Thursday, June 4, 2015

Pity Party

what to do when your purse gets stolen

Tuesday went from wonderful to horrible in no time flat. What started as a beautiful day at the park with friends turned into my purse being stolen out of my car and the aftermath of said violation. So I'm throwing myself a pity party and imparting some hard lessons learned with you.

What saved our bank account: text alerts. We bank with Chase and have it set up to notify us whenever our balance is under $50 (but you can set the amount to whatever you want) when Brian got the alert we were overdrawn $150 he checked what purchase went through and asked me if I had gone to a gas station near the park the girls and I were at. And then we promptly called the bank to file a fraudulent claim. 

We also froze our accounts just in case and will be reopening new ones once my new Drivers License comes in the mail.

Dealing with the DMV: I get palpitations just thinking about the DMV but there's a branch right down the street from our house and going 15 minutes before closing was perfect timing, low lines and prompt service. Try it next time and bypass the appointment hassle.

Freezing Credit: Thankfully I only have one credit card and my friend who was with me at the park and lent awesome moral support right after the incident suggested contacting Experian to freeze my credit just in case they tried opening new lines of credit. 
I also contacted my credit card provider and they closed my old account and was refunded the three, $1 purchases from the same gas station they extracted money from the debit card.

I also had my health benefits cards in my planner and Brian had to contact our Insurance Company to have new cards made and report possible fraud. This really worried me but I'm pretty sure the perp was young and was only thinking about cash.

My tips:

  • Don't leave valuables in the car (duh right? But you get comfortable and don't realize how vulnerable this makes you until something bad happens)
  • Act fast and cover all your bases even if you don't know for sure what was stolen. I had a huge panic when I thought my SS card was in my planner and started looking up identity theft but thankfully it was in the file cabinet, whew. 
  • Utilize the Police. I am filing a report just to have it on record and if on the slim chance my purse is recovered, I can get it back.

I'm super bummed and upset to have lost my purse (a Christmas gift from Brian and Kinsey) and my Day Planner I've had since high school, not to mention a hand full of gift cards and a high school ID of Brian but then I remind myself those are just things and can be replaced. The important things I had with me, my girls and my phone ;)

Everyone I have dealt with in regards to this ordeal has been super nice, understanding and accommodating. Definitely making a horrible experience less traumatic.  

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10 comments:

  1. I am so sorry that happened to you! I literally live in my purse so I can imagine what a bummer thi is. And the DMV is the last place on earth i like to visit!

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    1. It is surreal! I'm carrying stuff in my pockets and just don't get how men can function like that lol. Thanks for the support Kasey.

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  2. SO sorry you had to go throughout this! Boo!

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    1. Thanks Amanda! Seriously everyone has been supportive so its made a bad situation go more smoothly.

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    2. Oh No! I know being from a small town, I can easily become too trusting of those wandering by my car - you just never know! Hopefully your experience is completely resolved soon so you can get back to your regular routine. Thanks for writing though and sharing on the link up today - we all should be prepared!

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    3. Thank you Stephanie, normal is definitely being restored. If I can help someone who finds themself in this situation all the better :)

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  3. Oh NO!! That's terrible I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. I'm glad everything that was most important to you was safe. Getting my wallet stolen is one of my biggest fears living in NYC. My debit card got "skimmed" this year and even though I never had anything physically stolen they ran over $350 on our account. It took a month to get it back. No fun.

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  4. What a stinking jerk. So sorry friend. But at least you were able to find some bright sides. Such an optimist you are :).

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  5. How awful. I always am leaving my purse in the car so this story really speaks to me!!! At least nothing happened to your or your family :-)

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