Mobile dilemma

[Zammo]

I had my mobile phone stolen at the weekend so right away I cancelled my sim card and I'm now waiting on a replacement from 02 with the same number but I was hoping to get a back log of text messages from the Saturday (the day my phone was nicked) up until the day I get my new card, is this likely because I hate the thought of missing any text messages, especially as i gave this guy i like my number last week and was hoping he might text...argh - I might never know!!

[enigma]

Hi Zammo. I used to work in a call centre for T-mobile (prepay calls) and when we sent out replacement sims , it cancelled out the original sim and the bad news is , you can't retrieve lost text messages which you already had on your phone because it is effectively a new card , it's just that you get to keep your original number. Only new messages from when your card was activated will come through but hopefully the person you are hoping to text you will not have sent one yet and hey , if he likes you enough and wants to get hold of you , he might try again. Fingers crossed for you x

[Zammo]

Thanks. I had a horrible feeling that might be the case. :-)

[maximo]

The same happened to me! I got the replacement card overnight (well done O2!), and when I put it in, there was one text that I'd received while I was waiting for the card. However, I know for a fact that I was sent more than that, as my mates told me they'd texted me. I don't know why only one went through. Were your texts stored on your phone memory or on the card?

[Zammo]

I'm pretty sure they were stored on the phone but a bit unsure. O2 are great because they don't charge you for a replacement card with the same number and I would have happily paid at least a tenner just because it's saving me the hassle of giving everyone a new number which would cost a bomb! Also they are going to give me the credit I've lost but just wish they could give me the texts I'm missing our on....sniff, sniff! One of my mates tried texting my phone and it came up sending failed but another of my mates sent one and it let her which I didn't understand.

[maximo]

Maybe your mate could send it because they hadn't yet cancelled the card? Anyway, I'm sure he'll text you again if the first time failed. Chin up ! ( and shame to those stupid phone thieves!!! grrrrrr.....)

[enigma]

When a text message is sent , it doesn't always deliver it straight away for various reasons ie busy network causing delays or maybe the person's phone is switched off. When a sim card has been reported lost or stolen and a replacement is requested , it immediately cancels out the previous sim so any messages sent to that number will be returned as a failed message. However , as text messages can float about for up to 72 hours from when sent before either being delivered or returned as message failed , it will show as having been sent from your phone. Did your friend send it less than 72 hours ago ? If so , it may still return it as failed. If not , then i'm a bit baffled. She did send it to the right number eh , lol ?

Have you blocked the handset with your network as well ? If not , then you should ask them to do that because it renders the phone useless so that whoever the toerag is who's got it won't even be able to use it if they have taken out the sim and put another in. It will be blocked. At the risk of asking a stupid question as well , have you reported it to the police ? My sister had her phone stolen at school but saw the little creep who had it and recognised it as hers. She could prove it was hers because of the IMEI number and IMSI number which I had told her to always keep a note of. Even though he had changed cards , she could prove beyond all reasonable doubt that it was hers. I do hope the guy you're hoping to hear from gets in touch. Chin up and good luck x

[Zammo]

I hope he does too, he's lovely. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

I haven't reported it to the police because I thought it might be pointless because I didn't lose it but maybe I should. I did cancel the phone and luckily my phone was running out of battery so the beggar might have to buy a charger for it. I'm sure they'll probably go to a shop and get in unlocked....the swines!!! I just don't like the thought of them having access to all my pictures/videos/phone numbers....argh!!!!!!

Well one friend was trying to send me a text maybe a couple of hours after I cancelled it and she just kept getting the message failing and my other friend that was successfully sending the text was the saturday night, maybe about 4 hours after I cancelled the sim....i'm so confused...it doesn't take much...lol!

[enigma]

Part 1 : You should definitely report it to the police Zammo. Your phone was stolen and that is a crime. It makes no odds though whether it was lost or stolen , you should still always report it becasue you never know , there is always a chance - even if slim - that you may get it back. The police could possibly uncover other stolen items from the person who has your phone and be able to trace it back to the original owner , ie you , if they have had a report filed. It's always worth a shot.

