Lost and found questions from new member

[Mary Ann]

Hi, my name is Mary Ann and I am a wheel chair bound woman who did some traveling this year. Some good some not so good. But this last trip home, on the Coast Starlight (west coast) from Albany, OR to Sacramento CA.... my brand new iPhone just disappeared! I had verizon lock it down and I have a report form sent out to the chargerback.com site, for lost and found from Amtrak.... but no word yet. My train would have it's final Dis embarkment at LA, CA late dinner time approx. on the 2nd of this month, Thurs. has anyone else ever lost anything that was ACTUALLY returned from AMTRAK? I can NOT afford another phone and THAT one was given to me, because my freinds all worry about me traveling without one, and being home alone without one. And I am just devistated............. anyone? And Thankx for the welcome!

 

[zephyr17]

I left a CPAP on a Silver at Orlando once back in the 1990s. I called Amtrak. They took it off at Winter Haven, sent it back on a northbound Silver, put it in a cab and sent it to my hotel. I had it back by the time I got back from dinner that evening.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I have never had Amtrak return anything that went missing on any of my trips, even when calling while the train was still en route, and my experience with their lost and found process was bad enough that I simply stopped calling. Apple devices can be locked and located using your iCloud account. You can even give them a message to display like another method to contact you if found. I am not sure what Verizon can do other than to block your phone from using their network.

 

[jis]

On one of my day at Raleigh trips I left a iPhone charger on 92 at Raleigh. I notified the station agent about it soon after the train left. They located it and transferred it to 91 at Rocky Mount and I was re-united with my charger as I boarded 91 that evening for my return trip from Raleigh.

 

[pennyk]

I have had extremely bad luck with Amtrak lost and found.

 

[GAT]

Not exactly on topic, but my SCA on my recent #1 trip that was unexpectedly terminated at El Paso saved my bacon by checking my roomette closet and finding I had left my jacket when de-boarding.

I do hope the OP gets her iPhone back.

 

[Bob Dylan]

On one of my day at Raleigh trips I left a iPhone charger on 92 at Raleigh. I notified the station agent about it soon after the train left. They located it and transferred it to 91 at Rocky Mount and I was re-united with my charger as I boarded 91 that evening for my return trip from Raleigh.

I've lost more than 1 Charger on Amtrak Trains, but they did find my Goose Down Jacket I left in my Room on the way to Canada on the Empire Builder and sent it up to Vancouver on the mornimg Cascades Train since I was spending a couple of days in Vancouver before boarding the Canadian!( this was in Feb so it really came in handy)

 

[Mary Ann]

I’ve never had anything that went missing on Amtrak be returned by Amtrak and my prior experience with their lost and found process was bad enough that I simply stopped calling. Apple devices can be locked and located using your iCloud account. I am unsure what Verizon can do other than block the phone on their own network.

well thats what I am the most afraid of.... it's just GONE, and no, I had JUST gotten it, 2 days... I THOUGHT I had the Find My Phone app turned on, but evidently not... Im stiill going to try the Apple store, but as I do not drive and the only one i a town away,...... shrug.... all I can do i what Ive been doing.................. cry! But thank you for confirming that the Lost and Found Amtrak way is worthless as they seem!

 

[Mary Ann]

On one of my day at Raleigh trips I left a iPhone charger on 92 at Raleigh. I notified the station agent about it soon after the train left. They located it and transferred it to 91 at Rocky Mount and I was re-united with my charger as I boarded 91 that evening for my return trip from Raleigh.

Well wish California could be a bit more like your area..... but Im afraid it's really just gone. I am heart broken. The conductor even made my skycap check my seat and area when I got off the train in Sacramento and told me to tell them at the desk inside immediately, which I did, and thats where I got the "chargerback.com info. and thats it.. I went to the sight, filled out the form, and said "due to Covid it may take longer than 30 days to find my belongings" Does that make sense to ANYONE?? ......why? The train stopped and completely unloaded a few hours after I was off..... but NOTHING...

 

[Mary Ann]

Not exactly on topic, but my SCA on my recent #1 trip that was unexpectedly terminated at El Paso saved my bacon by checking my roomette closet and finding I had left my jacket when de-boarding.

I do hope the OP gets her iPhone back.

And thank you for that..... me too! But It' not looking good

 

[Devil's Advocate]

well thats what I am the most afraid of.... it's just GONE, and no, I had JUST gotten it, 2 days... I THOUGHT I had the Find My Phone app turned on, but evidently not... Im stiill going to try the Apple store, but as I do not drive and the only one i a town away,...... shrug.... all I can do i what Ive been doing.................. cry! But thank you for confirming that the Lost and Found Amtrak way is worthless as they seem!

In the case of a new iPhone I would follow up with Apple on the chance that someone helpful finds it. Even if it's a slim chance it's still worth a few phone calls. Even though I have two Apple stores nearby I would call rather than visit a store. They usually want your Apple login (same as iCloud) before they will take any action on your behalf. Maybe they can turn the location feature on or push a notification for the finder to contact you in another way. You may need Verizon to reverse their lock down in such a case.

