The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
My shit got stolen. (UPDATE: Twice! But got some back.)
Daedalus
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I forgot to lock the door to my apartment and when I got home my X360, my Wii, and my new PSP that I got for Xmas were missing. I filed an insurance claim (but I'll still get fuckall back because the three combined probably don't add up to much higher than the deductable) and am in the process of filing a police report (but I know they aren't going to be able to recover anything either). So. Some more practical questions:
1) My Wii downloaded stuff. (Virtual Console, WiiWare, etc.) Is there any way I could transfer this to a replacement Wii? I have the old Friend Code saved somewhere.
2) The X360. They left behind a wireless controller, so I tried to see if it paired with the console near any of the nearby apartments, but no hits. (I don't think it was local kids anyway, or they probably would have taken an armload of games: as it is the only games missing are the ones that were in the consoles at the time). I know there's no hassle to redownload stuff here (except my Rock Band 1 tracks). Is there any way to get Microsoft to at least Live-ban the console?
3) Any other suggestions from the peanut gallery?
I'm trying to stay sane through all this.
1) My Wii downloaded stuff. (Virtual Console, WiiWare, etc.) Is there any way I could transfer this to a replacement Wii? I have the old Friend Code saved somewhere.
2) The X360. They left behind a wireless controller, so I tried to see if it paired with the console near any of the nearby apartments, but no hits. (I don't think it was local kids anyway, or they probably would have taken an armload of games: as it is the only games missing are the ones that were in the consoles at the time). I know there's no hassle to redownload stuff here (except my Rock Band 1 tracks). Is there any way to get Microsoft to at least Live-ban the console?
3) Any other suggestions from the peanut gallery?
I'm trying to stay sane through all this. Daedalus on
0
Posts
That being said, I wouldn't go too crazy trying to do much about it. File the police and insurance report and chalk the whole experience up as one of those "learn a lesson the hard way" moments to lock your door.
You aren't really going to get much more out of this and the sooner you put it behind you the better you'll probably feel.
RESEARCH: It sounds like, despite that idea being feasible, MS will just disable its ability to connect to Live if you report it stolen and happily accept your money for a new Xbox
It looks like the poster in this forum may have had some luck, http://forum.teamxbox.com/showthread.php?p=11053297
I don't care how Muslim this nation is, there are still stupid europeans a half mile away.
Seattle had a long stretch were most thieves in the downtown area were fencing everything at a central pawn store right near the tourist area. Might help you follow up on jedikuonji's lead.
I called up Microsoft and got my credit card information removed from the account, so that's solved. Nintendo was able to give me the serial number of my Wii based on the credit card I used to buy stuff from WiiWare. I took that number and called Gamestop corporate to ask if that system had been traded in...
and hit another dead end; the thieves didn't take it to Gamestop. So I guess that's out. On Monday I'll call the police department to get the serial number added to the report, on the off chance that they happen to run into it. (Although maybe I should call GS again to see if they took it there today).
Oh, and Nintendo will transfer downloaded stuff from a stolen system to a replacement, but you need to go through some Kafkaesque horseshit involving faxing them a copy of the police report, serial numbers and receipts from both systems, etc. etc.
are the thieves regularly just trying door handles as they walk through apartments?
Is it common for apartment dwellers to hear people trying their doorknob every once in a while?
Yes, when I lived in low-income housing, at least once a week I'd get a door knob jiggle. Usually I'd walk out and see a dude with a backpack walking down the hall trying doors. I reported him to the building admins, and the police...found out he had robbed a few places and got arrested because they knew what to look for and caught him in the act. I promptly got a third lock installed that autolocked my door when it closed (like a hotel).
On the subject though, wait a month. Most stolen electronics will not get fenced/pawned for at least a month if not more. A thief who only targeted high value/high demand goods knows what he's doing. He's not looking to make a quick buck, he's a thief. He'll stash your stuff for a month or more, that's the point police stop looking/caring as more stolen goods have shown up on their list.
In a month or two, call GS again and check your serial numbers, then call/go in the largest pawn shops in your city (ask friends/internet if you don't know the shops that get the highest traffic) and do the same thing. Since you've filled a police report as stolen property, the Pawn Shop will just give you back your stuff and take the hit. If they don't, you can involve the police, who will get your stuff back right there, and then follow the lead on the seller from the pawn shop.
So, don't lose faith! Jackass isn't going to sell your stuff right away, 1 month to 6 months is the fencing gap. If you can't get it back via traditional means in 6 months...it's in the wind.
and generally speaking, they are not living in the apartment, but gained access anyhow... ?
Over the course of the past two months, I got the money from the homeowner's insurance and replaced the Wii and X360. Shit was fine for a while until, one day when I was in a rush to get out the door (and then forgot something in the apartment and needed to rush back to get it), I apparently forgot to lock the door again. The replacement consoles then also went missing.
This time, the dipshit had a Craigslist ad up the next day. Also, I remembered to save the serial numbers this time. I forwarded this information to the police and earlier today they caught the guy. I got my (second) Wii back, but I guess he already sold the Xbox because it wasn't there. I know this was the same guy both times because one of the games he stole back in January was in the pile of stolen stuff recovered from the kid's apartment. (I have a quirk of saving the receipts for my games in the game case, behind the manual. This one matched my credit card number, and was from a Gamestop in the state that I used to live in, a couple hundred miles away.)
Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is that the cops can catch the guy if you find the Craigslist ad that exactly matches your stolen stuff for them. I'm glad he was at least caught even though I'm not getting all my stuff back.
auto locking door does seem like a good idea for you, duder
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
It's funny, it didn't look like a theft-heavy area at all. I guess you can never tell.
It probably doesn't. It's not the only reason I'm moving out, in any case.
Yeah, don't know how that guy came to that conclusion.
Do it. Could keep other people cautious so this little prick doesn't get anyone else's stuff, or it could get the prick evicted.
That is really creepy.
I've never gotten doorknob testers, but I haven't lived in "low-income" buildings either... although I would consider anywhere heavily populated by college students to be vulnerable to casual thievery like that. What does unnerve me is random door buzzings at night. It's rare but it happens, and no, I'm NOT going to just buzz in a random person at 3 a.m. when I'm not expecting anyone, nice try though... and I can only hope no one else in the building is feeling generous.
If hes a juvenile I doubt they're going to evict his parents for something he did.
I've had multiple landlords who absolutely would evict such tenants.
I only ask because, while I live in a nice neighborhood weve had a string of thefts around here, I could easily be next. (Police suspect it is a couple of kids not from this neighborhood breaking into peoples homes in the middle of the afternoon, before they get off work).
This thread reminded me I probably should get my shit together for robbery purposes. No one in thier right mind would come into someones house while they are home in Mississippi (great way to catch a .45 round in the chest), but....no ones home seems like fair play these day.
If you can prove you bought it with credit card receipts and such, you're fine. Doubly so if your credit card offers insurance on purchases and you can go through them to get a refund.
If you have a safe, make sure it's bolted down. More for damage, but make sure you're aware of the fire rating and what would actually survive in a fire - not CDs. Theft, not much you can do, besides locking that door!
If you can park in a garage, you just bypass that crap. I know it isn't advice for home security, but if you're trying to get more security conscious it's something I'd recommend. Even some apartments have a 1-car garage around here.