Can't this be considered theft on UAL'S part?

I remember when I worked at a supermarket, we had a guy leave his palm pilot. I went through and found his name and looked it up in the phone book and marked it just so I wouldn't lose it while dialing. Guy was happy, came in, and picked it up. Two weeks later, same Palm Pilot gets brought up to the courtesy booth, and I whipped out the phone book, flipped to the marked page, and called him up. He promised if he left it a 3rd time, I could have it. He never left it again. ;(

But can't Apple or anyone trace it if you have the SN#?

@Palak Desai: Only if UAL were a human being. In this case it is simply policy.

He's going to get stopped by Apple when he tries to buy his fourth iPhone on the same account :P

But seriously, I would like to have your job, please and thank you... I really hope you get your phone back. I lost a (thankfully) cheapish digital camera on an American Airlines flight between DFW and Alaska, and spent exactly a month and a half trying to get it back... never could get in contact with a human being, so I gave up.

Theft requires intent. It could be negligence, because the flight crew confirmed the find, but I'm pretty sure that UAL is free from litigation for a passenger losing their iPhone. Especially since said passenger has already admitted to losing two previous phones.

Take it as a sign that you should get a different phone. Or, send a (certified) letter to their corporate office in Chicago demanding the iPhone. It's worth a shot.

Also, I assume you've checked with AT&T to see if someone else is using it...?

This wouldn't be a theft..it'll be a courtesy borrowing and riding from UAL's crew member. :-)

Next MILLION DOLLAR idea:

Phone on a rope.

Maybe executive customer service could help.

United is the worst. I had my bags lost on a trip back from Europe in JFK. The people there were a complete friggin nightmare. I too dealt with the answer machine of disinterest. I just kept calling corporate, and told them that I wouldn't stop.

They just don't care. I wouldn't have flow with them if it hadn't been my business buying the ticket. I won't fly with a legacy airline. They are all huge uncaring corporate monsters.

Corporations shouldn't be allowed to get so large. They just get cumbersome, and then end up blaming on unions.

I wouldn't count on ever seeing that phone again. From personal accounts I've heard in the industry, airline staff treat the lost and found like a personal goodie bag.

It really pays to be careful about that sort of thing when travelling.

That sucks, I'm always afraid of losing things like that. That's probably why I check everything like 10 times, especially when I'm dead tired from flying/not sleeping the night before. The worst I've left is a water afaik so I must be doing it right.
I'm not OCD as far as I know, I just get paranoid about losing expensive things. If I were OCD my apartment/car would be much cleaner.

@lincolnparadox: There have been cases in NYC with MTA employees finding something//having something turned into them and it never reaching the lost property office.

The 3.0 update supposedly has a locate my iPhone feature.

Could come in handy for this guy if he gets a 4th.

@SpaceBat_GitEmSteveDave: At most they can prevent it from being reactivated on a new account.

@tande04: It is a feature which allows you to remotely grab the GPS info from the phone at a given time. Useful yes, but could vary well end up getting people in trouble if they try to confront a person who has their phone and then get their head stopmed.

A few years ago, I left a Lithograph print from the Rock And Roll HOF on a Continental flight. Within a couple days, Continental FedEx ed back to me unharmed.

UAL lost our luggage for two months - it was a suitcase full of clothes and some Christmas gifts. Not too long after Valentine's day they found our suitcase and sent it back to our house. It *looked* like everything was there, but then our relatives started opening their belated gifts - and found that the items were not in the boxes! One was a lovely box of Starbucks sample coffees - labeled 12 coffees of Christmas - only the receiver only got 9 of the 12 coffees. Thanks, UAL!

I left a camera in a taxi that dropped me off at the airport in Puerto Vallarta once. Luckily, I knew which company the taxi was from, and was able to call and they brought the camera to me before my flight left. More than being thankful for the camera, I was thankful for the pictures. I hadn't brought my laptop since it was such a short trip and so all of the pictures were still on the memory card in the camera. I wrote to a manager at the company once we got home and thanked them for the excellent service and quick response.

