Lost Item

[faitaccompli]

I am in a bit of a quandary. Been having a torrid time recently, sold a lot of stuff on ebay and had £300 to spend on myself (having spent all my money recently on ex p and DS).

I bought myself an Apple Watch.

It was due to be delivered in a few weeks time so I used my office address. I work from the office 4 days a week.

Of course, Thursday last week, I got an email to say it was being delivered early (hooray) - the following day (boo) - the day when no one works in the office. I could not change the delivery address as it had already been despatched.

As luck would have it, the admin lady was in the office supervising the removal of office furniture. We are moving offices, selling lots of stuff and the daughter of her friend was sending over some removal men to store some of the furniture for her new company.

I could not call the office as the phones were diverted and mobiles do not work, so I could not warn the admin lady that this package was coming and would need to be signed for.

On Saturday, I looked at the tracking notice and it said the Admin Lady had signed for it. So I drove the 20 minute drive to the office, but the package was nowhere to be seen. I called the admin lady, and she said that she signed for it but could not remember where she had put it. I had another search, a colleague then turned up and they had a search for it but still could not find it. I looked for an hour!

Today the admin lady came into the office and also could not find it. I asked her to find out from the friend's daughter who had taken the furniture whether she had it. To be honest, it must have been picked up by the removal men as it is a remote office, locked and no one else had been there, not even the cleaner. It is in private grounds, so people do not "wander" by.

Admin lady told me that the container was not going to be opened until June! I was pretty cross and said that this was not acceptable - someone had taken a £300 watch and I was not waiting until June to get it back! Plus, we don't know whether it will be in the container. If it is not in the container, then the removal men have stolen it. No other way of putting it. The admin lady is 200% reliable.

So she has emailed the friend's daughter and we are now waiting to find out.

I am pissed off because it was a treat for me after a pretty shitty four weeks and I had been looking forward to playing with it over the weekend. And also because if it HAS gone missing, who the hell is responsible for replacing it. Not the Admin Lady (although she has said she feels responsible and will replace it, I absolutely would not allow that to happen), the lady who bought the furniture? The removal men? Me?

If it is found, then of course there is no problem. But right now, I am short £300, have no watch and no one seems to give a damn about getting it back to me apart from me!

AIBU to expect the friend's daughter to be responsible for replacing it, bearing in mind that it can ONLY have been her removals people who took it from the office?

THE OFFICE IS NOT OPEN ON FRIDAY.
THE OFFICE IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED ON FRIDAY
THEREFORE THE DELIVERY SHOULD HAVE BEEN TURNED AWAY AND A CARD LEFT
THERE SHOULD HAVE NOT BEEN A SINGLE PERSON THE OFFICE TO ACCEPT THE DELIVERY
THE ADMIN LADY WORKS MONDAY TO THURSDAY AND HAS NOT WORKED ON A FRIDAY FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS

Is that clear? Was I shouting?

I am dealing with it.
I am not losing sleep over it.

I AM peeved that it would have been easy for someone to check whether it was in the container or not.

And sharon - what exactly is it that you don't think is fair? Of all the ridiculous comments that have been made on this post, that takes the biscuit!

No one would have been inconvenienced had the removal men not removed the package, and MOST SPECIFICALLY, had the office been shut as it is meant to be on a Friday.

It has not caused a problem to anyone apart from me. In fact, someone has actually benefited with a free Apple watch. So please clarify which bit is not fair.

And please do not make assumptions as to whether I can have an item delivered to my office - you really are not in a position to tell me whether I can do this or not!

Notwitstanding the fact that we CAN have items delivered to the office, I would not ask the company to get involved as they have done nothing wrong.

Jesus wept. It was your responsibility. The watch is YOUR responsibility. It's a fucking watch not a defibrillator. So wait till June, which is next week, and then go to the container and find your watch.

I didn't say that I personally would blame the admin lady. I said that any action would be taken against her. Legally, she is responsible. At least she remembered where she put it, eventually.

