Van theft

[steveselvage]

Some nice gentlemen stole a couple of vans in my area last Sunday, one of them my trusty transit.
It had all my tools in so I have a little time on my hands as cannot work without.
The police were not interested other than to give me a crime number,not interested in the CCTV of them driving it away at ten past one in the morning or the CCTV of them at 1.40 unloading my paperwork etc in a church car park.
They knew how to steal it, opened it silently and somehow bypassing the immobilizer.
In the half hour between cameras they had driven across town and removed the roof rack, ladders etc and stuck different plates on it.
I've been told that they are put in a container and shipped out but surely a ten year old transit wouldn't be worth the trouble.
The lovely insurance company that I have used for the last seven years seem to be as unhelpful as possible, the courtesy van insurance that I paid extra for now tell me I can have a vehicle for 7 days only but it will be weeks before I get a payout for the van.
I explained that without tools I can't work so I would like the 7 days to commence when I source some tools.
Apparently this is not possible and the seven days starts at the claim date.
Ok, whatever I said and got a call from a lovely lady to say they have a Toyota Aygo for me.
You couldn't make it up!
I've nearly worn my eyes out scanning Facebook etc for any of my stuff and if I'm lucky enough to find any I bet the police will turn up because someone is going to be unwell
Anyway rant over!
Lock up your stuff cos there's a world full of arseholes just waiting to take it

 

[Wilco]

Raise it with your MP as home secretary gave that new mandate last week so MP might have a little more clout. Sorry to hear.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Some nice gentlemen stole a couple of vans in my area last Sunday, one of them my trusty transit.
It had all my tools in so I have a little time on my hands as cannot work without.
The police were not interested other than to give me a crime number,not interested in the CCTV of them driving it away at ten past one in the morning or the CCTV of them at 1.40 unloading my paperwork etc in a church car park.
They knew how to steal it, opened it silently and somehow bypassing the immobilizer.
In the half hour between cameras they had driven across town and removed the roof rack, ladders etc and stuck different plates on it.
I've been told that they are put in a container and shipped out but surely a ten year old transit wouldn't be worth the trouble.
The lovely insurance company that I have used for the last seven years seem to be as unhelpful as possible, the courtesy van insurance that I paid extra for now tell me I can have a vehicle for 7 days only but it will be weeks before I get a payout for the van.
I explained that without tools I can't work so I would like the 7 days to commence when I source some tools.
Apparently this is not possible and the seven days starts at the claim date.
Ok, whatever I said and got a call from a lovely lady to say they have a Toyota Aygo for me.
You couldn't make it up!
I've nearly worn my eyes out scanning Facebook etc for any of my stuff and if I'm lucky enough to find any I bet the police will turn up because someone is going to be unwell
Anyway rant over!
Lock up your stuff cos there's a world full of arseholes just waiting to take it

Try your local car boot probably be there .Total arseholes these people no respect for others property, more than likely to fuel an addiction habit, Hope you get back on track real soon .You would expect van manufacturers to Improve van security especially considering the volumes produced and number of people buying them ,but whatever they come up with a determined arsehole will bypass it .Atb
John.

 

[The Poot]

Some nice gentlemen stole a couple of vans in my area last Sunday, one of them my trusty transit.
It had all my tools in so I have a little time on my hands as cannot work without.
The police were not interested other than to give me a crime number,not interested in the CCTV of them driving it away at ten past one in the morning or the CCTV of them at 1.40 unloading my paperwork etc in a church car park.
They knew how to steal it, opened it silently and somehow bypassing the immobilizer.
In the half hour between cameras they had driven across town and removed the roof rack, ladders etc and stuck different plates on it.
I've been told that they are put in a container and shipped out but surely a ten year old transit wouldn't be worth the trouble.
The lovely insurance company that I have used for the last seven years seem to be as unhelpful as possible, the courtesy van insurance that I paid extra for now tell me I can have a vehicle for 7 days only but it will be weeks before I get a payout for the van.
I explained that without tools I can't work so I would like the 7 days to commence when I source some tools.
Apparently this is not possible and the seven days starts at the claim date.
Ok, whatever I said and got a call from a lovely lady to say they have a Toyota Aygo for me.
You couldn't make it up!
I've nearly worn my eyes out scanning Facebook etc for any of my stuff and if I'm lucky enough to find any I bet the police will turn up because someone is going to be unwell
Anyway rant over!
Lock up your stuff cos there's a world full of arseholes just waiting to take it

You’d have got a team of rozzers round if you’d just said “I have cctv evidence of someone mis pronouning my tranny”.

