by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in Creative, News and How-to's

Customer photo from S.B., Hampshire

It’s almost the time of year again for family gatherings and yes, the occasional tantrum, with toys getting thrown out of prams.

We wouldn’t dare get involved in your grown-up arguments, especially over the upcoming holidays – it’s all part of the tradition!

But when actual toys get thrown out of actual prams, pushchairs, buggies and vehicles.  That’s more serious and we’re delighted to intervene!

We received this picture of this reindeer from a very talented and creative user, who’s making sure that any favourite family toys making a successful bid for freedom while out and about can still be recovered safely, long after the inconsolable scream-fest is over!

Buzz and Woody, if they’re out there, will be pleased to know that the lessons of Toy Story are not forgotten.

 

by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in News and How-to's

No, not actual insurance, but wouldn’t it be useful to get a text message instead of a ticket if you’re a bit late back to the meter, or you’ve had to park awkwardly?

Want your own car stationery for those little parking emergencies?  It might just save you from a penalty fine, or having your car towed!

If you’re a WhosMyOwner member, it ‘s super-easy: just log into your account and download your personalised Car Stationery note-lets.   Or design your own and add your WhosMyOwner tag – yours will no doubt be prettier than ours!

Car stationery (like all our personalised downloads) is completely free to members, and comes complete with a QR code so you can be reached more easily.

There’s no better way to be reachable but keep your contact details private!

So why not print yourself out a stack, and keep in the car for the next parking emergency.

Suggested uses (I’m sure you’ll have more)…

  • You’ve ordered your annual car tax but it hasn’t arrived yet
  • You couldn’t tell whether parking was restricted here or not
  • You’re in a disabled bay without an official sticker, and you’re helping someone else into a building (we’re in no way encouraging this, but if you do it, it’s far better to explain yourself than annoy people, or get a fine!)
  • You’re parking across 2 spaces because of how other cars were parked when you arrived.
  • You think you could be a bit late back for your pre-paid parking time, and want to beg forgiveness in advance!
  • You parked at a meter that wasn’t working, and you want to show you did try to pay.
  • You’ve abandoned your car in a heavy snow drift, and you’ll be back in the spring (or tomorrow!)
  • You’re broken down, and off to find help
  • You’re out of fuel, and will be back with some a.s.a.p.
  • You had to leave before the recovery service arrived.
  • You’ve left your keys in the locked car, and gone to get spare.

Don’t forget to keep a good marker pen in the car.

If you have success with our car stationery, please tweet them to @whosmyowner. We’ll retweet the best examples.

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by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in News and How-to's
eBook Readers

Amazon’s Kindle is a great boredom-buster that’s never more than a few clicks away from fresh content.  Coupled with its ability to slip easily into a bag or pocket, and a battery life measured on a calendar rather than a watch, this makes it the ideal companion for a 2-week trip to an exotic beach, an hour’s visit to the dentist’s waiting room, or just your daily commute.

Kindle’s convenient access to content might also be its weakness, except that Amazon does a decent job of protecting you should your Kindle ever be lost or stolen.

Here’s what to do right now, just in case your Kindle is ever lost or stolen:

Decide what’s most important: protecting your content and account, or getting a lost Kindle back.

If protecting the content on your Kindle is paramount, go into the Settings page and set up a Device Password.  That way no-one can access your device without the password.

If getting a lost Kindle back is more important, or just more likely, go to the Settings page, and add some Personal Information, such as an email address or phone number.   That way whoever finds your Kindle might be able to contact you to return it.   However, don’t set a Device Password, because that will prevent anyone from finding your Personal Information and returning your Kindle.

Recommended Approach – Device Password + Label

We think setting a Device Password on a Kindle is absolutely essential: it not only protects your Kindle’s content, it also protects you from unauthorised purchases if your Kindle has been stolen or found by someone less than completely honest.

However, the Device Password prevents anyone from tracing you via your stored Personal Information, so if your device was just lost, not stolen, there’s far less chance of someone being able to return it.

That’s why we recommend a low-tech, “belt-and-braces” approach to protecting your Kindle.

In addition to a Device Password, attach a sticky label with some basic contact details to the back of your device, or its cover.   You wouldn’t travel without identifying luggage tags; why not make it easy to return your Kindle?

If you want to protect your contact details as well, and be notified as soon as your Kindle is found, that’s what WhosMyOwner is here for!

What to do if your Kindle is Lost or Stolen

Once you’ve decided your Kindle is definitely missing, you should immediately contact Amazon’s Kindle Customer Service and report it missing.    They already know its serial number, so they can immediately deregister your Kindle from your Amazon account and protect you from unauthorised purchases.  They can also prevent it from being registered to another Amazon account, rendering if almost useless to anyone else.  If you later find your Kindle lurking under a cushion, you can just re-register it by contacting Customer Services again.

