A mobile phone comparison website in the UK thought it would be interesting to find out how people react to their phone being lost or stolen, if the unfortunate event should occur, and so carried out a poll to ask them questions surrounding the subject.
www.GoodMobilePhones.co.uk polled 1,659 mobile phone users, aged 18 or over, and initially asked them “Have you ever had your phone stolen or lost?”, to which 41% answered ‘yes’.
Of the respondents who said that they had had their phone stolen or lost it in the past, just under a quarter, 23%, said that they reported the incident to the police, whilst 12% informed their insurance provider.
A further 18% said that they contacted their phone operator to communicate their IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity) so their phone could be blocked and, but the majority, 47% admitted that they didn’t do anything.
The respondents who admitted not doing anything when their phone was lost or stolen, were then asked to explain their reasons for their decision to not react and had to choose from a list of possible answers.
According to the results, the top 5 reasons were as follows:
1) Didn’t know their IMEI number 42%
2) Didn’t have insurance 31%
3) Too much effort 26%
4) Didn’t know what to do 24%
5) Didn’t even think about it 14%
Of the respondents who said that they hadn’t done anything when their phone became lost or stolen, 22% admitted that they later kept their IMEI number on file when they had to replace their previous handset, whilst 28% bought a phone insurance policy after the incident to protect their new mobile.
Furthermore, 17% of the respondents who initially admitted having reported their phone to the police when it was lost or stolen also admitted that they had made a false declaration, so they could take advantage of their insurance.
Mark Owen, Managing Director of GoodMobilePhones.co.uk, had the following to say about the study:
“If your phone becomes lost or gets stolen, the only thing you can count on is the insurance you bought or your IMEI number. That’s why I am surprised to see that many people do not bother to report or block their handset to the relevant parties. I would rather pay for an insurance policy that I barely used and have it handy if my phone got stolen or lost.”