Really sad to read this from both the police and insurance company perspective. They just don’t care. I hope you manage to get things sorted.

 

[steveselvage]

Try your local car boot probably be there .Total arseholes these people no respect for others property, more than likely to fuel an addiction habit, Hope you get back on track real soon .You would expect van manufacturers to Improve van security especially considering the volumes produced and number of people buying them ,but whatever they come up with a determined arsehole will bypass it .Atb
John.

I'll be at both local boot sales over the weekend.
I'll recognise mine, some I've had since 1978 when I left school.
I didn't realise the value as I've bought things one at a time over the years.
If I find any there will be tears, not mine

 

[Wilco]

Film your interaction and don't do anything that will get you arrested. The stuff may be yours but the crowd of witnesses at a car boot don't know that.

May be most sensible to buy it and follow them home to get a location they're based out of.

 

[The Poot]

It’s also possible that those selling might have bought them in the pub the night before. You have to be careful.

 

[Sutty]

The difficulty is you will need evidence they are yours, if you can demonstrate they are yours then even if the seller has bought them in good faith you can legally claim them - though actually doing so may be difficult. Best of luck. I hate thieves!

 

[Malcolm B.]

Some nice gentlemen stole a couple of vans in my area last Sunday, one of them my trusty transit.
It had all my tools in so I have a little time on my hands as cannot work without.

You have my sincere commiserations, mate! If you weren't over 200 miles from me I'd be happy to lend you some stuff to keep you going for a while

The police were not interested other than to give me a crime number,not interested in the CCTV of them driving it away at ten past one in the morning or the CCTV of them at 1.40 unloading my paperwork etc in a church car park.

Of course not. This is why younger serving officers are leaving the Police Farce in droves. The rank and file who have not yet been 'House-Trained' are so disillusioned that they are now leaving. I was talking to some ex Met police last week. A whole bunch of them left the Met about a year ago and set up a business together. The upper echelon's have got their heads up their backsides and are far more interested in their 'Performance Points' than actually doing what WE pay for them to do!. The son of a long time friend of mine is in the police Farce and he told me all about their 'Performance Points system. "Picking the low hanging fruit" is how he described it!

I could rant on with countless tales of police incompetence. but I won't - it won't help your problem at the moment.

Insurance companies no longer want to take ANY risks.

As Mr Wilco said - write, or even better go to your MP. Talk to your local newspapers about the police and the insurance companies. The more mud you can sling in their direction the better.!

Let me know if I can help.

Good luck.

Malcolm B,


.

 

[JamezF]

Grrrr. Insurance companies...

I'm having to deal with them at the moment regarding the tractor that remodelled my car and it's an absolute nightmare. Everything is outsourced, so there appear to be at least five different companies involved, though some appear to be owned by some of the others, and when you actually want to get them to explain things or commit to something they're all passing the buck like crazy. I suspect that in some cases the people who actually advertise the insurance have absolutely nothing to do with it other than taking a cut for licensing their name. And if you actually want to talk to any of them on the phone, best take a couple of days off work to spend waiting in their phone queue. Probably a week if you want to talk to someone who actually understands what they're doing and doesn't have to work from a script.

We're also sorting out insurance for my son's first car. It's cheaper if I, or my wife, are named drivers on his policy, and even cheaper if both of us are, even if we never have any intention of ever driving it (and in fact for most of the year wouldn't be able to because it will be 250 miles away). They also offered us contents insurance for his student accommodation for £60, in return for which they'd reduce his car premium by £90.

