# My husband left his Kindle on the Plane



## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

He has only had it a month and left it on the plane last night.  I called the airline and put in a lost and found ticket for them. He flew home to Florida and didn't get in until 10:30 pm last night. He was on a Southwest flight into the Fort Lauderdale airport and it was the last stop for the plane. They said that they send all items left on the plane to Dallas and then start trying to find the owners. It takes some time before they will notify us if found.

He has a K2 that I bought from a member of this board and I gave him an Oberon cover for it.  I deregistered it right away. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they find it. If not, I'll probably buy him a new K3 since he seems to like it. He is not much of a reader, but really like reading on the Kindle. I just hope that no one picked it up and didn't turn it in.

Should I notify Amazon with the Serial Number in case some tries to register it?


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## cc1013 (Jul 31, 2009)

Ugh!  Bummer!

With the hectic boarding/deboarding process, it's such an easy mistake to make.  I've gotten a bit anal about not putting anything other than a magazine or water bottle in the seat pocket in front of me because this seems to happen pretty often.  

I would recommend calling Amazon and letting them know what happened.  If it turns up, they can always reactivate the device remotely.

Good thing is, the Kindle is much cheaper than it originally was, so a replacement isn't quite a shocking to your finances.  Still, I'm sure it is very frustrating.  I hope the airline pulls through and locates it!


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## Bunny Hugger (Jan 7, 2011)

I'm really sorry to hear that! I googled "what to do if kindle is stolen" and it brought me to a discussion on the Amazon boards. Here is one of the replies that will help you most:

That's great to hear. I believe this was a recently instituted change, but a welcome one. First contact with customer service could be summed up as "really sorry, you're SOL." Subsequent communication (+ 2 weeks) was no-problem, I have pulled your serial number per your request, and future user's will be blocked from that device. I'm guessing either this was introduced over the holidays or there are variable levels of competency among the CS team. Either way, faith in Amazon is restored and I will buy a new kindle today.

Advice for anyone who has lost their kindle: if it de-registered from your account, ask Amazon CS specifically to 1) pull the serial number of the device that was formerly registered to your account (you will not have it anymore) and 2) ask that any future use of the device be blocked. Being specific in steps you'd like to have taken.

If it is currently registered to your account, I'd record your serial number prior to de-registering it. If you have problems de-registering you can always create a dummy credit card number 41111......, and associate it with the Kindle. That way any subsequent transaction will fail.

Here is the link to the discussion: http://www.amazon.com/is-lost-stolen-can-disabled/forum/Fx3DSPRQJ2N21CX/Tx1EUUUKBYG9U5L/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B001JAH7OM


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## Barbiedull (Jul 13, 2010)

I'm sorry to hear that Kathy! And it was in such great condition... 

I'd definately call Amazon with the serial # just in case.
Since it has the extended Amazon warranty, maybe they will offer a good deal on a k3 if this one isn't found?


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Barbiedull said:


> I'm sorry to hear that Kathy! And it was in such great condition...
> 
> I'd definately call Amazon with the serial # just in case.
> Since it has the extended Amazon warranty, maybe they will offer a good deal on a k3 if this one isn't found?


Good idea. I'll definitely ask Amazon.



Bunny Hugger said:


> Advice for anyone who has lost their kindle: if it de-registered from your account, ask Amazon CS specifically to 1) pull the serial number of the device that was formerly registered to your account (you will not have it anymore) and 2) ask that any future use of the device be blocked. Being specific in steps you'd like to have taken.


If I block the serial number and we get it back, do you think I will have a problem unblocking it?


