Have you had anything stolen?Did you get it back?

Two years ago, my green garden wheelie bin disappeared from outside my house on collection day. I looked around the neighbourhood, but could not find mine. Who would need a green wheelie bin when we all had them free of charge from the Council? I suspected that thieves might have used it to carry away goods stolen from elsewhere. Anyway, the Council replaced it free of charge and no questions asked, so I supposed that it was not an unknown situation.

Back in the heady days of my youth when I was about 19, I had several pairs of undies and a pair of jeans nicked from my washing line. I later found it was a local perv. He had stolen other wonens' undies too. About 20 odd years ago we had an overnight burglary. Never heard a thing, but woke up to find a forced window and the front door open. A number of things were taken - small TV, VCR, a stereo system, a coat, other small things out of drawers, small amount of cash. It made me feel very insecure for ages, thinking we were lying blissfully unaware, asleep in bed (including our young daughter) while they were downstairs.

Moving back home after many years overseas our container fell overboard we lost everything. I still live in hope some of it may float to the surface ...... very emotional and I’ve turned bitter as all family who ‘missed us etc ‘ didn’t even turn up with a cup for us to borrow whilst we were having a meltdown .

Many many years ago when I was in my 20s and renting I was broken into by a tenant who had recently left. He took a cassette player (remember those?) I had and by the time I got home and realised it had gone the police had already retrieved it.
Getting it back from the police was something else! First they said I had to wait til the matter had gone to court. No-one contacted me but luckily I saw in our local paper that it had (and the little scumbag rrsponsible had got 6 months youth custody), then the story was consistently that the person who authorised the release of stolen property that had been claimed was not in, was on leave, was on a course etc
I was doing a course at the time and needed it (I had an older machine I had been using but it wasn't ideal) and in the end lost patience with the police following a call where they informed me that the person who could authorise its release was on a course for several weeks and told them that while I appreciated that the only person in the entire country who could authorise the release of the machine (which they did not dispute was mine) was unavailable for seemingly the next 3 years, I needed it for my course and as such would be arriving at the station at 9am the following day, brnging with me the course books and audio tapes and that I presumed they had a power point I could use in order to use MY cassette recorder at their station. I was asked to wait and within 30 seconds told I could pick it up immediately....!

My daughter was selling surplus eggs on her driveway, eggs, egg boxes and an honesty box were left out. As she didn't have a proper cupboard for them she used a rabbit hutch as an interim measure. she came home from work to find some eggs, the egg boxes and the honesty box (with cash in it) on the lawn but no sign of the rabbit hutch!!!

After posting on Facebook, a few days later the hutch was back!!

My washing line! It's in the back garden, which we don't use in the winter. Come Spring, I went to peg the washing out, and found the line and the pulley which is fixed to the house wall both missing! Weird thing to steal.

I've just remembered that when we were camping in Brittany we went out for the day and when we returned the washing line which we'd attached to the tent and a tree had been nicked. No washing on it thankfully. Before we left I'd said to DH that we ought to put the washing line away, he shrugged his shoulders, thinking that it was too unimportant an item to be stolen, but no, nothing's too trivial to steal.

A very long time ago. Returning to our car we saw little wires hanging from the dashboard - the radio had been stolen while we went shopping. We never bothered to report it. In a way we got the last laugh as it was broken anyway so he made all that effort for nothing.

Judy54

Not personally no. The worst one I know about was my Mum's friend who was in church waiting to go into confession. She went into the confessional box and left her handbag on the pew when she came out it was gone! You could not make it up!

That reminds me of the time I attended a one day workshop at a local college. At lunchtime the leader suggested we would go down to the canteen and take a break. Everyone except me left their belongings on their tables and as we walked down we met a young couple pushing a large pram.
When we came back all the handbags were gone, hidden in the pram.

Our last house was broken into while we were out and among other things, all my jewellery was taken including a 24 carat gold necklace that DH gave me for a wedding present, an amethyst ring, a gold watch that was an 18th birthday present from my family, and a pair of Gurkha insignia gold cufflinks given to DH by Gurkha colleagues, which he treasured. My neighbour gave a description of a man she had seen and they caught him eventually, but we never got anything back. Insurance replaced as near like for like as possible except the cufflinks but I later had a similar pair made for him by a jeweller in Birmingham. It’s never the same though. I don’t wear any of my jewellery now - it has no meaning for me. They are scum, these people, without hearts.