It's just layer upon layer of obfuscation and misdirection. It really shouldn't be that hard.

James

 

[The Poot]

Grrrr. Insurance companies...

I'm having to deal with them at the moment regarding the tractor that remodelled my car and it's an absolute nightmare. Everything is outsourced, so there appear to be at least five different companies involved, though some appear to be owned by some of the others, and when you actually want to get them to explain things or commit to something they're all passing the buck like crazy. I suspect that in some cases the people who actually advertise the insurance have absolutely nothing to do with it other than taking a cut for licensing their name. And if you actually want to talk to any of them on the phone, best take a couple of days off work to spend waiting in their phone queue. Probably a week if you want to talk to someone who actually understands what they're doing and doesn't have to work from a script.

We're also sorting out insurance for my son's first car. It's cheaper if I, or my wife, are named drivers on his policy, and even cheaper if both of us are, even if we never have any intention of ever driving it (and in fact for most of the year wouldn't be able to because it will be 250 miles away). They also offered us contents insurance for his student accommodation for £60, in return for which they'd reduce his car premium by £90.

It's just layer upon layer of obfuscation and misdirection. It really shouldn't be that hard.

James

What insurance company are you with for the car?

 

[JamezF]

What insurance company are you with for the car?

The policy was sold by "Lloyds motor insurance", but the broker is Sabre. I doubt that you ever speak to a Lloyds or Sabre employee in the normal course of events however.

You've actually reminded me of one of the other problems we had. My car is a Fiesta, which is a nice learner/beginner-friendly car. As a result of Covid my eldest took his test quite late, by which time my daughter was also learning. Insure the car for me and my son as a named driver? No problem. For me and my daughter (as a learner)? No problem again. For me and my son and my daughter? Not a chance. No-one would touch it.

James

 

[The Poot]

The policy was sold by "Lloyds motor insurance", but the broker is Sabre. I doubt that you ever speak to a Lloyds or Sabre employee in the normal course of events however.

You've actually reminded me of one of the other problems we had. My car is a Fiesta, which is a nice learner/beginner-friendly car. As a result of Covid my eldest took his test quite late, by which time my daughter was also learning. Insure the car for me and my son as a named driver? No problem. For me and my daughter (as a learner)? No problem again. For me and my son and my daughter? Not a chance. No-one would touch it.

James

I was hoping to give you some advice as I used to manage a couple of accident repair centres. We had approvals with most insurance companies, but alas not Sabre, who I assume Lloyds Bank used to manage their insurance business? They now use BIS it seems. I can only wish you the best of luck unfortunately.

 

[steveselvage]

What insurance company are you with for the car?

The broker is dial direct but the underwriter is another firm, the courtesy vehicle is another and the people dealing with the claim are another company.
You couldn't make it up!
On a good note my nephew was talking to one of his neighbours about it and he remembered me working on his house years ago,he's retired and very ill.
Went straight to his workshop and said he'll never use his tools again and I was to have them.
I got a knock on the door at 9pm to find a huge pile of stuff on the drive, the lad had driven from Dorchester to bring them.
Wouldn't take any payment and I had to force him to take a few jars of honey for the chap.

 

[The Poot]

It’s best to insure with one of the main companies, you pay a bit more, but when the excrement hits the air conditioner they have systems and processes to sort it out. They and their approved ARCs have numerous KPI s to achieve and the courtesy vehicle is always provided by the ARC, not the insurer. If you are involved in a non fault accident, you raise a claim, get an estimate from the ARC and hand it over to them. They have to provide a courtesy vehicle within 24 / 48 hours to adhere to standards. Authority to repair is agreed by the provision of images to the insurer, again within a very short time frame.
There are many poor insurance providers that want your money, offer cheap deals, but leave you high and dry when the worst happens.