 

[Mary Ann]

I left a CPAP on a Silver at Orlando once back in the 1990s. I called Amtrak. They took it off at Winter Haven, sent it back on a northbound Silver, put it in a cab and sent it to my hotel. I had it back by the time I got back from dinner that evening.

oh nice! To bad that couldn't have been my story, "they called and sent my phone to me that night" would have made my WONDERFUL TRAIN ride PERFECT.... as it is, what a nightmare! Other than the wonderful people on my car LL.... They ALL helped me check under eat in case it had slid away during a stop or start.... The people in my lower car were SO AWESOME!

 

[Mary Ann]

In the case of a new iPhone I would follow up with Apple on the chance that someone helpful finds it. Even if it's a slim chance it's still worth a few phone calls. Even though I have two Apple stores nearby I would call rather than visit a store. They usually want your Apple login (same as iCloud) before they will take any action on your behalf. Maybe they can turn the location feature on or push a notification for the finder to contact you in another way. You may need Verizon to reverse their lock down in such a case.

yeah... calling is a great idea!! I do still have my landline... Thank You, at least I won;t have figured out a ride there only to find out there is nothing they can do! lol Seem to be what happening at every turn for my search... Thank You!

 

[MARC Rider]

I once got off a Northeast Regional in Baltimore and forgot the bag of dirty gym clothes I had in the overhead rack. I realized it at about the time I got up the stairs, and alerted the staff at the station. The bag took a trip to New York and was returned to Washington where I picked it up in the Amtrak Lost and Found the next day. This also once happened to me on a MARC train, and I also recovered my stuff at the Amtrak lost and found in DC. Recently, I left a camera battery and charger plugged in, and I didn't bother to report it, as there were no identifying marks on the objects and it was easy enough to order a new one. My best experience with this sort of thing was with Avis rent-a-car, where I left my phone in the car when I returned the car. (I needed to have the phone out to have a QR code scanned so I could get out of the garage where I parked it.) When I realized my phone was gone, I scurried across town back to the rental office, and found my phone waiting for me in a locked desk drawer. The clerk who moved the car found it in the cup holder and brought it back and locked it up. There are still a lot of honest people out there, thank God.

 

[MARC Rider]

I wonder if lost phones can't be tracked, or, at the very least, their SIM card disabled so that ono one can use the account for nefarious purposes, making the phone nothing more than a fancy paperweight, which might give a finder an incentive to turn it in.

 

[zephyr17]

I wonder if lost phones can't be tracked, or, at the very least, their SIM card disabled so that ono one can use the account for nefarious purposes, making the phone nothing more than a fancy paperweight, which might give a finder an incentive to turn it in.

Both can be done on iPhone and Android smart phones if they are on. The phones can either be temporarily disabled or "bricked" remotely as well as showing location. You sign on to the Apple or Goggle account thr phone is associated with on another device. You can also set it to ringing even if it is on vibrate or muted entirely. You sign on to your Apple or Google account the phone is associated with. Too bad you couldn't have borrowed another passenger's or employee's tablet or phone while you were still onboard and set it to ringing.

But the phone has to be on and able to connect.

 

[GAT]

I also suggest you check your home owners or rental insurance policy to see if a claim is worthwhile. Also your credit card coverages and your mobile provider to see how they might help you with a low cost replacement. Check with the person who gave you the phone to ascertain the terms of its acquisition. There might be some sort of replacement policy that works for you.

 

[Mary Ann]

I also suggest you check your home owners or rental insurance policy to see if a claim is worthwhile. Also your credit card coverages and your mobile provider to see how they might help you with a low cost replacement. Check with the person who gave you the phone to ascertain the terms of its acquisition. There might be some sort of replacement policy that works for you.

We actually called my phone MANY MANY times while still on the train... to no avail... but yeah I will check with my Sister who gave me the phone, but she hasn't used it in years, so highly doubtful....sigh! But thank You, I very much appreciate EVERYONES input!!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I wonder if lost phones can't be tracked, or, at the very least, their SIM card disabled so that ono one can use the account for nefarious purposes, making the phone nothing more than a fancy paperweight, which might give a finder an incentive to turn it in.

Modern devices can be locked, erased, or bricked remotely. This includes making sounds even if the volume is turned down or connected to earbuds. Unfortunately you need to enable those settings before the device goes missing. New devices ask me to confirm those settings when I add them to my account. If you can convince Apple you're the rightful owner (easier said than done) they might be able to do it for you after the fact, but no promises.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201472

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I actually have had very good luck with a returned item!

I left a small toiletry bag on an Amtrak surfliner train - the catch? It had my passport in it!!!

I was able to contact Amtrak’s lost and found and they did have it in LA - they sent it via Amtrak package to my closest Amtrak station (Atlanta).

So hopefully your phone is returned!