Had My car Nicked full of kit

[Mark Cowgill]

Hi All

cant believe it, had My car stolen from inside the warehouse at work, the bare necked xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx just walked in and took it:mad: .
I had a lot of the clubs equipment in the back as well as My own dive kit and half of My life.
I have spent Years putting My kit together and now this.

Posiedon Jetstreem Regs

Garmin GPS and Fishfinder

Two sets of O2 Cylinders in green housings

Two boat boxes wit Flares and the usual stuff

and a lot more


Will You keep and eye out please, although I should not imagine the low life who took it knows what it all is.

Ta Mark

[Turtle Dude]

sorry to hear it mate. feel for you.

[IainC]

Ouch! Keep an eye on ebay, hope it is recovered!

[Maria CM]

Not good! Will your insurance cover it? Not that it helps much...

best wishes for everythings safe return,

Maria

[Mark Cowgill]

Not good! Will your insurance cover it? Not that it helps much...

best wishes for everythings safe return,

Maria

I think it will Maria, but I am not so much bothered about that,as I am sure You know You get used to Your kit and it becomes personal to You.

Ta Mark

[Maria CM]

Quite agree Mark - I cuddle all my gear before I go to bed;)

No, seriously, I know exactly what you mean, your own kit is like an old friend, new stuff takes time to settle in. Everything new at once might seem like a fun thing (especially for those with a shopping addiction like me), but that scratch reminds of 'that dive', who you dived with etc etc, and more importantly, it is all familiar and you don't have to think about it to use it.

Maybe if they were after the transport, the kit will be abandoned somewhere and found. Like you say, they probably don't even really know what it is.

best wishes and I hope you get it all back.


Maria

[Mark Cowgill]

Yes thats exactly what it is,I have a rip in the drysuit which I repaired, it reminds Me of Norway.
I hope what You say happens and they dump My kit.

Ta Mark

[Yazzyfooty]

Hi MArk
Sorry to hear your news about the car and dive kit. Something similar happened to me a few years ago when I was burgled and they took my car which had all my dive kit in the boot in prep for a weekend at Loch Fyne. When I got the call from the police that the car had been found my first question is my dive kit still there and it was! The car was totally written off which was sad but I was overjoyed my kit was still intact. Keep the faith mate! And hopefully they havejust dumped your vehicle after a joy ride.

[Maria CM]

Hi Mark,

Any news on it yet?

best wishes,

Maria

[Mark Cowgill]

Hi everyone

Police rang Me Sat night,they found My car, not sure whats in it or what condition its in, the Police tell Me the two boat boxes and the two 02 Cyliders are still there, but I have to go pick the car up on Friday and give it a proper inspection.after S.O.C. have had a look at it.
Apparantly the Police think that the thieves were driving up the A1 when they mistook a Motorway Maintanece car for a Police car, they got spooked and drove of the A1 and abandoned My car, hence no chase was given, anyway I am not bothered if all My stuffs still in there.
Let You know Friday if its all ok

Fingers crossed.

Mark

[Gordon]

Hope its all there and intact - glad at least some of its turned up.

G

[misterhank]

Hi everyone

Police rang Me Sat night,they found My car, not sure whats in it or what condition its in, the Police tell Me the two boat boxes and the two 02 Cyliders are still there, but I have to go pick the car up on Friday and give it a proper inspection.after S.O.C. have had a look at it.
Apparantly the Police think that the thieves were driving up the A1 when they mistook a Motorway Maintanece car for a Police car, they got spooked and drove of the A1 and abandoned My car, hence no chase was given, anyway I am not bothered if all My stuffs still in there.
Let You know Friday if its all ok

Fingers crossed.

Mark

That's such good news Mark. Thrilled for you mate.
Henry

[Mark Cowgill]

Hi all:D

Just to let You know, got My car back no damage to it, £250 to reclaim it, outrageous eh.
All the Club gear is still in the back thank the lord but My dive gear which was in the cab has all gone.
not to worry though My insurance should cover it, its just the inconveniance.