The police will probably give you the same advice if they consider the watch stolen. They'll give you the relevant paperwork and advise you to file small claims against the admin lady. I can't see that there is any grounds for involving anyone else unless they have evidence that you/we aren't privy too.

I do hope that it turns up, but it seems that if they've searched the container and it's not there, and it's not in the office, chances are getting slimmer.

Jeez. I'm out. You're far too angry for reason.

My god. I get that you're pissed off. I suspect it'll turn up during the container being opened. I don't think containers can be just opened up easily. I imagine they are stored in a way that doesn't require opening.

I also think the admin lady was to blame. She should have told the courier that she couldn't sign for it.

Because by having it delivered to your place of work you've dragged at least two innocent people into your self created drama. If the plan was for nobody to be there and it end up being sent to the depot wtf didn't you just have it sent your home address? And WHY are you such an arsey mare ffs? Take responsibility and stop acting like everything is someone else's fault in life.
If I were your employer id be thoroughly pissed off at this total farce you've created.

Blimey OP, calm down

It's not your fault that the Admin lady was in the office on Friday but it wasn't hers either. It's was just an unfortunate chain of events. It was not the Admin lady's fault it was stolen and it wasn't her daughters. You can't hold them responsible for it.

Sharon. No one would have been dragged in if the following is taken into account:

1. The office was shut as it is meant to be on a Friday.
2. The item had not been sent 2 weeks early - they were meant to give two days notice of deliver and they, in fact informed me at around 10pm on Thursday night. At this point it was too late to ask them to deliver to my home address
3. There are issues where I live where people sign for items and they then disappear - it was safer to have it delivered to the office as they were unable to confirm a specific delivery date
4. I am not an "arsey mare".
5. I am taking responsibility. I have asked the daughter and the removal men to check - this they have apparently done. I have now informed the police who are following up and requesting statements from the removal ment etc.
6. It is not a self-created drama. I purchased an item valued at £300, it was delivered, signed for and subsequently disappeared. If it had not disappeared, then there would be no drama. It was certainly not me who took the item - so the person who removed the item created the drama. Or should I just write off £300?
7. Fortunately, you are never likely to be my employer, for which I am extremely grateful

Please don't stress yourself in replying again - you clearly have no empathy or understanding on what it is like to have an item go missing at a generally difficult time. You are not adding anything good to my life, and I would prefer you to go badger someone else.

I fully appreciate all responses which said I was at fault where they were presented in a considered and intelligent fashion and where I was allowed to expand on the reasons why I had taken the route I did with the initial delivery.

Oh don't worry. I'd rather avoid such melodrama and woe thanks

Sheesh, I can understand your frustration but no need to start "shouting" and kicking off here - no one here is at fault.

I hope you get it back.

Do delivery men take parcels and think nothing will come of it? The daughter seems very stroppy for someone who is innocent.

You can't prove the removal men took it. There is no real evidence against them. Presumably the doors were left unlocked while they were going in and out with furniture, so in theory anyone could have wandered in and taken the jiffy-bag. Or the admin lady could have taken it (I know you think she is trustworthy but the police can't rule her out and blame the removal men instead, just because you think it's more likely they took it and she didn't.) I'm not really sure what you think the police can do? They can talk to the daughter yes, but if she has no further information for them, what do you think will happen next?

Yes the office was supposed to be shut on a Friday... but instead it opened for a business transaction (selling office furniture). The client (daughter) sent a removal team to collect the furniture, a member of staff (admin lady) was present. No-one asked you if Friday was a suitable day but equally no-one knew you were having a personal item delivered. In an office where there is more than one key-holder, you can't guarantee it will be shut and locked and therefore any item you have delivered there is at your own risk. Presumably you wanted the furniture sold and collected asap, so the admin lady probably thought she was doing the right thing getting it sorted before the daughter's holiday. I doubt the daughter saw the purchase of the furniture as 'you doing her a favour' even if she did get a bargain.