Packing in the supermarket I turned away and realized I hadn't picked up my purse. It had gone in a flash and one of the two couples either side of me must have picked it up. I asked both but no one claimed to have it. I was really upset, generally there wasn't a lot in it but I had £40 for a new coat for DS tucked inside. That was a lot of money for me at the time. It was hard knowing that someone who stood next to me had it in their pocket.

Judy, your story reminded me of a similar situation I found myself in, many years ago I had my bag stolen while I was in the confessional, I was so cross with myself for leaving it on the seat.
However, later I went on a few dates with the young policeman that was assigned to my case! He showed me round London as I was new there then.
I never did get my bag back.
A few years ago, while on holiday in Istanbul with DH, I found some cash on the floor in a shopping mall. It wasn't a huge amount but enough for a family's weekly food shop.
We found a security guard who was working in the mall and decided to leave our contact details with him should someone report it.
We were delighted when an hour later we were contacted by a young lady who soon came to meet us. Before handing over the money we checked with her which notes they were and of course she knew, we felt it was hers and she was so grateful to get it back. She was on her way to do food shopping for her family when she lost it.
We did spend an hour or two dealing with it but it was worth the effort.

Had my purse stolen from a workplace too. Never got it back. Hadn’t worked there long but hated the job and this was the final straw so I left.

My ex had his pushbike stolen from the lamppost to which it was chained while he attended a Billy Graham event.

Not personally no. The worst one I know about was my Mum's friend who was in church waiting to go into confession. She went into the confessional box and left her handbag on the pew when she came out it was gone! You could not make it up!

As newly weds we lived in Central London in a rented upstairs flat. My husband cycled to work every day on an old bike and chained it up at the bottom of the stairs at night
One day it was gone.
I was heavily pregnant, and a couple of days later was shopping at the local market when I saw a bike very like ours, propped outside a shop. I went over and peered at it as I wasn’t completely sure it was ours. A young girl came out of the shop, saw me looking intently at it, and shouted, “Take it, take it!”
And I pushed it home.

We visited a friend in Liverpool and parked beside his house off the road. We did not fully unpack and when DH went down to get the remaining bags all there was left was a bit of dashboard. Phoned the police and when we went down the next day to the station they said they knew just where the car would be and they were right. It was totally burned out but they had taken our alloy wheels . My daughter had asked us to buy some books for her while we were away and we had to phone her and ask to be reminded what they were. She could not believe we did not know as we had taped her list to the dashboard. We had to admit we had lost the dashboard. We could not fault our insurance company as we had a long list of strange things in the car like our neighbour's bible , library books lots of clothes and shoes. DH vowed never to have a sporty car again .

playing out with a friend age 10 she spotted a watch on the ground, A ladies gold watch. My mother had taught me and my siblings law and I knew about stealing by finding so we went to the police station and she handed it in and her details were taken, in three months she got the watch as it wasn't claimed. I wondered just the other day if she remembers and has told her family.....

only a bike, left it outside a shop for 'just a few minutes' as you do and of course it was gone when I came out....

Nope never had anything nicked.

I found £70 on the floor of the bar. It didn't belong to anyone there so I stupidly handed it to the barman. I heard no more but I'm sure he just kept it.I should have held on to it and left my number.

Sparkling I had a similar experience. I picked up about £100 dropped in the street. I took it straight down to the police station and the person who had lost it phoned to report it missing as I was handing it in. The police office told the person who lost the money that the person who had picked it up and handed it in was in the room. Nothing, the person whose money it was, just said. I will be in to collect it later and rang off.

The policeman commented on their failure to say thank you, even if not directly.

I travelled to a family wedding with my cousin who has a learning disability. We arrived the previous evening and stayed in a budget hotel.

A small backpack was stolen from under our table in the bar. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall when the thief opened it to check their haul. It contained incontinence pads, wipes and half a tub of sudocrem. And best of all a pair of wet pants tied up in a plastic from a toilet visit just before we sat down.

Several cars stolen, some from outside the front door.
I had an attempted house break in one night where they removed the beading around the window and tried to remove the glass.
The theft that really annoyed me was when someone stole the house number from beside the front door. It was Cumbrian slate and they even took the screws

Sundaze You reminded me had my underwear and bikinis taken from line when holidaying in Guernsey. Friend most put out hers had been left?