
They did it for your own good.
 
 
bitchiekittie
11:49 / 18.10.06
I hope you can retrieve the lost info. I'm terrible at recording numbers, even though I have several very attractive phone books, each one has only a few numbers and addresses in them. "I'll do it later" seems like a dumb idea only AFTER it's too late.
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
16:51 / 18.10.06
i think you should be able to get a new SIM with the same number.
i've certainly done it before.

see, you're SIM is only an identifier, like a bank card for a bank account.

when you turn a phone on, it asks the relevant network what SIM number 894466001etc is meant to be doing according to their computer systems.
the SIM related to your account can be changed much like a bank card can be.
all that happens is the network is informed that SIM number 894411002etc is to access your account instead, something that is done on the systems of your provider.
changing SIM doesnt change account, or mobile number, and
this means when you turn on SIM number 894411002etc, you will be using your phone as before.

I've just had this very emphatically denied by the very unhelpful staff at the T-Mobile shop i went to, who insisted that a SIM is like a hard drive, not a bank card, and the only place that the information is stored is physically on the SIM card, and the network does not store any info about phone numbers at all...

Still, i'm going to try the 0845 number, tho i have absolutely no clue what address the phone was originally registered at...

It might sound irrational but i just really, really want to have the same phone number back... it's the number i've had for 8 years, and literally the only thing that's been constant about me thru all of that time... it's probably far more of a part of my identity than is sensible or healthy...
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
20:32 / 18.10.06
Tried the 0845 number. After a first heart-stopping claim that i couldn't have any access to the "account" as it wasn't in my name, the woman on the other end then quite happily offered to send me a new SIM with the same number as the old one, which was what i wanted anyway (tho she charged me £10 for it). She also gave me the last 6 numbers i had called, from which i can probably start resurrecting my phone book (tho probably not all of it, but at least some)...

Will now have to wait and see if the new SIM card has my old numbers on it (tho she said it wouldn't have, but as i've already been told much contradictory "information")...
 
 
■
21:15 / 18.10.06
I think you're right about it being more like a hard drive. I wouldn't hold out much hope for getting your address book back. However if you're getting the same number back, that's a good thing, as those people who are worth knowing will call you eventually. Those who don't... [shrugs] what are you losing?
Anyway, on the "one constant identity" thing, you're sure to end up with a second one here at some point. It'll sneak up on you, but as long as you still know someone from here in RL, it's very hard to lose it.
 
 
Hydra vs Leviathan
22:22 / 18.10.06
Those who don't... [shrugs] what are you losing?

people who i genuinely value, and who i hope genuinely value me, but who are just so used to me calling them that they simply wouldn't think to call me, because they'd just presume that i'm too busy to talk or something if i don't call them?

i think i'm just fated to want to be a part of other people's lives far more than they could ever possibly want to be a part of mine...
 
 
Char Aina
22:48 / 18.10.06
the only thing stored on a SIM is numbers and texts.
i was referring to access to your account not being dependant on the same SIM being in your phone.
i wasnt suggesting that the phone book was stored externally, but that you will be able to keep the same number.

sorry for any confusion.
 
  
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