I don't think you realise how aggressive and accusatory you sound towards the daughter... if this came across in your emails to her, I'm not surprised she ignored them for 8 days. I agree it was rude of her not to respond, but she was under no obligation to help you look for the watch OR pass on the contact details of the removal firm. An expensive item (which should have been stored in a secure place by admin lady) was left lying around, and vanished, which has nothing to do with the person who hired the removal company. Even if a removal man took it and stole it (or accidentally took it and lost it) how do you intend to prove this? The responsibility is solely with the person who ordered the item and the person who signed for it.

I understand this is very upsetting and frustrating for you. I would be devastated if it happened to me. But I would not be clutching at straws and blaming or harassing people who may be completely innocent. I think you're upsetting a lot of people over this, instead of accepting it was a bad decision to have it delivered to your office.
The office being opened on a Friday without your consent is a different matter, one to deal with separately (a professional matter not a personal one). It was very unfortunate it happened on the day the watch was delivered. Unless the police can trace it or it turns up in the container, I think it's unlikely you'll see this watch again and it may be best to accept this rather than continue to rage about it.

I would never have had such a valuable item delivered to my work or I would have made it crystal clear when I'd be there or not.

I think you also have to rethink your policy of having items delivered to your office as if you bandy accusations around of theft your office would be quite reasonable in asking you to get future personal items to a collection point or your home address.

Did the removal company have an itinerary list? Probably not, but I would if I had a removal company and you'd be bow to check off that rather than open the container.

Yes - there was a list.

It was ALL furniture, plus a white board and photocopier.

There were no white jiffy bags on the list.

Faitaccompli, looking at your comment No. 2, I wonder if it could be useful: "they were meant to give two days notice of deliver and they, in fact informed me at around 10pm on Thursday night"... Maybe you could make the case that this delivery-without-due-notice was intrinsically unsafe? I mean, it was the lack of notice that started the problem, right?

Failing that, I have to say, I think the next person at fault is the admin lady - signing for something and not keeping an eye on it. But, I get that it feels very harsh to lay the blame there.

expatinscotland, you need to RTFT. OP originally posted on 11th May, when June was not "next week" and the container has already been checked.

Do you think there's a chance the admin lady might have taken it, OP? Seems a bit odd to just forget where you've put a package and then it's disappeared.

'Please don't stress yourself in replying again - you clearly have no empathy or understanding on what it is like to have an item go missing at a generally difficult time. You are not adding anything good to my life, and I would prefer you to go badger someone else.

I fully appreciate all responses which said I was at fault where they were presented in a considered and intelligent fashion and where I was allowed to expand on the reasons why I had taken the route I did with the initial delivery.'

So post on AIBU and then kick off when people don't mollycoddle you.

It's a bloody watch that will likely be found in a week or so.

If it meant that much to you, knowing that the office is closed 1 day a week, it would have been prudent to have it sent somewhere else.

Thanks Icimoi.

The admin lady has worked with us for over 12 years. She is lovely, and 100% trustworthy.

I am sure the daughter is the same.

And I am sure that friends of the removal men will say the same as well.

'expatinscotland, you need to RTFT.'

I read the fucking thread, thanks much. There is a list, Ici. That doesn't include the jiffy bag, which may well be in a drawer somewhere.

But again, this remains to be seen.

It's a watch, not a cure for cancer.

Expat.

It has now been "lost" for over two weeks.

I can't afford to "forget" £300.

I am not asking to be mollycoddled. I asked that poster to refrain as she/he were not adding anything that was in any way constructive and had clearly not read the previous posts.

I am not kicking off. I have not used the wonderful "FFS" or any other hidden expletives. I AM asking that if someone wants to be insulting or negative towards me, then first read the posts I have made.

Not an unreasonable request?

Sue 'em all then! Kick off! The sky is falling! An apple watch has been missing for two weeks.

Knock yourself out.