 

[Wilco]

The broker is dial direct but the underwriter is another firm, the courtesy vehicle is another and the people dealing with the claim are another company.
You couldn't make it up!
On a good note my nephew was talking to one of his neighbours about it and he remembered me working on his house years ago,he's retired and very ill.
Went straight to his workshop and said he'll never use his tools again and I was to have them.
I got a knock on the door at 9pm to find a huge pile of stuff on the drive, the lad had driven from Dorchester to bring them.
Wouldn't take any payment and I had to force him to take a few jars of honey for the chap.

The best of humanity right there.

 

[Wilco]

Grrrr. Insurance companies...

I'm having to deal with them at the moment regarding the tractor that remodelled my car and it's an absolute nightmare. Everything is outsourced, so there appear to be at least five different companies involved, though some appear to be owned by some of the others, and when you actually want to get them to explain things or commit to something they're all passing the buck like crazy. I suspect that in some cases the people who actually advertise the insurance have absolutely nothing to do with it other than taking a cut for licensing their name. And if you actually want to talk to any of them on the phone, best take a couple of days off work to spend waiting in their phone queue. Probably a week if you want to talk to someone who actually understands what they're doing and doesn't have to work from a script.

We're also sorting out insurance for my son's first car. It's cheaper if I, or my wife, are named drivers on his policy, and even cheaper if both of us are, even if we never have any intention of ever driving it (and in fact for most of the year wouldn't be able to because it will be 250 miles away). They also offered us contents insurance for his student accommodation for £60, in return for which they'd reduce his car premium by £90.

It's just layer upon layer of obfuscation and misdirection. It really shouldn't be that hard.

James

Basically the insurers gamble that anyone they insure won't claim. Claims = loss/less profit. Statistically it's less likely that you'll claim on both or multiple policies within a year therefore the more policies you have with them, the better their odds are of making a profit, hence why they are willing to offer discounts for multiple policies. That's as I understand it at least.

Agree about the layer upon layers of the companies. Spoke to someone in the industry a few years back. The insurers themselves often don't have the funds to underwrite policies these days, they actually take out a specialist insurance with other companies which specialise in insuring insurers.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Basically the insurers gamble that anyone they insure won't claim. Claims = loss/less profit.

That used to be the principle originally, that is why they (the insurers) called it 'taking the risk', nowadays, if they have to honour (bit of an oxymoron for that profession - same as MP's really) a claim nowadays - they just weight everybody else's premiums to make up for the loss

 

[Wilco]

That used to be the principle originally, that is why they (the insurers) called it 'taking the risk', nowadays, if they have to honour (bit of an oxymoron for that profession - same as MP's really) a claim nowadays - they just weight everybody else's premiums to make up for the loss

Hence why my policy went up by about a third this year despite not having claimed. All those with flashy new cars and EVs that cost more to fix so people like me wind up paying for people that are either earning far more than me or living beyond their means to have the lifestyle/image. It's not good for the planet either.

 

[Superlativesoul]

It’s best to insure with one of the main companies, you pay a bit more, but when the excrement hits the air conditioner they have systems and processes to sort it out. They and their approved ARCs have numerous KPI s to achieve and the courtesy vehicle is always provided by the ARC, not the insurer. If you are involved in a non fault accident, you raise a claim, get an estimate from the ARC and hand it over to them. They have to provide a courtesy vehicle within 24 / 48 hours to adhere to standards. Authority to repair is agreed by the provision of images to the insurer, again within a very short time frame.
There are many poor insurance providers that want your money, offer cheap deals, but leave you high and dry when the worst happens.

Hence why my policy went up by about a third this year despite not having claimed. All those with flashy new cars and EVs that cost more to fix so people like me wind up paying for people that are either earning far more than me or living beyond their means to have the lifestyle/image. It's not good for the planet either.

My car policy quote this year on a 2016 Toyota Auris hybrid went from £229.96 fully comp to a staggering £641 ,no changes to the policy ,no endorsement,claims ect .Rang them eventually got someone,but they could not give me the reason as to why it had increased so ,went on comparison sites and cheapest there was £471 cheaper than £641 but Dearer than previous yrs .This is going to be the norm I'm afraid going forward and as I'm now retired will hit the pocket more .
John