Safe Speed Forums

I hope this and what I am about to say is suitable for an open forum. I don't think I'm giving too much away of a personal or in-depth nature but my faith in people has, not for the first time, upset me at how dishonest people can be.



For the first time ever in my life I lost my wallet tonight; well it was stolen really.

I knew where I had it last, only minutes earlier, so went back to the store which had CCTV, inside and out, and revealed what happened..

I bought some beer from a local Off Licence and after I paid for it and put the change in my wallet, because others were waiting behind me, I just quickly put it between my gloves along with all my other stuff and left. (I was using my motorbike).

By the time I was outside fumbling with a bag, my gloves and faffing with a key to open my top box etc. the footage clearly shows how it fell on the ground as I chose the glove for my right hand while straddling my bike ready to go. Wearing a helmet also blinkered me to what happened and muffled my hearing, as I know others here will know, otherwise I’m sure I would have noticed.

The footage very clearly shows a woman and her son coming out just after I left and she notices it straight away. As she walks past it she points to it and her young son, who is a few feet behind her, dutifully picks it up as they walk on their way.

Again, the video footage in 'real time' clearly shows how she was right behind me, on foot, about two seconds after I rode off. So there is absolutely no doubt she would have known it was mine, although even IF she didn't that was no excuse for what followed tonight

Now I know what you’re thinking, “try using your brain to remember the most important thing in future”. Okay, you’re right. My head was thinking of other things, not least the crappie hard week I’ve had and this is the weekend where I can hopefully ease into my 'mental slippers'. I’m not usually that scatterbrained, but I was tonight.

So off I went oblivious to what had happened outside Drinks World and I went to my local corner shop to get some grub and a lottery number. It was then, about five minutes after the incident, that I realised I was minus a wallet. I went back and forth twice looking at every inch of the road on my short route and asked the nice man in the store if he had seen it or anything and it was on my second return to his store he said “I can play back the CCTV”.

We were able to view me as I pulled up, got off and inside the store – the whole thing in good quality for the lighting I must say. This is where it became more sinister...

Knowing this I quickly rode home and logged on to find what number I need to cancel my Debit Card, but there’s an unread email in my inbox from “Barclays Verified by Visa” with the subject title “Verified by Visa Password Change Confirmation”

Here’s what it said:

“This message confirms you changed the password for your Verified by Visa service.

This is an outbound message only. Please do not reply.

If you have not amended your Verified by Visa account password, please contact us on 0870 156 6485*.

Thank you

Barclays Bank PLC”

Then followed a manic panic session of phone calling and pressing “1” for this and “2” for that.... !!!


I should add I am not blaming either Barclays or Just Eat, (who ever they are), but I am surprised at the apparent ease with which this could happen. Even as the genuine account holder I know I have to jump through e-hoops of fire to do anything!!!

The CCTV showed that this happened at, (I did see it at the time but can’t remember exactly now because I’m still trying to come down from it all), about 18:10 p.m. The email showed they ‘got to work’ at 18:31 p.m. and spent £52.65 from what I believe is an online foody thing called ‘Just Eat’. Apart from that, everything else was now cancelled and safe, I think or thought.

Once the man who can cancel cards was done with me I needed to be passed onto a fraud investigation line whereupon I am told that the Verified by Visa account is something different and separate. So she had to cancel that and give me a temporary password which I’ll have to faff with later and change to something I usually use which is difficult to guess like Abcd1234. (I'm trying not feel down about it).

So then, when I get a bank statement with the amount £52.65 credited to Just Eat I am to call them back and proceedings will, well, proceed.

There is a question here which really bothers me! I keep my life simple so all I have in my wallet, apart from small cash, is a Debit Card and my driver’s licence which, I am going to hazard a guess, is probably less than most people here? And yet they can do ALL THIS to me in the space of ~20 minutes!??? Is there anything more they can do by virtue being in possession of my licence?

Please don’t criticize me for being stupid; I know I was and I guess it’s what you would call a lesson learnt the hard way. Since all I’ve got is four cans of Carlsberg and no money, or means of withdrawing any, I’ll sup them and cry myself to sleep tonight.

What a world we live in It wasn't like this when i was a kid growing up in Cornwall I can tell you

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Very sorry to hear that.

A few years ago I had my wallet stolen at work - I had left my jacket over the back of my chair in a location easily visible to contractors. Fortunately I was able to cancel all the cards before anything was taken.

