Woman who left £250 of Christmas gifts in back of cab uses clues to find driver
When Loveday Weller realised she’d left £250 of Christmas presents in the back of a taxi on Friday, her heart sank through the floor.
She had no idea how to break the news to her family and spent days suffering in silence, praying she could find a way to track her driver down.
Black cabbies in London don’t leave the same digital trail as ridesharing apps like Uber, so Loveday didn’t hold out much hope.
But thanks to the lost art of conversation, she pieced together a handful of facts she learnt about driver Steve White’s life and managed to track him down and get her goodies back.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I definitely felt like a detective. You should make small talk and make an effort to talk to people.’
Loveday, who works for a media agency remembered Steve lived in Essex and is a lifetime supporter of Leyton Orient FC.
During their chat, the cabbie also revealed he was a first time granddad to a boy with an unusual name.
Loveday, 31, launched an appeal on Twitter with the details, a friend of the driver let him know someone was looking for him and the rest is history.
She was left kicking herself on Friday evening because she’d spent the whole day on high-alert taking care not to lose her shopping.
Including the case, which she bought in Primark to keep everything in one place, the she was carting around £250 worth of belongings.
Loveday added: ‘People in my office had lost things over the Christmas period, somebody had their bag stolen at Winter Wonderland. I just felt very aware, I thought “just get your stuff home”.
After leaving the office at 6pm, Loveday went for a bite to eat with a friend, ensuring they chose a place that wasn’t too crowded or rowdy.
She sat with the suitcase in between her knees at the table to make sure it didn’t go astray before heading to Victoria station to travel home to Beckenham south-east London.
Exhausted from her week at work and last minute shopping, Loveday thought she’d treat herself to a cab ride home after learning the next two trains had been cancelled.
She added: ‘The cabbie and I talk about Christmas and he excitedly talks about finishing work on Monday.
‘Tiredness really kicks in at this point and I can feel myself dropping off.’
Steve dropped her off at a nearby Waitrose, she realised she was missing something and her belly filled with ‘absolute dread’.
Loveday added: ‘There’s so many things I love about London Black cabs but honestly the lack of digital footprint is a nightmare If you don’t take down the reg plate or badge number, you’re screwed.’
Her brother’s birthday was on Christmas Eve – meaning the loss of gifts felt like a double whammy to her.
She joined a black taxi lost property Facebook page, whose curator was responding to her messages even at 10pm, but she still saw no sign of her gifts.
To add to her frustration, she found out about Transport for London’s lost property office in Baker Street, but it wasn’t open until Monday – when Steve finished for Christmas.
After looking at the receipt for her journey Loveday found a number for Harlow Black cabs and the man on the other end spent 10 minutes talking about what he would do in such a situation.
Loveday added: ‘I’m struck by the generosity of that. I’m a stranger but he gives me that time and he really really hopes I get my bag back.’
She was pointed in the direction of Twitter, where she used the four things she knew about Steve to launch an appeal.
At 7.45pm on Saturday, Loveday got a message saying: ‘Hello, you’ve found me via a friend. I have your case at home. We will have to arrange to get it back.’
Steve hadn’t seen the tweet himself but a friend saw it and gave him a call to let him know someone was looking for him.
Loveday said it was a ‘Christmas miracle’ that the power of social media could bring them together so quickly.
When they met up, she Steve ‘couldn’t believe it’ and told her she’d remembered all the details about him correctly.
Loveday added: ‘I was quite pleased that I hadn’t messed it up. He couldn’t believe I found him.’
After giving him a thank you gift, Steve told her: ‘How did you know that was my favourite wine?’
Loveday didn’t tell her family what had happened until she knew she was getting her stuff back and that Christmas had been salvaged.
When she told them they ‘just laughed’ and said she shouldn’t have put herself under so much stress.
Loveday says the ordeal has really boosted her admiration for black cabbies.
She added: ‘They go to all that trouble to learn, they’re experts and understand how London works’.
‘It’s made me feel like I want to support them because they go to such an effort.’
Black cabbies in London don’t leave the same digital trail as ridesharing apps like Uber, so Loveday didn’t hold out much hope.
But thanks to the lost art of conversation, she pieced together a handful of facts she learnt about driver Steve White’s life and managed to track him down and get her goodies back.
She told Metro.co.uk: ‘I definitely felt like a detective. You should make small talk and make an effort to talk to people.’
Loveday, who works for a media agency remembered Steve lived in Essex and is a lifetime supporter of Leyton Orient FC.
During their chat, the cabbie also revealed he was a first time granddad to a boy with an unusual name.
Loveday, 31, launched an appeal on Twitter with the details, a friend of the driver let him know someone was looking for him and the rest is history.
She was left kicking herself on Friday evening because she’d spent the whole day on high-alert taking care not to lose her shopping.
Including the case, which she bought in Primark to keep everything in one place, the she was carting around £250 worth of belongings.
Loveday added: ‘People in my office had lost things over the Christmas period, somebody had their bag stolen at Winter Wonderland. I just felt very aware, I thought “just get your stuff home”.
After leaving the office at 6pm, Loveday went for a bite to eat with a friend, ensuring they chose a place that wasn’t too crowded or rowdy.
She sat with the suitcase in between her knees at the table to make sure it didn’t go astray before heading to Victoria station to travel home to Beckenham south-east London.
Exhausted from her week at work and last minute shopping, Loveday thought she’d treat herself to a cab ride home after learning the next two trains had been cancelled.
She added: ‘The cabbie and I talk about Christmas and he excitedly talks about finishing work on Monday.
‘Tiredness really kicks in at this point and I can feel myself dropping off.’
Steve dropped her off at a nearby Waitrose, she realised she was missing something and her belly filled with ‘absolute dread’.
Loveday added: ‘There’s so many things I love about London Black cabs but honestly the lack of digital footprint is a nightmare If you don’t take down the reg plate or badge number, you’re screwed.’
Her brother’s birthday was on Christmas Eve – meaning the loss of gifts felt like a double whammy to her.
She joined a black taxi lost property Facebook page, whose curator was responding to her messages even at 10pm, but she still saw no sign of her gifts.
To add to her frustration, she found out about Transport for London’s lost property office in Baker Street, but it wasn’t open until Monday – when Steve finished for Christmas.
After looking at the receipt for her journey Loveday found a number for Harlow Black cabs and the man on the other end spent 10 minutes talking about what he would do in such a situation.
Loveday added: ‘I’m struck by the generosity of that. I’m a stranger but he gives me that time and he really really hopes I get my bag back.’
She was pointed in the direction of Twitter, where she used the four things she knew about Steve to launch an appeal.
At 7.45pm on Saturday, Loveday got a message saying: ‘Hello, you’ve found me via a friend. I have your case at home. We will have to arrange to get it back.’
Steve hadn’t seen the tweet himself but a friend saw it and gave him a call to let him know someone was looking for him.
Loveday said it was a ‘Christmas miracle’ that the power of social media could bring them together so quickly.
When they met up, she Steve ‘couldn’t believe it’ and told her she’d remembered all the details about him correctly.
Loveday added: ‘I was quite pleased that I hadn’t messed it up. He couldn’t believe I found him.’
After giving him a thank you gift, Steve told her: ‘How did you know that was my favourite wine?’
Loveday didn’t tell her family what had happened until she knew she was getting her stuff back and that Christmas had been salvaged.
When she told them they ‘just laughed’ and said she shouldn’t have put herself under so much stress.
Loveday says the ordeal has really boosted her admiration for black cabbies.
She added: ‘They go to all that trouble to learn, they’re experts and understand how London works’.
‘It’s made me feel like I want to support them because they go to such an effort.’
