Unfortunately, it was not to be. While at the gym on Saturday, some jackass broke into Simon's locker (along with 5 other unfortunate souls) and stole his wallet, keys, and cell phone. Were it not for the fact that Simon's gym is walking distance to my place-and we were planning on him coming over around 5p, he would have been absolutely stranded there, as his money, credit cards, ATM, and Tube pass were all in his wallet.
So, instead of a lovley, relaxing evening with friends, we were on the phone from 5p-7p getting cards canceleld, reporting the phone stolen, and trying to track down anyone that would be able to contact his landlord to get a spare set of keys.
Fortunately, Simon's 'landlord' is his best friend's wife (Herbie & Shalma), but without his phone, the only phone number Simon could remember was Herbie's mom. So, we called and left a message. Then, I scoured the internet looking for any way to contact Herbie. I emailed him through facebook, you tube, djhistory.com, and even the estate agent that is selling their house. yeesh. Luckily in the end, Herbie's mom got the message, and Herbie called us back-agreeing to meet up clear across town at 8p to get a set of keys to Simon.
So, we dashed off to the nearest tube station to cancel his old pass and buy a new one, and then went clear across town to meet Herbie before then going to Simon's flat to have the locks changed. The robbers stole his keys and he couldn't remember if there was anything in the wallet that would indicate his address. Better to be safe than sorry, though. Locksmith finally arrived at 11.30p-and at a cost of £130, we were done. We weren't planning on staying at his place-Simon had nothing to eat in the pantry, had left his contact 'stuff' at my place, and I didn't bring anything with me except my purse, so we turned back around and proceeded back to my place. Clear across town. Two busses, two failed attempts at getting on the tube (it was too late...), and a £20 taxi ride later, we arrive back at my place at 1a to grab a bite of 'dinner' before falling into bed at 2a.
Grr. What an f-ing inconvenient experience. I feel bad for Simon. When he was making the phone calls at my place when he first arrived, his hands were shaking. And, I'm pissed off to know that someone made him feel that way.
For once however, I was thankful for the British way of doing things. All cards (whether ATM, debit, or credit...) are required to have a PIN to conduct a transaction. So, we have safely confirmed that not a single £ was taken from his account-or spend on his credit card: there's no way to make the transaction. We cancelled the phone so quickly after it was stolen, the only thing the phone will be good for is the £10 they'll get if they try to sell it (if they're smart enough to try..). Ironically, the most valuable thing that was stolen was Simon's tube pass. It's a monthly Zone 1 & 2 pass-that was just re-upped that very day. Value? About £90. Luckliy, we cancelled that thing fairly quickly as well. So, when all is said and done, there wasn't much financial damage-just a real pain in the ass to get things sorted out.
Grr.
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