Could I Still Get My Kindle Back if I Haven’t Labelled It?

Yes, thanks to Amazon, there’s still a chance.  If someone comes into possession of your Kindle, and takes the trouble to contact Amazon to let them know they’d like to return it, they’ll be given instructions on how to return it to Amazon’s contact centre.  If they follow through and do so, Amazon can identify the true owner and return it to you.

 

by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in News and How-to's
Spectacles, sunglasses

Whether it’s prescription glasses, occasional reading specs or your designer sunglasses, losing a pair of glasses is the easiest thing in the world to do, and can be a major inconvenience, especially if you depend on them for proper vision.

Then there’s the cost of replacement: it’s not uncommon to pay £500 or more for the exact combination of frames you’re comfortable with and lens materials you like.

So what are you doing to make sure you get them back if you leave them somewhere?

As with all your other “stuff”, why not stick a discreet WhosMyOwner label on them.  You can make your own labels, so you’re sure of coordinating colours with your frames.  In this example we printed the label with a simple hand-held label printer, on Brother TZe-334 Black on Gold tape.

 

by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in News and How-to's

School lost property rooms are struggling to cope with unclaimed valuables; proof that people really do hand things in.

Search online for “school lost property“, and you’ll see page after page of individual schools pleading with parents to clearly label everything from clothing to sports equipment, and to come in and look through Lost Property before replacing lost items.

Not realising that items have been lost at all, or that they’ve eventually been found and could be collected, is a hidden, significant and now avoidable family expense.

Unfortunately, just putting your name on something doesn’t get it back. Even the most dedicated school staff don’t have time to track down the owner of every P.E. shirt that’s handed in. And as busy parents, you may never find out something has been lost, just that you need to buy another one.

What happens to the unclaimed items anyway? After some time has passed, the chances of an item being claimed diminish sharply, yet more lost property keeps flowing in. Schools eventually dispose of older items to make way for newer things. It’s either collected by various charities, or the local authority removes it as waste.

We’re on a mission to help schools reduce this waste, and help parents avoid having to pay for the same item of clothing or equipment twice!

Our Vision:  If every piece of clothing or equipment taken in to school had the family’s WhosMyOwner tag on it, staff could notify owners (or at least the parent) instantly, and the item quickly reclaimed.  Cost per incident?  Staff :  30 seconds or less.  Parents: nil.

Unlike name/class labels, your WhosMyOwner tags are not tied to one pupil or school – they never need replaced, even if items are handed down through the family, or pupils move from one school to another.

Let us know your thoughts from a school or parent point of view (use our contact form).

 

by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, and here’s why:

  • Making sure you’re contactable without revealing any personal details the whole point of WhosMyOwner.
  • When you register, we only request the basic information needed for WhosMyOwner to work.
  • If you order physical items from us, we use your postal address only to deliver your items.
  • We never sell or share customer details.
  • We store your notification details (email and optionally mobile number) in our secure database, protected by your password.
  • We do not store information we don’t need, such as your credit card details; these are processed only by PayPal.
  • When someone finds your lost property, they know nothing about you except your WhosMyOwner tag code.
  • Knowing your WhosMyOwner tag only allows someone to leave a message for you, not learn more about you.

Your details are locked away in a secure data centre operated by one of the biggest hosting providers in the industry. It’s protected by industry-standard security measures, and backed up every day. Only WhosMyOwner has access to your data, and only enough access to run the application.

We hope that explains how we handle your information and why it’s safe.  Any questions, just ask!

 

by WhosMyOwnerPosted on Posted in News and How-to's

I’ve read about quite a few ‘lost wallet’ social experiments recently.

Today’s article in The Independent is about one conducted by Reader’s Digest. 192 ‘lost’ wallets, 16 cites. (Link below.)

These experiments all draw their own conclusions, which are wildly inconsistent, often because they span cultures and their data gathering seems quite informal.

The one conclusion that IS consistent is that there are PLENTY of honest and honest people, all around the world. *

Good citizens are literally everywhere. They just don’t make the headlines as often as the other type.  If you’re reading this on the train, look around – there are almost certainly honest people right beside you, and you didn’t even notice.

Our own conclusion?

If you give people an easy way to contact you, there’s a great chance you’ll get your stuff back.

If you don’t help them, you almost certainly won’t.

It’s your choice!

From The Independent, this morning:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/the-most-honest-cities-in-the-world-8839046.html

*yes, Lisbon too, they were probably just having a bad day.