Before Christmas my elderly mother had her purse stolen in a supermarket. The thieves managed to withdraw £250 from her bank account within 20 minutes, but she managed to get that refunded. It seriously shook her up, though

It's very common - you can't be too careful.

If credit scoring allows, it's a good idea to have at least two cards, and keep one at home, so you're not totally f*cked if your purse/wallet is nicked.

On the other hand, I have on two occasions left my wallet in a pub, and managed to retrieve it intact, so common decency is not dead

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Thanks Peter and sorry for any grammatical errors or edit to try and get it more exact. (I re-read it several times and saw flaws but I was trying to get it written while it is still raw).

This has never happened to me before and TBH it could not have come at a worse time. That transaction took me over my overdraft limit too.

At least I have Monday off so I can go down to my local bank and talk to a 'real person' whom I know and has been helpful before.

I’m fed up. It isn’t just about this, it’s laid me low because of what the world, or is it just MY country, has become now really if I'm honest.

Best I sign off for tonight.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Sorry to hear it Tone ,but not surprised at the lack of honesty .Similar thing happened to mrs B few years ago .She put her purse down in the Foyer at a local Supermart to pack things in a bag .She haden't had her eyes off her purse long enough to smack yer thigh ,yet it had walked.

Have you got online banking and a savings card?.Gotten me out of a hole when one cash point decided it liked the flavour of my debit card -either go on line /pick up the phone and transfer some cash to the savings card.Another good use is in areas if you don't trust the machine .I keep mine almost empty ,but in a case like this,telephone transfer what I want to withdraw .Any funny business at the machine and they get data on the savings card ,but by then you've emptied it and can change the pin at a trusted machine before the next time .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

I rang the B*****yCard phone line today ( the same number as I would use to report a lost or stolen card ) and it was 20 minutes of waiting before I could talk to anyone. Plenty of time to use the card.

Fortunately I was only calling to report a card that had been swallowed by the cash machine at my own B******s branch.

They are so concerned about fraud that they have cancelled the other card on the account and I now have to wait a week for new cards and account number to arrive despite the fact that the lost card is in their own cash machine!

Verified by visa is an absolute joke! It is far too easy to change the password as the only information wanted is the card details which if you've stolen the card are rather easy to find.

Clearly whoever picked it up is a moron as VBV will have a record of the IP address used to change the password (or they blooming well should have) which will lead straight back to the thief.

Sorry to hear about that Tone, I was a victim of an internet banking scam a couple of years back, A couple of grand moved to another account (at the same bank) and he even set up a DD to his account.
The bank fraud team were a joke, I even reported it to the police but guess what happened ? The damned DPA didn't allow the police to access information from my bank . Within a few days all my money was returned back to me, needless to say i quickly changed my account number and details.
Have you contacted http://www.just-eat.co.uk/ ?

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nigel_bytes

Sorry to hear about that Tone, real bad luck dropping it right in front of a total scumbag who knew how to use it

Many years ago I was on holiday with a pal, we had lunch in a cafe and about 5 mins after we left my pal realised his wallet was missing. We returned to the cafe to enquire if it was there .... turned out the waitress had found it under the table we were at and had asked the guy that was now sitting there if it was his, he said yes and she gave it to him without checking any identity .... there was a driving licence in it so all she had to do was ask his name!! of course he promptly left the cafe. The wallet had all his holiday cash in it and we had to cut the holiday short . The wallet was later found and returned via the Police minus the cash, but did still have his driving licence in.

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You only need two tools - WD40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, use WD40. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. :0)

Thanks everyone; it sounds like I am not the only one and perhaps should be grateful that I got off lightly by comparison.

I did wonder about calling Just Eat thanks Nigel but I don’t know what they could do or give me to help; thinking of the policies surrounding confidentiality etc. In fact I asked the guy in the store if I could have a copy of that part of the video but he quite rightly said he cannot do that although he did offer to burn it to a CD should it be needed later. (I hope he keeps to his word).

What I didn’t get, after my restless night’s sleep, is why do they want me to sit on my hands when the transaction is right there in front of their eyes? They asked me to wait until the statement is delivered and call us back again but surely it is better to investigate now before any record or ‘paper trail’ disappears?

