[140609]

all i know is the next phone i would let her have would be a £10 one, then its not really as bad if it gets stolen/lost

[Djgregory]

teenagers are spoilt these days, make her work for a smartphone, if not get her a cheap £10 phone as stated above ^^^

[alternageek]

Or tell her she has to replace the missing phone out of her allowance, birthday money, etc
Shell learn pretty quickly about really holding on to her phone.

[Nyx]

Op sorry that your daughter has been relieved of her phone, on the plus side at least she was not injured in any way.

For those in doubt that a phone could be lifted from a zipped pocket within a bag i can tell you that this is very possible.

I have seen this happening with my own eyes and was stunned by the skill of the people involved, also they are not usually alone and work in a team - often surrounding the person who is the target without their knowledge in an attempt to block other shoppers view in a crowded area.

She will most likely have been seen with the phone and targeted in the same way that these people watch for atm withdrawals and target people for their wallets.

N

[spirit48]

Originally Posted by Nyx

Op sorry that your daughter has been relieved of her phone, on the plus side at least she was not injured in any way.

For those in doubt that a phone could be lifted from a zipped pocket within a bag i can tell you that this is very possible.

I have seen this happening with my own eyes and was stunned by the skill of the people involved, also they are not usually alone and work in a team - often surrounding the person who is the target without their knowledge in an attempt to block other shoppers view in a crowded area.

She will most likely have been seen with the phone and targeted in the same way that these people watch for atm withdrawals and target people for their wallets.

N

Thank you NYX for speaking some sense, its strange how she's been accused by some on here, of lifting her own phone. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but it did in this case.
Why would she want to report it stolen have the cost of replacing it not to mention all the data, photos, and personal items stored on there, only to have to do it all again after the second hit. Not only is it costly its also a shock to find some scumbag has robbed you again. Easy pickings or not its not theirs to steal, but as one op said she wasn't mugged or hurt so thats ok then. And yes there are worse things. Ppl are targeted when using phones, they watch where you put them then its just a case of the right moment to lift them.
And I would like to set the record straight she is NOT a school kid or a teenager but mid 20's. So maybe she will buy herself a £10 phone next time.
And for the doubting Thomas who says that there must be cctv in the shop concerned, I can only refer you to an earlier post where I said "she had been told by security staff" that there was no working cctv, so no footage to go through.
Ecclesfield police could only advise that it is big business in Meadowhall and Arena. My original post was only to advise ppl to take care, but as usual theres always someone ready to make unwarranted comments. But many thanks to those who took this in the manner it was intended.

[Djgregory]

And for the doubting Thomas who says that there must be cctv in the shop concerned, I can only refer you to an earlier post where I said "she had been told by security staff" that there was no working cctv, so no footage to go through.

I think youll find that if you look back at my post you will realise i said nearly every shop has CCTV ... make sure you are certain of your facts first

[140609]

Originally Posted by spirit48

Thank you NYX for speaking some sense, its strange how she's been accused by some on here, of lifting her own phone. They say lightning doesn't strike twice, but it did in this case.
Why would she want to report it stolen have the cost of replacing it not to mention all the data, photos, and personal items stored on there, only to have to do it all again after the second hit. Not only is it costly its also a shock to find some scumbag has robbed you again. Easy pickings or not its not theirs to steal, but as one op said she wasn't mugged or hurt so thats ok then. And yes there are worse things. Ppl are targeted when using phones, they watch where you put them then its just a case of the right moment to lift them.
And I would like to set the record straight she is NOT a school kid or a teenager but mid 20's. So maybe she will buy herself a £10 phone next time.
And for the doubting Thomas who says that there must be cctv in the shop concerned, I can only refer you to an earlier post where I said "she had been told by security staff" that there was no working cctv, so no footage to go through.
Ecclesfield police could only advise that it is big business in Meadowhall and Arena. My original post was only to advise ppl to take care, but as usual theres always someone ready to make unwarranted comments. But many thanks to those who took this in the manner it was intended.

as i said in my post i did not intend to be offensive at all, and did not mean to come across that way so i am sorry if i upset you at all

