"Sir, the driver has run away!" said the voice on the other end of the phone. My jaw dropped and I felt like I was hit by a truck. Was it a nightmare?
"What do mean’has run away’? Where is my stuff?"
Unfortunately, it was for real. And boy was I in deep sh*t."We don’t know where your stuff is. But we promise to deliver it." I was availing the services of Pragati Packers and Movers to move my stuff from Pune to Hyderabad.
"What the hell? How can you deliver something that was stolen from you?"
"No Sir. It’s not stolen. We just don’t know where it is. But it will be delivered."
The audacity of this guy.
"That’s it. I am going to file an FIR with the police."
I had to file an FIR as soon as possible otherwise I could not claim insurance on my Rs 1.25 lakh brand new R15 bike.
"No Sir, please don’t do that. We promise." and I slammed the phone. I had already waited 6 days against the 4 days they promised and my patience had worn thin.
I went to the Madhapur police station. The officer there informed me that they cannot register a case unless it was certain that a theft had occurred. The
packers were not ready to accept that my stuff was stolen. So he gave them an ultimatum to deliver it within two days otherwise he will
consider it stolen and proceed to file an FIR.
"Sir, we found your stuff. The driver had abandoned the truck mid-way to visit his mom who fell sick. Another driver will deliver your stuff soon."
I was already at the police station again after two days, ready to file an FIR.
"WHERE IS MY STUFF?” I roared.
"Sir, it’s in Miyapur right now. There is a no-entry for trucks within city limits until 10.00pm. After that you will get your stuff."
Somewhere in my mind, I felt that he was telling the truth. I relaxed for the first time in 8 days.
"How can your driver abandon your truck mid-way? Are there no procedures that need to be followed in emergencies?"
I had to ask. It was indeed a far-fetched story.
"No sir, it’s not our truck. We subcontracted the transportation to another private trucker"
There you go.
"Fine. Give me the driver’s number."
I got his number and called him. He confirmed the story.
"Sir don’t worry sir. We will deliver your stuff." Yeah you’d better.
Finally at 3.00am in the morning my stuff was delivered. I was hugely relieved to see my beloved bikes again.
Out of the 8 packages, the plastic chair was completely shattered. The folding study table miraculously survived. The steel cot also survived with slightly bent legs. The suitcase, mattress and the cardboard carton were sturdy enough and didn’t have any issues as expected. The two bikes were very carefully packed and did not have any issues either.
And thus ended the biggest scare of my life!