I feel like a tennis ball....

I had my mobile stolen the other day. At work. I'd taken all the stuff out of my jacket to put it in at the dry cleaners and had left my phone on top of my filling cabinet in my consulting room. And some little bastard helped himself to it. It was visible from the shop floor, so it's partly my fault, but its still bloody annoying. I just need to get some footage off the CCTV cameras. It wont actually show him taking it, (no camera in the consulting room) but may be of use to the police.

The real fun came when I tried to report it. I phoned the phone company: 'we need a crime reference or lost property number before we can do anything.'
I phoned the police: 'We need the IMEI number' (What???)
Back to the phone company to get the IMEI number
Back to the police: 'Has the phone been barred? Have any calls been made on it since its been taken? Can't give you a crime reference number until we know this.' I don't know, why didn't you ask me this when I first called???


Eventually back to the phone company. I actually get to speak to a decent person, who doesn't ask for a crime reference, sorts out a replacement handset for me, manages to keep the same number as before, and gives me all the details I need for the police. A replacement handset is either a £70 one off charge, or £30 and a 12 month subscription to their insurance policy at £6 per month (=£92). As this is the first phone I've lost in six years I think I'll take the first option.

The mobile phone company (Orange) only provide a 07 number to contact them on if you aren't calling from an orange mobile. The whole reason I'm phoning you is because I don't have my phone!!!! There were several times I called and got told there was a 20 minute wait to speak to someone. Nice little earner for them, though obviously I didn't hold the line (when do I have 20 minutes to hang on the phone at work?). When my contract is up I think I'll be moving elsewhere as I was not at all impressed by their customer service.