Good morning Dinks. Boy do I have a story for you this morning. You won’t believe what happened to me. It’s been a few weeks and I still can’t believe it. Actually that’s not true, I can definitely believe it happened because it’s definitely something I would do. It’s what happened afterwards that I can’t believe.
My personal flaw
Remember my four day trip to NYC last month? On my way home I left my back pack on the bus. Any of you who have ever spent time with me (in person, on the phone or via Twitter and Facebook) know that I have absolutely no memory. Like none. Zip. Zero. I write down everything obsessively because I never remember anything.
This is a very frustrating quality, I know. For me and also for everyone who has to interact with me. But hey, what can I do about it?! If you have some magic potion that brings back a short term memory I am definitely open to any and all suggestions.
It’s definitely my fault
I realized I left my bag on the bus less than 10 minutes after I got off and immediately ran to the next bus stop. It was at a bus terminal where everyone transfers so I knew the driver would be waiting at the next stop for a few minutes. To my surprise it was different bus with a different bus driver. When I asked where the other bus was the man informed me that the other bus driver’s shift was over and he was headed back to the garage.
Panic immediately hit my body as everything from my trip to NYC was in that bag. Then I thought, maybe this is a good thing. I got off at the last stop and the bus driver was headed back to the garage so he would definitely find my bag when he arrived, right? Wrong!
But it’s also his fault
The dispatch contacted the driver who said there was no bag on the bus. I tried to explain to him that it was on the floor in between two seats, but the transit commission continued to tell me the driver didn’t see my bag. They told me if the bag was found it would show up at the Lost and Found three to four days later and I could claim it there but they had no way of knowing if the bag would be found.
I was completely shocked that after 10 minutes of being on an empty bus my bag was nowhere to be found and I wasn’t going to let this go. I requested to see the video from the bus and I also opened a file with customer service so they could talk to the bus driver. I told them the shopping items were not important, but I did want my personal belongings back. No one needs my camera full of pictures from my trip, my prescription sunglasses (I’m a -13) and my house keys.
So now what?
After three weeks of back and forth nonsense the transit commission informed me there was no camera on the bus. They told me to open a claim with the legal department to be compensated for my items, but couldn’t guarantee anything. So now, a month later, I have lost everything from my trip and I’m out $1300, the value of the items in my bag. What a nightmare.
Photo from Flickr
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
You are fortunate that you didn’t have your wallet, debit/credit cards, insurance cards, etc. in the bag. With what you listed as having lost, at least you won’t have your identity stolen as well. Or your cards used fraudulently. It sucks what happened, but I’m trying to look on the bright side for you.
Aw, I felt bad reading this post. Sometimes it’s not always the monetary value that hurts when personal belongings get lost because money can be earned again. It’s more of the sentimental value that you regret losing. Still, I hope there is a happy ending to this story.