# Passenger stole my phone



## ray954 (Feb 10, 2017)

so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


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## PTUber (Sep 16, 2015)

Obviously lesson learned never do that again. More importantly do not give up on Lyft. Continue to call, email, text what ever you have to do to get them to reimburse you for the phone as well as charge the client although I'm sure they used a fake name and probably a stolen CC.


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## Trafficat (Dec 19, 2016)

They stole your phone and Lyft is protecting and siding with the passengers and deactivated you? WTF? I think you need to contact your district attorney... maybe you can get a court order forcing Lyft to reveal the details of the passengers and hopefully the DA can press charges against them. If the DA cannot help you, perhaps you can still get a court order for the details if you try to sue the passengers in civil court.


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## Jamesp1234 (Sep 10, 2016)

You might want to tell Lyft that your going to the local TV station (ABC) and getting them involved as well. Bad press is one of the things Lyft DOESN'T want!


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

90% of Lyft passengers are awful.


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## popcollar2014 (Nov 15, 2016)

"my gurl doesn't like speaker phone" whatever dude


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## Pinapple Man (Aug 8, 2017)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


A Glock 26 is about $450.00, next time defend yourself and property. A hollow-point will remind them not to steal.


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## Jufkii (Sep 17, 2015)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


Think it's in the gobbledygook fine print they are not responsible for personal items stolen. Both Lyft and Uber. The fine print you "agreed" to before driving. Weren't the cops able to track someone down? If Lyft cared and gave the account holder info to the cops someone could of gotten nailed.


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## Jamesp1234 (Sep 10, 2016)

Uber_Yota_916 said:


> 90% of Lyft passengers are awful.


I like a lot of the ones I drive FAR more than some of the ones I've gotten on Uber. Though I'm seeing some on Lyft that were booted from Uber.


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## cdm813 (Jan 9, 2017)

Wait, you didn't think this was shady?! They have a phone -- they wouldn't be able to order the Lyft without it. Have some sense next time.


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## Cynergie (Apr 10, 2017)

Trafficat said:


> They stole your phone and Lyft is protecting and siding with the passengers and deactivated you? WTF? I think you need to contact your district attorney... maybe you can get a court order forcing Lyft to reveal the details of the passengers and hopefully the DA can press charges against them. If the DA cannot help you, perhaps you can still get a court order for the details if you try to sue the passengers in civil court.


More like the better business bureau in your city. And yes a good corporate lawyer as well. If it's an open and shut case, they could end up providing your service for free.

If all else fails, there is always the main stream media. A little does of E. Coli PR on your local news and radio stations is the fastest way to get Lyft's attention.

And don't forget social media, which is 100X more effective at educating ppl about the closeted American Psycho the Better Boyfriend really is --- on a global frequency. lol


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## NoDay (Jul 25, 2017)

To OP sorry man that sucks. Contact your phone provider, see if they have a cheaper refurbished phone or a loaner phone. Also you can get a cheaper prepaid phone unlocked to drive around with. 
Regarding deactivation, I can understand why they would want to do that. It would not take much for a thief to turn on the app and try and make money or find other people to rob then run off. They're trying to protect themselves. See if you can ban the device itself from having the app. maybe they'll let you back on? 


Let us know what happens. Glad you didn't get hurt. 

To the glock comment I hope you're kidding:
1. you can get a solid used one cheaper at pawn shop. 
2. you cannot pull a self defense case if your life is in on the line. 
3. if he/she were to shoot a person running away cannot claim self-defense.

After hearing this story, I think I will not loan my phone out. Hadn't needed to, but still hadn't thought about it. 

Might say something like, "No. That would go against my contract with Uber/lyft, there is proprietary information on my phone. This prevents me letting an unauthorized user touch it." True or not doesn't matter in this case.


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## ray954 (Feb 10, 2017)

cdm813 said:


> Wait, you didn't think this was shady?! They have a phone -- they wouldn't be able to order the Lyft without it. Have some sense next time.


wait... did you think about that before you wrote it?

wasn't the person who ordered the ride

get a clue and don't post unless you have something constructive to add



NoDay said:


> To OP sorry man that sucks. Contact your phone provider, see if they have a cheaper refurbished phone or a loaner phone. Also you can get a cheaper prepaid phone unlocked to drive around with.
> Regarding deactivation, I can understand why they would want to do that. It would not take much for a thief to turn on the app and try and make money or find other people to rob then run off. They're trying to protect themselves. See if you can ban the device itself from having the app. maybe they'll let you back on?
> 
> Let us know what happens. Glad you didn't get hurt.
> ...


yes, that was the case.

courtesy email would have been nice.

reactivated now

i don't do guns

thanks for input


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## empresstabitha (Aug 25, 2016)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


No one touches my phone but me


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## Johnydoo (Jul 25, 2017)

Jamesp1234 said:


> You might want to tell Lyft that your going to the local TV station (ABC) and getting them involved as well. Bad press is one of the things Lyft DOESN'T want!


