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Original poster

To be gutted and quite shocked that anyone would do this? Possible theft

166 replies

Pyjamaramadrama · 28/12/2014 20:58

Was in PC World today, we were sat at the sale desks with a salesman. We were going to buy something but didn't, another story but was told one price on entering the store then another.

In all the confusion I put ds (6) character wallet on the desk which contained his £20 Christmas money and was going to buy a toy in the sales. It also contained some pretend play money so quite clearly a child's wallet.

We left the store then realised an hour later and went straight back. I was really convinced that somebody would have handed it in, especially being a child's. But nobody has, the lady had a good look around the area where it was left and the salesman said that he left the desk straight away and didn't see anything.

I'm obviously very trusting and naive, gutted to think anyone would steal from a lid for £20.

OP posts:
FunkyBoldRibena · 28/12/2014 23:34

We dont know that anyone did abscond with it. It could have been put safe somewhere by a staff member.

TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge · 28/12/2014 23:37

Well,technically it is the ops fault. She left it there after putting it on the desk for no good reason,rather than keeping it in her bag.Which is probably why she forgot it -easily done when you do something like that. You naturally put back in what is normal to take out, not something that came out for no reason. If it wasn't stolen it still could've disappeared forever..

But no, nobody should steal and it shouldn't be an open invitation. Any decent person would've handed it in.

That said, anything could've happened to it and it could've easily been knocked off somewhere.

I hope ops son isn't too upset

PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange · 28/12/2014 23:38

Have you checked that it hasn't been handed in to the police.

exmoormare · 28/12/2014 23:41

I don't really see what other potential horrendous things people may do to children has to do with the fact that somebody might have pocketed ds £20. Sure there's far worse things going on in the world, but I'm allowed to have a moan about this all the same. I do think it's particularly nasty to pocket a lost wallet and it seems somehow a bit worse to pocket a child's wallet full of pretend money.

I don't mind a moan, it's the faux horror and surprise that someone would DO such a thing when we know they do.

I'd have more patience with 'some twat stole my DSs money' than 'oh, how terrible, I can't believe someone could be so wicked ...'

FunkyBoldRibena · 28/12/2014 23:42

hot water is without blah de blah

I am well aware of that. I was stating the bleeding obvious. Obviously not that bleeding obvious, it would seem.

GimliMinge · 28/12/2014 23:45

You know, your comments on this thread have been pretty much useless and largely abusive. Why is that?

sykadelic · 28/12/2014 23:46

You made a mistake, the result is your son no longer has his wallet or his money. You don't know it was stolen because technically it wasn't, you left it somewhere and now it's not there. Someone could have moved it, thrown it out, taken it to the police, taken it home... all manner of things.

Yes in an ideal world we could leave our things unattended, walk down dark allies, jump across a large gap and hope nothing bad happens, but it doesn't mean it's not a naive hope and that you weren't foolish for doing so.

No-one stole from a kid, if it was indeed "stolen" then it was taken from a desk, not a child. You say it's obviously a kids wallet, perhaps it was obvious to someone else it was a toy and no-one would miss it or would come looking for something like that.

I'd be more upset with myself really. Sometimes people really suck. Better to assume they do and be surprised than be let down all the time.

I once left my entire handbag including wallet, cell phone etc, sitting in the little kid seat of a shopping trolley in a LARGE pretty empty spot of a car park (empty in that you couldn't miss that trolley with my bag). I'd been gone about 15 mins before I returned and there it sat thank goodness. Sure if it had been taken then the thief is the criminal, but if I had returned and it wasn't there, I 100% would have blamed myself.

Clarinet9 · 28/12/2014 23:48

So I don't think you are being unreasonable to be gutted but you are to be shocked, seems a little naive to be shocked really. You leave money lying round and are surprised someone takes it.

I have left expensive face wash in a bathroom of a nice (local independent hotel in Surrey!) years ago realised on checking out and 'it wasn't there'!!!!!, my nephew attends a nice private school (overseas) on a scholarship (small town, quite expensive so generally attended by kids who want for very little) and my sister is shocked at the amount of theft that goes on, school lost property can be named in 100 places and rarely seems to find it's way back, I have had school winter coats taken for a term and named personal items of work equipment used for the time of someones employment and then handed in (that is shocking- low value, reasonably well paid job and essential buy your own FFS), I have seen staff of a certain airline discuss who is going to keep the item of lost property handed in (post departure delayed flight, the owner was still in the room-I can lip read to a certain extent), I overheard my well paid neighbour encouraging her child to steal my chicken, I could go on.

A child's teddy would be disappointing, leaving money lying around in a public place not surprising sorry,
however it is sad, there are lots of people out there who are thieves and lying scum, but lots of people are nice and don't steal.

I have once had something handed in I lost my very very cheap PAYG phone at a National Trust open day walking to ask at the reception my dh and I said surely if it is going to be handed in anywhere it will be here Grin and it was.

SorchaN · 28/12/2014 23:48

Theft is a crime; it's definitely not the OP's fault. If someone else picked up the wallet and took it away, they were committing a crime, for which the OP is not guilty. And happily (in my experience) it's much more common to get a lost item returned than to find it's been stolen.