[enigma]

Part 2 : Don't worry , if the slimy little toad who has your phone is stupid enough to take a stolen handset to a shop to have it unblocked , they will check it to see if it has been reported stolen. We had a number which we called when we had calls which we were suspicious about (blacklist checker) and there was a pre-recorded voice prompt which asked you to enter the mob no. It was a bog standard message with normal tones but if it was a lost/stolen handset the tone changed to almost a screech and said something along the lines of 'Warning ! The mob tel no which you have entered has been blacklisted.' I lost count of the amount of calls I took where people claimed it was their phone and it was faulty and they wanted me to 'fix it'. You kind of got a feel for the dodgy callers and when they said that they couldn't make/receive calls or send/receive texts and get getting the call failed message even although there was sufficient credit on the phone , you knew that it was probably due to a stolen handset. If the person does take it to a shop , they will be asked some very probing questions I can assure you ! Or at least they should. They will not unblock it for them if it is blacklisted.

I take it you didn't get this guy's number ? Do you know anyone who knows him that you could ask or did you just meet him whilst out ? If so , hopefully he'll call back. If he got the message failed he may try again. Is it possible to go back to the same place you met him to see if he's there again ?

[Zammo]

Yeah I'm going to go out on Saturday night and I will probably see him but it was my friend that gave him my number for me, i was chicken. I know what you're thinking that's one step away from "my mate really fancies you so how about it?" lol! But i'm shy so not sure what i'll say if I see him out on Sat. I'd feel silly asking him if he tried to text me and it failed incase he's like "I didn't try texting you". Thank you for all ur top advice, it's been really helpful. :-)

[enigma]

I don't think that at all. I'm married so I don't need to worry about all that stuff now - hopefully. Unless hubby decides to trade me in at some point lol ! If I was single though I could never walk up to a guy and chat him up. I would just die off. I'm more the asked than the one who asks silly as that may seem to some people , so I know where you are coming from. Why not just play it cool , look in his direction , flash him a smile and see if he bites. You could maybe even get your friend to casually say to him ' I don't know if you tried to call my friend but it was just to let you know that her phone was stolen but if you are interested , you can get hold of her now on ..........'


If you don't want to be seen to be pestering him then you could always ask your friend to ask him and his friends if they want to join you both for a drink. If you don't ask , you don't get. He may say yes , he may say no but hey that's life and you'll never know if you don't ask. You would kick yourself if you let the chance slip away because you didn't go for it. So down a few drinks - enough for courage not so that you lose the power to speak ha ha and just go for it. If he says no then fine , his loss and plenty more fish in the sea and all that and if he says yes - fantastic !
Oh and if I helped you with my advice you are very welcome. Good luck and please come back and tell me how you got on. Good luck x

[Zammo]

Thanks In a Pickle (loving ur username). Years ago I didn't have a mobile phone and I thought they were the devil's work and I just didn't want one and then I broke down in my car and would have done anything to have had one. So after that I bought one and it's been like a friend ever since, you sort of become dependent on them, it's weird but I'm really missing mine because it had so much of my personal items stored ie photos and videos that are irreplaceable that's what is so upsetting.

[Zammo]

Heh Enigma, just thought i'd update you on the man front, it's good. I got a new phone today and my sim also arrived today and I must be one of the lucky ones because as soon as I put my sim in the phone i received text messages from the last week and luckily one was from "the guy", he'd text on Wednesday so we had a little text banter so we'll see what happens, I'm just so glad he text. :-)

[enigma]

Yay !!!!! That's great news Zammo. I'm so pleased you heard from him. I hope it all works out for you. If only you could get your phone back now as well. Oh well , at least you've got a new sim and hopefully a new fella too. Good on you. Just make sure you've got his number written down somewhere as well ........... just in case ! Good luck and remember if there's any wedding bells in the future , come back and let us know lol xxx