[22maddie]

both my sons have had there phones taken my youngest son was mugged for his and had to go through all the process of id parades and court proceedings and after all that they still get off !! ..... my eldest son had his iphone stolen out of his flat by so called friends but because i live in sheffield and he lives in doncaster now and the phones in my name i had to report it stolen here so by the time sheffield sent information to doncaster the phone was long sold on. .... i'd told police the names of the guys who did it who they tried to sell it to were the phone was but because the lad they tried to sell to wouldn't make a statement and the lads denied taking it they get away with it !! ,..... what really makes me mad is these guys had spoken to me and admitted it and to others but all this just didn't count for nothing

[prussellb]

Sorry to hear about your daughters theft. She must be quite upset, especially if all her contacts where in that phone. We carry our lives in our phones more and more so when we don't have it we feel lost. Hopefully your daughter will be able to move on from the upset- and I'm sure she'll forget all about it once she has a new phone again! All the best.

[alchresearch]

Originally Posted by spirit48

its strange how she's been accused by some on here, of lifting her own phone.

Welcome to Sheffield Forum, where each post is scanned for the tiniest bit of material for people to use against you!

[Djgregory]

Originally Posted by alchresearch

welcome to sheffield forum, where each post is scanned for the tiniest bit of material for people to use against you!

....... :p

[sophiie]

I used to work in Zara and yes they do have CCTV, it would be stupid not to there's loads of thefts in shops so it is kind of a requiriment for all the big ones to have fitted security!

[140609]

Originally Posted by sophiie

I used to work in Zara and yes they do have CCTV, it would be stupid not to there's loads of thefts in shops so it is kind of a requiriment for all the big ones to have fitted security!

well there you go maybe you should double check for yourself if they have cctv or not spirit48

[DMag]

Has anyone heard of phones being pick-pocketed from bags in Meadowhall before?

I'm surprised if it is common, as there is cctv everywhere, security wandering around, lots of people to see someone fumbling in someone else's bag or pocket.

If it really is common, well that's another reason not to visit meadowhall!

Oh and wouldn't such a thief be more likely to go and steal stock worth X from a shop, rather than from a member of the public, which could carry a higher penalty I would have thought.

[spirit48]

Originally Posted by Djgregory

I think youll find that if you look back at my post you will realise i said nearly every shop has CCTV ... make sure you are certain of your facts first

Maybe you should get your facts straight, I wasn't referring to your post but to one that 140609 made..........

[spirit48]

Originally Posted by 22maddie

both my sons have had there phones taken my youngest son was mugged for his and had to go through all the process of id parades and court proceedings and after all that they still get off !! ..... my eldest son had his iphone stolen out of his flat by so called friends but because i live in sheffield and he lives in doncaster now and the phones in my name i had to report it stolen here so by the time sheffield sent information to doncaster the phone was long sold on. .... i'd told police the names of the guys who did it who they tried to sell it to were the phone was but because the lad they tried to sell to wouldn't make a statement and the lads denied taking it they get away with it !! ,..... what really makes me mad is these guys had spoken to me and admitted it and to others but all this just didn't count for nothing

Yes until this happened to us I didn't think twice about my phone or purse, but I do now. Sorry you had the same problem as us. But there are ppl on here who dont believe it is happening....

[spirit48]

Originally Posted by 140609

well there you go maybe you should double check for yourself if they have cctv or not spirit48

[Djgregory]

Originally Posted by spirit48

Maybe you should get your facts straight, I wasn't referring to your post but to one that 140609 made..........

why didnt you state that you were reffering to 140609 then???? You basically put a general reply that anyone could have replied to.

[Cyclone]

Having it stolen twice is a bit of bad luck isn't it.

[Resident]

Originally Posted by spirit48

Yes until this happened to us I didn't think twice about my phone or purse, but I do now. Sorry you had the same problem as us. But there are ppl on here who dont believe it is happening....

In fairness Spirit48, you can't help people being a little cynical, I'm sure you would be yourself had it happened to someone else.

If you play devil's avocate and look at your story's bulletpoints I'm sure you'd agree:

• It's happened twice to the same person in 6 months
• It's happened twice in highly public populated areas
• Both times it's been done without the victim's knowledge
• 2nd time the phone was 'locked' away
• In the only place without working CCTV

I know pickpocketing is rife in Meadowhall but many don't realise how bad it is or how little their security forces are doing about it but I have to admit even I doubted the story a little.

Pickpocketing might be a big issue but so is mobile phone theft/insurance fraud, so with that being in most people's minds you can't blame others for having the seed of doubt.