@xtc46: I've worked at the sorts of places people leave phones. I would usually look through the contacts for a "mom" "dad" "home" etc. and call them.

At least UAL HAS a lost and found. Go ahead and call lost and found for Northwest Airlines. You get to suffer through extension hell and then get a recording saying they can't be bothered to keep your stuff, so tough shit.

[consumerist.com]

last time I worked at the aforementioned fruit company (retail), they were not as concerned at recovering your lost computer/peripherals as they were at replacing them

that being said, see if you have a renters/homeowners insurance on those things. if the deductible is low enough, it may be worth it to take advantage of. On a side not, there have been 4GB iphone refubs on apple's website for $150 (those deals come and go)

@jook: Ditto. I have "me" in my contacts list, and include my email addy.

EECB? Failing that, you must have some sort of legal rights here. Even otherwise, if you can get a lawyer to send them a threatening letter maybe they'll take a gander at the l&f bin for you. They have no right to hold your property hostage. Airport police? Fly to SFO? Equipment protection program? (Technically it's still lost) UA customer service?

My buddy left a palm pilot on a us airways flight a couple of years back (maybe ten years ago). He called the 1-800 service number, got no response, but was eventually able to get a local number for lost baggage at US Airways in Boston. He called and called the number but no one ever picked up. So he went to the airport. And went into the baggage service office, and surreptitiously called the number. Someone was in the office, sitting at the desk, with the phone ringing, and not picking it up. When my friend asked him "Aren't you going to pick that up?" his response was a blank look and "That's not my phone." So at this point, my buddy kissed the palm pilot goodbye, and knew not to make any effort whatsoever the next time he lost something. These guys literally could not care any less about your lost item.

I had a similar but much more successful experience on way to Italy for my honeymoon. When changing planes in IAD, I'd left a garment bag hanging in one of their closets. Of course, I didn't realize this until we were halfway across the Atlantic.

When we landed, I called United and was given an email address to contact. Completely by email, I was able to locate the bag and arrange to have it sent back to SFO for my return. (I was given the option of shipping it to meet me in Italy -- at my expense -- but there turned out not to be enough time.)

By the way, Graham Atkinson himself got involved in the process and made sure the bag was located and taken care of. Ultimately, it was my mistake but United was very helpful in repairing the problem.

What is the difference between customer incompetence and company neglect? Is there any dispute that United's lost and found procedures would take forever and be nearly impossible to complete? No. It is pretty obvious this would happen.

Don't leave your phone in the seat pocket of the plane you are on. Leave it in the bag crammed next to your feet.

@SpaceBat_GitEmSteveDave: Do iPhones allow for a signature? When my BlackBerry is locked, it shows my name, email address, and alternate phone number. It would be helpful if iPhones had this too...

When people find lost items, they are generally very helpful. My friend left her phone at a restaurant at the Chicago airport and the waitress FedExed it to us. Very nice.

Last year I flew more than 65K miles on United. They have a lot of my money. I am self employed, so it is my money. I thought that might mean something to the company. I would have paid a fee to look for my lost item too, if it meant someone would actually look for it.

UAL's San Francisco lost and found deserves its very own circle of hell. I know this because I lost my wedding ring about a month ago. I called the numbers they told me to call, but got no results or replies.

A tip on another blog clued me in to "the woman with the key." Apparently there is one woman who will look for a specific item, if you can get to her.

I flew down from Seattle to San Francisco to do what I could. ($49 each way) The airport police gave me forms to fill out. When I asked what happens next, the officer said nothing would be done, that no one would ever even look at the report.

So on to the mysterious woman. I was directed to a lost baggage counter. The person behind the counter told me they did not have the ring- without checking.

She finally agreed to go ask someone who might know. The WOMAN!! A few moments and she was back- nope, no ring. Again I pushed- Who did she talk to, could I talk to that person? The ring is hard to describe.