You can not blame lyft in this case. Thief has driver's phone, they can login to lyft & start picking up pax, god only knows where that pax may end up then.

The proper thing to do was deactivate driver until he/she switches device & phone number. Too much can be done with a stolen phone that has access to lyft platform & oblivious female pax.


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## ray954 (Feb 10, 2017)

Johnydoo said:


> You can not blame lyft in this case. Thief has driver's phone, they can login to lyft & start picking up pax, god only knows where that pax may end up then.
> 
> The proper thing to do was deactivate driver until he/she switches device & phone number. Too much can be done with a stolen phone that has access to lyft platform & oblivious female pax.


the issue wasn't being deactivated... it was the way LYFT handled the entire episode


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## AuxCordBoston (Dec 3, 2016)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


Why did lyft deactivate you?


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## Dontmakemepullauonyou (Oct 13, 2015)

Pinapple Man said:


> A Glock 26 is about $450.00, next time defend yourself and property. A hollow-point will remind them not to steal.


Exactly. 2 seconds after the second friend exits I'd be out with my personal protection which happens to be an FNS-9 compact 17-clip drawn down on them(im guessing white boys) quickest way for them to wet their skinny jeans.



AuxCordBoston said:


> Why did lyft deactivate you?


Lyft and uber are king at "deactivate instantly with any issues til found guilty or not being able to prove innocence thru the overseas non-English speaking reps".

Good luck.


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## ray954 (Feb 10, 2017)

AuxCordBoston said:


> Why did lyft deactivate you?


SOP


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## AuxCordBoston (Dec 3, 2016)

ray954 said:


> SOP


?


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## DexNex (Apr 18, 2015)

one of the oldest scams in the book. glad you were not hurt.


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## SpeedyGonzalez11 (Jan 16, 2017)

Pinapple Man said:


> A Glock 26 is about $450.00, next time defend yourself and property. A hollow-point will remind them not to steal.


Shit. A .22 is about 200$. Size of the bullet doesnt matter. But good advice. Carry something and dont let pax out of ur car with ur stuff.


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## Uber_Yota_916 (May 1, 2017)

Jamesp1234 said:


> I like a lot of the ones I drive FAR more than some of the ones I've gotten on Uber. Though I'm seeing some on Lyft that were booted from Uber.


My area, Sacramento, Lyft passengers are ghetto as all get up. I will not a drive anyone on the Lyft platform unless they are between 4.9 & 4.99. none under and never a five star. That is just asking for a newly rejected Uber passenger.


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## Fubernuber (Jan 15, 2017)

Jamesp1234 said:


> I like a lot of the ones I drive FAR more than some of the ones I've gotten on Uber. Though I'm seeing some on Lyft that were booted from Uber.


Uber rejects



ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


Can you describe these criminals?


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## Asificarewhatyoudontthink (Jul 6, 2017)

ray954 said:


> wait... did you think about that before you wrote it?
> 
> wasn't the person who ordered the ride
> 
> ...


Then the person who requested the ride, one assumes is the other passenger, has a phone and can loan his "bro" his phone.

OP is responsible for having, willingly, handed over his phone.

I, definitely, would not have done so at anytime during a ride. Additionally, there are some serious risks in letting anyone use your phone.

Do not take my word for it, Google for information on scams that can happen when someone "borrows" your phone.


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## ray954 (Feb 10, 2017)

Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> Then the person who requested the ride, one assumes is the other passenger, has a phone and can loan his "bro" his phone.
> 
> OP is responsible for having, willingly, handed over his phone.
> 
> ...


Right, so b/c I allowed them to make a call now makes it legal for them to steal my phone. Gotcha.

So another words in that same vein when you go engagement ring shopping with your girlfriend and they hand you a ring to try on go ahead and try to leave with it and see what happens


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## wk1102 (Dec 25, 2015)

AuxCordBoston said:


> ?


Standard Operating Procedure...

Im guessing they wete banking on you getting out and giving chase leaving your car running... then the other drives off in you car.


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## Trump Economics (Jul 29, 2015)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


SMALL CLAIMS COURT. SUE LYFT FOR THE MAXIMUM. YOU'LL WIN.


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## Raven087 (Jul 10, 2017)

Uber passengers are usually the worst. I much, much prefer Lyft riders.


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## The Gift of Fish (Mar 17, 2017)

ray954 said:


> the issue wasn't being deactivated... it was the way LYFT handled the entire episode


Were you expecting them to handle it in a professional, responsible manner?





Asificarewhatyoudontthink said:


> OP is responsible for having, willingly, handed over his phone.


The OP's responsible for handing over the phone, yes, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was the pax stealing it.

In hindsight anyone can say it wasn't a good idea to hand the phone over (no shit) but a lot of drivers would have fallen for this. Two takeaways from this:

Don't trust pax
Lyft doesn't have your back


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## Gmbbody (Aug 1, 2017)

I keep my phone in it's holder to the left of my steering wheel as low as I can get it. Nobody can see it but me and it is right in reach of my hand while driving. Pax always ask how I know where I'm going... like I don't have a phone. 