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

My Mom lost her DX. I called Amazon and had it deregistered and blocked. They told me that I could call them back and have it ublocked and reregistered if it was found again. You will have to answer a series of questions in order to establish that you are the rightful owner so keep track of the serial number, what credit card you bought it on, when you bought it (I gave them a very rough estomate), what account it was on, that type of thing. Essentially, only info that the legitimate owner should be able to have.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

ProfCrash said:


> My Mom lost her DX. I called Amazon and had it deregistered and blocked. They told me that I could call them back and have it ublocked and reregistered if it was found again. You will have to answer a series of questions in order to establish that you are the rightful owner so keep track of the serial number, what credit card you bought it on, when you bought it (I gave them a very rough estomate), what account it was on, that type of thing. Essentially, only info that the legitimate owner should be able to have.


Did you get it back?


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## CNDudley (May 14, 2010)

Your husband is the third person I've heard of who did this! Such a huge bummer.

I would dearly love to know where all these lost Kindles are going...


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

CNDudley said:


> Your husband is the third person I've heard of who did this! Such a huge bummer.
> 
> I would dearly love to know where all these lost Kindles are going...


When I reported it last night they said they find a lot of lost Kindles. They actually have someone that processes those and they keep them in a more secure enviroment. I'm sure this includes all their electronics found.


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## tidbit (Jan 26, 2011)

Oh, sorry to hear that. I hope they are able to locate it for you.


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

Kathy said:


> Did you get it back?


Nope. She didn't realize it was missing until two or three weeks after she flew. I realized it was missing when it was no longer registered on my Kindle account. I called home and found out that she had no idea where it was. I called, explained what happened, when we thought she lost it, and that I knew someone else had it because the device was no longer on my account. The Agent asked me when it was purchased, what credit card it was purchased on, why it was purchased, and what types of books had been on it. Then she bricked it.

I am pretty certain that someone had been using it for a while and woke up one day ot a non-functioning device. I ended up buying Mom a DXG to replace her DX when she said she missed having it.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

ProfCrash said:


> Nope. She didn't realize it was missing until two or three weeks after she flew. I realized it was missing when it was no longer registered on my Kindle account. I called home and found out that she had no idea where it was. I called, explained what happened, when we thought she lost it, and that I knew someone else had it because the device was no longer on my account. The Agent asked me when it was purchased, what credit card it was purchased on, why it was purchased, and what types of books had been on it. Then she bricked it.
> 
> I am pretty certain that someone had been using it for a while and woke up one day ot a non-functioning device. I ended up buying Mom a DXG to replace her DX when she said she missed having it.


That is awful. I'm glad you were able to stop someone from using it.


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

CNDudley said:


> I would dearly love to know where all these lost Kindles are going...


They are hanging out with all the ballpoint pens, disposable cigarette lighters, and odd socks.

(I hope Southwest finds the OP's hubby's Kindle)


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

Actually there is an outlet store in Arizona that buys most of the stuff and resells it. There was an article on MSNBC about it this Christmas season. There are tons of IPods, IPhones, Kindles, and the like in their electronics department.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I never knew firsthand, but I thought from reading the Amazon forums that Amazon had a policy of not "bricking" lost Kindles, which would prevent them from being used if the owner reported it as lost or stolen.  This was always a real flashpoint in those forums -- many were angry that Amazon seemed to be enabling thieves, and many were angry that many were angry.

Was this ever the case?  If so, when did Amazon change their policy?  Just wondering.  I'm hoping not to lose mine...


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## Amiedoll (Jun 29, 2010)

When my husband was working for a car rental agency any property that was left in the cars was kept in lost property for a few months, if no one claimed it then the staff got to keep it. I'm pretty sure they did try to contact the owners as well, but a lot of people would rather replace stuff then get it sent back to them, especially tourists. We got a few pairs of glasses, an ipod and a camera   I can imagine the airports see a lot more lost property (especially considering how often they lose luggage) but I really hope the staff find the Kindle and it can be returned


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## ShawnT (Jan 1, 2011)

ProfCrash said:


> Actually there is an outlet store in Arizona that buys most of the stuff and resells it. There was an article on MSNBC about it this Christmas season. There are tons of IPods, IPhones, Kindles, and the like in their electronics department.


