It's been 41 years since I experienced a lost/stolen wallet, but it happened today. After going to the gym, I joined two friends for lunch. When it was time to pay, my wallet was not in my back pocket. I thought it must be in my gym bag, but as I searched it and my car, no wallet. Just then I received a text from a credit card company asking if I had used it to make a $400 purchase at Lowe's. Pretty obvious I did not have my wallet, but someone did. Within minutes another text arrived from American Express, same amount also at Lowe's. I called both companies and had cards blocked, but neither company could tell me the location of the store. I tried calling Lowe's and was put on terminal hold so I drove to the closet one. Showed them the text and they were able to identify the Lowe's in question--but it was not the one where I had gone.
So how does one deal with this? Since I wasn't sure where I was when the wallet disappeared, the procedure is call the police where one resides to obtain a police report/case number. Fortunately I live in Sandy Springs and our police force is responsive and very helpful. They will then report to the Chamblee PD (where the Lowe's store involved is located) and they in turn investigate. There may well be video evidence, but that probably won't get my wallet back. At least I will not be responsible for multiple charge attempts--some declined, but some initially approved.
The rest of my day was spent figuring how to get a new driver's license, what ID is needed, and where drivers service center is currently located since the one I've previously used to renew my license had relocated. Taking care of that was easy as the center was not crowded and well staffed. It did cost $32, but now my license is good for 8 more years instead of expiring next year. One benefit is since I no longer wear corrective lenses after cataract surgery, I showed the examiner the patient implant ID card, passed the vision test (which is a joke), my new license will no longer contain a corrective vison requirement.
Replacing other stuff takes more time (health insurance, student id, library card, new wallet, etc).Fortunately I don't carry much stuff in a wallet. I suppose most of us have dealt with this at some point; I'm glad it's been 41 years since I last had to deal with it.
In 1982 I had just moved to Atlanta from Connecticut about 2 weeks before. The biggest issue was I still had a CT license and no GA license. I was scheduled to fly to NY on business in a few days, and would need to rent a car. The next day I was visiting one of my company's agents in Newnan, and asked him if there was a driver's service nearby so I could obtain a GA license. He said the GA State Patrol Post was nearby and he could help expedite things. However, he insisted driving me there right away in his car which was a huge Buick sedan. I'm thinking I'll have to take a written exam, driver's road and vision tests, but he insisted he would make sure we bypassed all that (after all his uncle was a former Georgia governor). My friend knew everyone at the post, explained I was a long-time business associate and needed to get a GA license to replace an out of state license immediately. The examiner asked for my CT address, and in about 2 minutes confirmed my CT license was valid. I only had to take a written exam and vision test (no road test) and had a GA license in less than 15 minutes. Back then I did not have a passport and photo IDs were not common. About a month later, I received a small package in the mail. It contained my wallet which was found on a street in Atlanta by someone who mailed it to my CT address where it was then forwarded to me in Atlanta.
I'll probably never see that wallet or learn the identity of whoever picked it up. Probably good since learning who's responsible might result in a felony--on my record.