Sucks but they probably won't help you.


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## luvgurl22 (Jul 5, 2016)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


So many mistakes.Never let anyone touch your phone.If they can't afford one they don't need it.Most you can do is let them use your phone charger.Sorry this happened to you but people aren't trustworthy.



AuxCordBoston said:


> Why did lyft deactivate you?


If they have his phone they access to Lyft's "precious passengers".Security issue.


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

Too late now but for next time:

https://www.preyproject.com/

Free Phone or Laptop recovery.
Like a LoJack for Phones.
You activate your Device as stolen in your Online account.
The Device then will take pictures of the Thieves, try to connect to the nearest wireless access point.
Then, it will send you it's exact location via Google maps.


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## UberDez (Mar 28, 2017)

WOW , I gotta ask why wouldn't they use the phone they used to Order the ride ? 
I can't believe that even happened . Sucks . Do you have a spare phone so you didn't have to stop working ?


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## Mark Campagna (Oct 12, 2015)

UberDezNutz said:


> WOW , I gotta ask why wouldn't they use the phone they used to Order the ride ?


Because they wanted to STEAL the drivers phone and sell it for CASH. Has nothing to do with needing to borrow a phone. They caught a driver that was not thinking quick enough to see the scam.


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## DCNewbie17 (Aug 20, 2017)

Sorry that happened to you. I don't why other posters think they're adding value by telling you what you should have done in the car. Who knows, it could have gotten violent. You're healthy and alive so you did something right.


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## Bart McCoy (Nov 4, 2014)

cdm813 said:


> Wait, you didn't think this was shady?! They have a phone -- they wouldn't be able to order the Lyft without it. Have some sense next time.


You act as if its not possible to get a ride ordered by somebody else.



UberDezNutz said:


> WOW , I gotta ask why wouldn't they use the phone they used to Order the ride ?
> I can't believe that even happened . Sucks . Do you have a spare phone so you didn't have to stop working ?


Maybe because the phone used to order the ride wasn't there?


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## 8figgas (Jul 14, 2016)

You fell for the Banana in the tailpipe trick...lol


ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


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## Shelovespets (Aug 27, 2016)

ray954 said:


> so last week a trip with 2 passengers when the passenger seated in the rear asked to make a phone call. I obliged by dialing through the handsfree system in my car to which he then stated his "girl don't like speakerphone". So I disengaged the handsfree and handed him the phone. He then unplugged the charger and opened the door and began exiting the vehicle saying he would be "right back". The other passenger seated in the front then says to "let me go after him and make sure he brings it back" . and just like that the passengers were gone with my smart phone. I made a police report as well as commenting on the rating then calling the LYFT "critical response"line. Was able to pull up the geotracking info for my phone. These guys never entered the house where i dropped them, rather they ran by foot behind the house out on to the street to a park 2 blocks away where the geolocation stopped. It took a week for LYFT to finally address this after deactivating me and only to tell me they will not pay to replace the phone nor charge the passengers damage. So now I have to bear the expense of replacing the phone as well as the loss of income from UBER and LYFT for the days I was unable to work.


That really sucks!!
I had a passenger ask to use my phone. She claimed she couldn't dial out for some reason. Told her sorry, but I need it for the navigation.


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## Ansertiver (Dec 27, 2017)

Yeah, this is actually bad. I feel sorry for you. My advice - get a spy app for your phone. Maybe you will able to track your own phone if someone will steal it next time. You can check phonetrackingreviews to find an app that will fit your needs the best. Good luck and take care, please!


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## SwoldieR408 (Dec 7, 2016)

Sorry to hear that and glad you are okay man. A lesson learned here. Luber on.


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## DrivingForYou (Aug 6, 2017)

Why someone would hand their phone to a stranger AND let them exit the car is really beyond me.


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## Sacto Burbs (Dec 28, 2014)

So is everybody having a good time playing bash the OP?

Hey Bart McCoy. Hey there.


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## Snowblind (Apr 14, 2017)

Sacto Burbs said:


> So is everybody having a good time playing bash the OP?
> 
> Hey Bart McCoy. Hey there.


No-one here was bashing the OP. Many felt sorry for him, some posted good advice.
And your opinion would be&#8230;?


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## Sacto Burbs (Dec 28, 2014)

cdm813 said:


> Have some sense next time.





DrivingForYou said:


> Why someone would hand their phone to a stranger AND let them exit the car is really beyond me.





Snowblind said:


> No-one here was bashing the OP. Many felt sorry for him, some posted good advice.
> And your opinion would be&#8230;?


No one?


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## beezlewaxin (Feb 10, 2015)

Don't count on Lyft compensating a driver for lost income. I received a separate email about this shortly after submitting a damage claim a couple days ago:


> The damage fee is not intended to provide compensation for any lost driving time. As Lyft drivers are independent contractors, compensation for lost hours could put drivers at risk of losing their 1099K status.


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