Cool. There's one in Scottsboro Alabama too called Unclaimed Baggage that's been featured on a lot of TV shows. It's got a wild variety of stuff you'd never expect to be left behind on a plane.


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## Bonbonlover (Oct 17, 2010)

I am sorry that your husband lost his kindle.  

This does remind me of the story a couple of months ago when someone came to this site and created an account because they had found a kindle on a plane and they were trying to locate the owner. I don't recall how, but the kindle did in fact find it's owner. So I will keep my fingers crossed for you.


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## arshield (Nov 17, 2008)

I have left mine in a rental car and got it back ok.  Hope yours comes back eventually


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## laurie_lu (May 10, 2010)

Couldn't a lost/stolen Kindle still be quite functional even after deregistering it and pulling the serial number?  All the person needs to do is obtain books elsewhere and use Calibre to convert them and then transfer them to the Kindle.


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## KayakerNC (Oct 7, 2009)

laurie_lu said:


> Couldn't a lost/stolen Kindle still be quite functional even after deregistering it and pulling the serial number? All the person needs to do is obtain books elsewhere and use Calibre to convert them and then transfer them to the Kindle.


Certainly sounds more functional than a "brick".


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I contacted Amazon with the Serial Number and got this reply. We are going to give it 2 weeks before buying a new one. Luckily he only has 4 books on it, so even if they can only use it to read what is on the Kindle they won't be getting much. If it isn't found, I'm going to get him the K3 in graphite, wifi only. He doesn't read that much and I can load all his books from the wireless at home. He would never use the 3G to buy a book, so the wifi should be fine.

"Hello,

I'm sorry to hear that your Kindle was lost. I've deregistered this Kindle from your account and noted this in our systems  so that it can't be registered by another person.

Your Kindle's Serial Number is: xxxxxxx. If you find your Kindle, please contact us again and we can reinstate your registration.

If your Kindle is found and returned to Amazon, we’ll send it to you.

I hope this helps. Thanks for using Kindle."


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## MamaProfCrash (Dec 16, 2008)

Kathy: Good to hear.



> I never knew firsthand, but I thought from reading the Amazon forums that Amazon had a policy of not "bricking" lost Kindles, which would prevent them from being used if the owner reported it as lost or stolen. This was always a real flashpoint in those forums -- many were angry that Amazon seemed to be enabling thieves, and many were angry that many were angry.
> 
> Was this ever the case? If so, when did Amazon change their policy? Just wondering. I'm hoping not to lose mine...


For a while Amazon would not brick a Kindle that was reported stolen or lost. They would ask for a Police Report and the police had to contact them directly. It was a huge mess. About a year ago they changed their policy.

ahhhh It is in Alabama not Arizona.


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## tidbit (Jan 26, 2011)

I'll keep my fingers crossed that someone turned it in and it gets back to you.


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## Joe Chiappetta (May 20, 2010)

Deregister it right away if it hasn't been returned. And yes, contact Amazon. Whoever finds it can buy things from Amazon and you will be charged for it! I am sorry for your pain!


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

Please keep us updated.. I check in on this every time I see it hoping your DH gets it back.


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## Anne Victory (Jul 29, 2010)

Me, too.  I'd be in tears if I lost my Kindle.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

Another reason why all of us should put our names and contact information on the back of the Kindle itself.  My business card is taped to the back of my K3 just in case.  I might even take that off and write my name and number on the back using a permanent marker.  I believe most people are fairly honest and would make a call.


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## Zell (Dec 27, 2010)

By the way, I'm sorry that happened and hope it comes back soon.  If not, a great reason to get the K3!


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## Amy Corwin (Jan 3, 2011)

Zell said:


> Another reason why all of us should put our names and contact information on the back of the Kindle itself. My business card is taped to the back of my K3 just in case. I might even take that off and write my name and number on the back using a permanent marker. I believe most people are fairly honest and would make a call.