I was wondering whether I should make a statement to the police today, just for the record, but I’m not sure they would be interested in such relative trivia. I was thinking the same as you Teabelly, that there must be an IP address but again, I don’t know why they don’t want to act now while the case is still hot

Thanks again for your well wishes everyone. I’ll post any new developments but I don’t think much more is going to happen until I get to the bank first thing tomorrow morning.

Exactly what happened to me Onizorb. If they hadn’t kept me waiting for 15 minutes it could have been intercepted. When you’re desperate to get through to someone and all you get is “We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls” every second feels like an hour! For that I think I do blame them I know they can't 'man' every line but you would think there ought to be a fast track when it's regarding a lost or stolen card FFS. Don't these fools know what's likely to be happening!


Edit to add:

Oh, I meant to say.. I still find it ridiculous that with just one debit card and my driving licence they can infiltrate to the core. I understand how the card be used to order some food but as for the other thing, how on Earth did they do that?

I mean when I called them they asked questions these crims would never know like: -

Mother’s maiden name
What telephone company I use
How old will you be on your birthday this year. (Which I thought that was a clever one to catch people off guard)

There’s something seriously wrong with security and I think I am justified in being paranoid about the super information highway. The less I can use it the better as far as I am concerned. In future I am only going to carry my driver’s licence and a small amount of cash which wouldn’t break my heart to lose.

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

I just remembered a replacement licence is £20

Can someone give me a hug please? I'd better go around to my sister and borrow some money, and tell her to check what she actually really needs in her purse...

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Plus the cost of a new photograph. Consider yourself hugely hugged

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Well I just got back from the Police station after being interviewed for an hour by two nice PCs

I was told that I should go and make a statement and now I'm glad I did. They were very interested in it and someone is going to go down to the store to view, or take a copy, of the CCTV footage.

It means I may have to appear in court later, they asked if I am willing and I said yes. It helps with the sentencing and level of sentence. It may take some time, weeks or longer, before they trace her but they are optimistic they will because she is probably known in the area by certain people. (The PC has contacts )

Thanks for the hug mate

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

It's good to hear they are taking it seriously

If fraudsters don't get jumped on immediately then fraud just gets out of control as people start to realise they can get away with it!

I had a similar experiance some years ago when my card detailes were cloned by a crooked Comet employee.

I was told that One of the problems that the police have pursuing these sort of "Low level" offences is that most victims are not willing to take time out to make statements or give evidence in court.

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"The road to a police state is paved with public safety legislation"

You can do it on line http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Dr ... DG_4022085

or by phone ( check saynoto0870.com for an 0800 equivalent).


so presumably you do not need a photo, but it still costs £20.

Add another belated hug to the above .


And

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

Sorry. You are quite right. You only need a new photo when you are renewing the licence. Which I just did. Interestingly, the photo which was accepted for my driving licence was rejected by the passport office because I am wearing lightly tinted specs on it.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

That's it exactly Dusty! I was so close to thinking 'what's the point' and thinking they will think 'get a life, we have real crimes to deal with you know'.

They could not have been nicer though and it helped that they were female TBH.

Thanks for the hug Botach. I'll collect them all later guys

Seriously, they put me at ease and I know with the help of my crime number I'll be reimbursed. Not sure about the unauthorized overdraft though..

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Overdraft -might be worth asking how/emphasising that the thief managed to breach their security WITHOUT your help -so possibly the security was not what the bank promised =you're not too happy about the security of your account etc etc .

And from experiences of plant theft ,the police only (usually ) are interested in the money/value of item stolen .

Factor in your financial embarrassment /£20 + time to replace licence and "petty " theft soon becomes a bit more major ,perhaps persuading the magistrate to dish out something a bit more .
On the licence side - at least looking at my counterpart it's got an issue number on it -just in case the stolen one is used for hiring a car etc .(Though hopefully the photo will help stop that)

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

The manager at my bank has been kind and helpful in the past so I will treat her with the respect and kindness she has shown me.

Oh btw I have a face like no-one else I've ever seen.

The pc did tell me to let the DVLA know my licence is stolen but I was going to wait until I got my card on Wednesday so I can buy a replacement on line and kill two birds..

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The views expressed in this post are personal opinions and do not necessarily represent the views of Safe Speed.
You will be branded a threat to society by going over a speed limit where it is safe to do so, and suffer the consequences of your actions in a way criminals do not, more so than someone who is a real threat to our society.

Possibly I've been watching too much passport control ,with tampered photos .Cunning folk those ................................

On face -no comment .

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on