Cheesed off

Nicked
Originally uploaded by framboise.

Returned home this afternoon to find an Amazon package I've been waiting for lying at the bottom of my stairwell, slightly hidden in the dark corner behind the main door. It was empty. Some unscrupulous person had stolen 2 DVDs and 3CDs, but left the package behind so I would KNOW they'd stolen it. They even kindly left the invoice. Thank goodness Amazon doesn't print credit card numbers on the invoices, or they'd be able to steal from that as well.

I ripped off a quick email to Amazon to let them know, but have yet to hear back. And on impulse, for the first time in my life, I phoned my local police station. The lady on reception transferred me to an Assistance Desk, where I was able to report the approximate time of theft and contents that were stolen. The lady on the other line was very nice, and brushed aside my apologies that this was such a trivial matter. She took a lot of details, I'm guessing for crime stats purposes. She assured me that such things were the purpose of the crime assistance phone line, but I still feel a little guilty for wasting their time.

I know it's just petty theft, nothing serious. I merely wanted to make sure that this was added to the list of petty thefts that occur in what is considered a low-crime neighbourhood. In the 5 and a half years I've lived here, the only time anything else was stolen was when someone nicked my ergonomic bike seat in the stairwell. It wasn't an easy-release seat; it was bolted on. They must have seen my bike before and come equipped with tools, or had a wrench on them anyway. I was really p*ssed off then, and am also quite annoyed now. In such instances, crime does pay.

Should the ned/inconsiderate youth who stole my stuff ever read this, I'd really like a review of the Princess Mononoke DVD, Damien Rice's O, and KT Tunstall's False Alarm SP and first album Eye to the Telescope. And when you're done with the LOTR:ROTK theatrical release, could you give it back? I don't need to watch it. I prefer the extended edition, but I ordered it to complete my collection. Cheers.

2130h edit: Amazon emailed back to say I could have a replacement or refund. Phew! I thought that was really nice and trusting of them. This time, I'm leaving a note for my local postie so he/she doesn't leave it in the stairwell again. A short trip to the delivery office or Parcelforce's depot in Broomhouse is no hassle compared to getting stuff stolen.