Talk about learning the hard way… but since I don’t want the rest of you going through this blindly, I’ve decided to share.

Here’s the situation:
One Friday, (on my birthday), I hopped into a cab with 3 of my girlfriends. Oh, I should mention that I was in the front seat of the cab. Normally, I don’t take cabs, but I wanted to show up to my birthday soiree without looking like I melted.

Anyway, we got to our stop - right in front of Agave, and I gave the driver $20 from my wallet for the $16.00 fare, waited for everyone to get out of the back of the cab and walked into the restaurant to get the night started. As SOON as I got to the bar to order a drink, I realized my wallet was gone. CRAP!! At that moment, I knew that I must have dropped it in the front seat of the cab. I ran out to see if he might still be there, but I wasn’t that lucky.

So, I did what anyone else would have done. I immediately called my bank and my credit card companies to cancel my cards. Easy breezy. Then, I called the TLC to put in a report (just dial 311 and ask to be connected to the TLC). Since it was after 5:00, I was only able to get a case number, but was told that I should call 2 police precincts to see if my wallet might have been turned in. Then, I could call back the TLC with my case number handy on Monday to see if they had any news.

Apparently, when something is lost in a cab, there are a BUNCH of things that have to happen. Just make sure you do what I did. Enjoy your night anyway and have yourself a tequila on the rocks to calm down because there really isn’t much you can do.

Here’s the important stuff. Pay attention…

To start, the item is supposed to be returned to 2 precincts depending on WHERE the item was found, so you can start by calling them. Just don’t get disappointed when you can’t get a hold of them.

The first is the http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/pct/pct022.html which is on 86th St & Transverse Road - 212-570-4820.
The second is the 17th Precinct which is on 167 East 51st Street - 212-826-3211.

When you finally call the TLC at normal business hours, you’ll be asked the following questions:

Do you have the medallion number
Do you have the license number
Do you have the drivers name
Did you get a receipt

If you say “yes” to ANY of these, you’re in good shape. If you say “no” to all, you’re out of luck and they close your case immediately.

NOW, you should file a lost item report which you can do at ANY precinct. Especially when you lose a wallet with your credit cards, insurance cards and drivers license. On top of that, you’re supposed to fill out a special form to get a case number so that you can give that to the DMV when you request a new driver’s license.

So, that’s multiple forms. Fist, you need to fill out a lost item report - by hand. VERY detailed, and THEN, they fill out a duplicate form (also by hand) that’s about 5 pages with basically the same information. Then, they give you that smaller form with the case number so that you can replace your driver’s license. BUT… you can’t GET a case number unless you fill out the report where the incident happened.

Can you get your case number immediately? No you can’t because you have to wait for the officer to enter all of those forms into the system - which could take a while, and THEN, you have to call the precinct where the incident occurred to get the case number. Luckily for me, I entertained everyone so much that my assigned officer entered all of my information into the system that same night and I was able to get my case number the next day.

So that’s everything. Of course, the DMV is another story, but I ended up ordering my license online and it turns out I didn’t need my case number to get a new one. Ha! Although, I am starting to wonder if I’m missing something by not going through that process.

So, here are a few tips:

1. ALWAYS get a receipt - even if you’re not expensing your ride
2. Cancel everything immediately
3. Be nice to the police officers. It works wonders.
4. Be patient and continue to call the precincts to see if your lost item was found. They say that they get lots of valuable stuff MONTHS later.
5. If you have the time, visit the precinct. They seemed to look harder for my stuff when I showed up.
6. Before taking a trip to the DMV, see if you can take care of your stuff online.

I haven’t gotten my stuff back, but I’m still hopeful!

Related posts:

1. My New Issue with Traffic Cops
2. Yankees lose twice.
3. Custom License Plates
4. bus driver
5. Lost Cat