However, one possibility is that another child picked it up without their parents' knowledge. After all, a child's wallet is probably quite appealing to another child, and children are notoriously impulsive. By the time the parents find out, they probably won't know where it was picked up. If I were the parent of a young child who picked up someone else's wallet, I'd hand it in at a police station...

Original poster
Pyjamaramadrama · 28/12/2014 23:49

I carry a small cross body bag, I'd taken the wallet from my son and stuck it in my bag, had to take it out to get to my own purse and popped it on the desk while I got my card out. Had intended to put it back in but then got all flustered over the price discrepancy, the salesman went off to double check, ds was fidgeting as we'd been waiting ages, ended up leaving the shop, with my own purse in my hand and wallet left on the desk.

Ds isn't bothered about the cash, more bothered about his favourite wallet and his pretend money that Santa put in his stocking! I'm just pissed of because I stupidly thought it would get handed in, mainly due to where it was left in the shop and also that I left ds money, feel guilty.

Guess there's still time for it to turn up and if not it's a lesson learnt.

Thanks all for letting me have a moan, I'm sorry to those of who who've had things stolen, it feels horrible whether our error or not.

OP posts:
Original poster
Pyjamaramadrama · 28/12/2014 23:52

Exmoormare I did explain further down that shocked was the wrong word, I'm more annoyed and pissed off. I did explain that because I've been lucky a couple of times in similar situations I'd been hopeful it would have been handed in, perhaps getting too trusting and naive.

OP posts:
Clarinet9 · 28/12/2014 23:53

Sometimes people really suck. Better to assume they do and be surprised than be let down all the time.

off topic but I had a really bad time a couple of years ago (really bad-won't go there) I decided to expect nothing from anyone, really. People say 'let's go out' I smile say yes of course but know the invitation will never come, same for everything I know never to see a really good offer on sale and expect I will be able to get it, I expect nothing from friends and family, work too (I am struggling to put this into words) and it is so much easier now I don't have to live with disappointment!!
I just smile, agree and when I walk off say 'well that will never happen'

Original poster
Pyjamaramadrama · 28/12/2014 23:56

If I've come across as drama queen it wasn't intended just been one of those days all round.

OP posts:
HopeClearwater · 28/12/2014 23:57

Funky I bet you are the kind of person who picks stuff up that other people have left behind and pockets it. Because you've got a ready-made justification for it. Stealing is a shitty thing to do. It's wrong. It's not less wrong because the owner was careless.
Whoever mentioned that Joyce Carol Oates argument further up this thread, good on you.

Clarinet9 · 28/12/2014 23:57

On a brighter note we were broken into a few months ago, they took everything of personal value, we have lost 18 months of photos because my husband never backed them up, all my jewellery (I had very little total value maybe a couple of hundred pounds) but some was from my Father who is deceased, all gone.

At least it was only 20 quid and you can explain to your son about trust and theft.

HopeClearwater · 28/12/2014 23:57

Oh yes and OP, YANBU.

HopeClearwater · 28/12/2014 23:59

I expect funkyboldribena will be along in a minute to tell clarinet9 that she deserved all she got because her husband didn't back up his pictures.

Clarinet9 · 28/12/2014 23:59

No not a drama queen at all

the guilt is all with the thief not you

I would far rather be able to believe people than my kid see how shitty some people are

Clarinet9 · 29/12/2014 00:00

Hope
well she is welcome too, that would simply be a moronic thing to say (it was so loony it nearly made me smile)

Original poster
Pyjamaramadrama · 29/12/2014 00:00

Clarinet I'm genuinely sorry to hear that, I'm not at all saying the missing wallet is the worst thing to have happened, to me or to anyone. I despise theft full stop.

OP posts:
Clarinet9 · 29/12/2014 00:02

Oh they also took my kids new bike and wrapped birthday present so kids are not immune!!

(tiny bike and wrapped in Dora or similar so couldn't be mistaken for adults!)

Clarinet9 · 29/12/2014 00:03

No I didn't think that I was just trying to suggest a bright side

(Monty Python running through anyone's head?)

QuickSilverFairy · 29/12/2014 00:05

I am sorry you have received such an amount of victim blaming on this thread. You made a mistake, whomever took your child's wallet committed a crime.

TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge · 29/12/2014 00:05

I'd imagine half the ops frustration is actually that she knows she made a mistake in getting it out and leaving in there, even if she won't admit it or recognise it yet. We all tend to when we accidentally do something daft and something bad occurs due to it.

Surely that should make her shock and frustration understandable? She's frustrated with a possible thief or clumsy person and frustrated with herself too.

GermanHouseCat · 29/12/2014 00:09

This is about reality. If I left a wallet in a public place I would be over the moon to have it returned to me. However, were it not returned, I would 100% blame myself for being careless and failing to take care of my belongings. I would direct my anger at myself, not unknown other persons.

In this case the OP is defecting her anger at an unknown individual who may or may not have taken the wallet. She has form for forgetting belongings in the past too, perhaps this will improve her memory in future.

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