Thanks for the tip and reminder. I'm going to do the same. I agree--I think most people are honest and will make the attempt to contact you if they find it.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Joe Chiappetta said:


> Deregister it right away if it hasn't been returned. And yes, contact Amazon. Whoever finds it can buy things from Amazon and you will be charged for it! I am sorry for your pain!


Already Done


Zell said:


> Another reason why all of us should put our names and contact information on the back of the Kindle itself. My business card is taped to the back of my K3 just in case. I might even take that off and write my name and number on the back using a permanent marker. I believe most people are fairly honest and would make a call.


My thought as well. He said he was going to put one of our stick on luggage tags on it if he gets it back or on a new one when we get that.


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## Barbiedull (Jul 13, 2010)

My Husband is prone to losing things also...  When I registered his Kindle, I "named" it by using his first name and cell phone #.  Someone would see it easily if the Kindle is switched on.

Like this---    John 774-234-0000


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## skyblue (Dec 23, 2009)

This is a big fear for me, so I NEVER put anything of value in that airplane pocket, no matter how tempting!  I always slip it back into my bag.  I have my business card tucked in my cover just in case.

Please keep us updated!  Wishing you the best possible outcome!


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

ProfCrash said:


> For a while Amazon would not brick a Kindle that was reported stolen or lost. They would ask for a Police Report and the police had to contact them directly. It was a huge mess. About a year ago they changed their policy.


Thanks Prof. I thought I was going nuts. That used to be one of the most bitter topics over in the Amazon forums.

I'm glad Amazon changed their policy. I think they're pretty good about trying to do the right thing...


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

We still haven't heard back from Southwest, but we are going to wait one more week to see if it is found. After that, I'll just order him a new one. If we get it back, I'll figure out what to do with it then. It wouldn't be so bad if he had it for a year or two, but for this to happen after only having it a month is frustrating. Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

Still no Kindle. I decided to surprise him and ordered a new one today. I bought him the Graphite K3 wireless model. He won't ever download books on his own, so I can just load it up when at home using the wireless. He was really enjoying it and was excited about reading. He loved the font sizing option which was a big help to him. He had an eye accident several years ago and is pretty much blind in his left eye. With his vision getting worse being able to up the font was wonderful for him. I think he'll even enjoy the K3 more since the text is darker. 

Amazon is having a free 2 day shipping promotion for Valentines. He should get it on Friday or Monday.


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## Guest (Feb 9, 2011)

Kathy said:


> Amazon is having a free 2 day shipping promotion for Valentines. He should get it on Friday or Monday.


Amazon is pretty good with their upgraded shipping. If you order early enough in the day, they'll get the order boxed and shipped the same day. If not, they will ship it out the next day via next day air. So you will still get it on the second day.


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## Cuechick (Oct 28, 2008)

Was he on a business trip? Did you buy it with a business credit card? You may be able to get re-imbursed from the cc company or at least write it off?


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Octochick said:


> Was he on a business trip? Did you buy it with a business credit card? You may be able to get re-imbursed from the cc company or at least write it off?


 If purchased with a credit card there may be some recourse -- you'd want to contact the CC for that.

But loss of a personal item, even if while on a business trip, isn't something that can be "written off" whether for tax or general accounting purposes.


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## Kathy (Nov 5, 2008)

I bought it here on the board. It did have an extended Amazon warranty on it and I'm going to see if they will transfer that to the new Kindle. If it shows up we will either keep it as a spare or give it to someone in the family. I had Amazon disable the SN, so if someone tries to register it they will be out of luck. It only had 4 books on it, so they won't get much use out of it.


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## nobody_important (Jul 9, 2010)

Octochick said:


> You may be able to get re-imbursed from the cc company or at least write it off?


CC company won't do anything b/c there was no fraud. And you can't write off personal items like that.


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