Finally I was in front of the holder of the key, the woman I had heard about. She would not tell me her name, but did tell me they did not have a single piece of jewelry. Not one earring, not a bracelet, nothing in the UAL SFO lost and found.

I am heartbroken about my ring. It was not that valuable, but it was handmade, and priceless to me.

UAL does not have a central lost and found, or even a central lost and found log. Awful

A friend of mine left her phone in the security gate at SFO as she was coming back from her honeymoon. I believe it took over a week of calls to the airline, the airline's lost and found, the airport's general lost and found, and the SFO police. Finally, they found her phone (she had called it immediately and the employee stated he was taking it to the lost and found) and mailed it to her.

Hope you get your phone back.

I'm just glad the most I lost was a jacket from Gap. Oh, and a DS with 2 1GB cartridges, but that was on Northwest. Same thing, though- in both cases, both airlines directed me to a voicemail box. I never got either item back.

@jook: Many phones now have "ICE" listed front and center. Some people with Older phones have manually added this to their contact list.

Which stands for In Case of Emergency. It usually has the best contacts and sometimes personal information like a mailing address.

@xtc46: Apple/AT&T have the ability to prevent it from being reactivated but they won't (unless they have changed their policy). My 1st gen iphone was stolen a year ago and when I reported it they told me that there was nothing they could do except deactivate the phone. However, when I asked about it being reactivated under another name they said they could not stop it (even though I am sure they could).

Sounds to me like UAL treats their lost and found the same way AIG treats "bonuses." It's just standard, expected compensation for their employees. Good luck getting ANYTHING back.

@tande04: That's a really bad idea, stalkers and abusers could use that info to keep tabs on their victims.

I accidentally left my cellphone in a rental car after a very long international flight and then drive through all of NJ. I realized the phone was gone when I got home that evening after returning the car. It was night, I had no landline, and didn't know anyone around, so I couldn't call the phone or the rental car company (Enterprise) until the next morning from work. They had found it when they were cleaning the car and had it for me at the check-in desk when I dashed over there.

It's silly how much something like that impressed me - esp since a friend left a phone in a uhaul the week before and it vanished. Perhaps it's because I had a super cheap-o phone. I'd even backed up the numbers so a replacement wouldn't have been that much of a pain, but it would have been hassle at a time when I couldn't take on more hassle. Nice to have lost things recovered.

@Palak Desai: Ever heard the phrase "Possession is nine-tenths of the law"? It's also repeated on playgrounds the world around in many different languages as "Finders, keepers. Losers, weepers." Unfortunately, I doubt he's going to get anything more from United than a "lost items are not our responsibility", it's just the way of the world. Learn your lesson (expensive, though it is) and move on.

Umm - if you have lost or destroyed 3 iPhones, you might want to consider NOT getting another iPhone and just buying a cheapo model that you wont mind losing.

That same thing happened to me at United.

I went through security and they took my bag, looked through it, and gave it back to me. Being the dummy I am, I never looked through to make sure everything was there. When I got home my PDA was missing, so I called lost and found, which was like trying to get in contact with Santa Claus.

I was in Las Vegas for business August 2008, and after work, went with a friend to a Korean restaurant for dinner. I don't remember the hard details, but essentially someone left their cell phone and the staff was talking about it. I told them (and did it myself) to just call a local number in the phone book, tell whoever answers that their friend/family lost their phone at Restaurant X, and they have 3 days to pick it up. After 15 minutes, guy pops in, asks for and identifies his phone, and adios muchacho. (In the guy's defense, he claimed he was calling his phone for the last couple of hours, so was the staff going to keep the phone ...? Don't know, don't care.)

How big would the warehouse have to be to hold all of the crap left on airplanes by passengers? Think about it. Multiply the number of daily flights by the number of items on each plane. I doubt stuff stays in UAL (or any airline) hands longer than a few hours before it's tossed or given away as an employee "bonus".