I have a question, the thieves have been into one of the o2 containers and have been pratting about with it, they have dismantled the Reg and compleatly drained the cylider. I have put the reg back together and it seems to be ok,question is, does the cylinder need 02 cleaning once it has been emptied, and do You think I should take it in for inspection?.I suspect I should.

Ta Mark

[IainC]

I have put the reg back together and it seems to be ok,question is, does the cylinder need 02 cleaning once it has been emptied, and do You think I should take it in for inspection?.I suspect I should.


Unless you are worried it was left with the valve open and could have got wet, or the thieves tampered with it, does the cylinder rally need an inspection? If you used it for 1st aid and emptied it, you would just get it filled again. I'd be more worried abotu the reg having greasy fingers all over it, but not that worried.

How and why do you get charged £250 for getting your car back fromthe police wen smoeone stole it - I thought they wee only supposed to charge for returning impounded vehicles (i.e. when they are taken from people who have commited some sort of offence, like not having tax), Seems bloody rude to me.

Glad you got at least some stuff back,

Iain.

[Mark Cowgill]

Unless you are worried it was left with the valve open and could have got wet, or the thieves tampered with it, does the cylinder rally need an inspection? If you used it for 1st aid and emptied it, you would just get it filled again. I'd be more worried abotu the reg having greasy fingers all over it, but not that worried.

How and why do you get charged £250 for getting your car back fromthe police wen smoeone stole it - I thought they wee only supposed to charge for returning impounded vehicles (i.e. when they are taken from people who have commited some sort of offence, like not having tax), Seems bloody rude to me.

Glad you got at least some stuff back,

Iain.

Hi Iain

You have to pay the car recovery people as they are indipendant from the Police, just another money maker out of peoples misfortune.
My car was found with a stolen trailer and a stolen road roller on the back. it was in a field abandoned.
This is how the bill was itemised.

Driving My car back to Sheffield from Doncaster £105
Crane hire needed to lift the trailer and road roller out of the field £100
Storage of My car after Police had taken fingerprints £45

+VAT

When I asked why I had to pay for the crane to recover a Trailer and Road roller that were not mine, He said well it was attached to Your car.
They probably charged the bloke whos trailer and roller it was.

You cant say too much to these people as they are working in conjunction with the Police.and they will just tell You Your not having Your car.and charge You more storage, or crush it.

But just let Me say, I am someone who has always abided by our laws and have never taken anyone elses property, if I want something extra I do some overtime and work for it.
I have always had a respect for our Police force and have brought My children up to be the same.
The system I have encountered during the theft of My car has changed My opinion, the victim is not protected or concidered,
The truth is We have a police force of Traffic cops who are the best in the world at taking Money from the motorist.
They would not have recovered my car had it not been abandoned.

I feel as though I have been kicked in the teeth by the thieves and then kicked in the teeth by the Police.

Any way sorry about the rant, I am very pleased just to have got My car back and even moreso that the Club gear was in it.

Mark

[Yazzyfooty]

I am glad to hear you got your car and kit back but disappointed that you feel the need to slag off the police, why? As you say the people that had your car in storage are independent of the police.

The police found your car very quickly considering it was abandoned. So whats your beef about them? Personally I would much prefer that my local police were out dealing with crimes more serious then looking out for nicked cars.

[johnskerry]

Personally I would much prefer that my local police were out dealing with crimes more serious then looking out for nicked cars.
It’s not surprising the country is in the state it is when people do not consider theft to be a serious crime any more.

[Gareth]

Yazzy

The single think that has done the most damage to the credability & 'customer satisfaction' in the police & criminal justice system of the UK was the introduction of fixed penalty fines & the persute of targets.

Even the Home Office has finally realised this. A number of Counties have been given permission to allow there officers to use their discretion in what action they take i.e. they no longer HAVE to issue a ticket/charge but may give a warning, or any other action the officer believes is appropriate.

The Police force should be there to protect & serve. Generally, when the general public call on the police they need assistance.

The recent policys have created an impression that you have to pay, & that the police are only interested in actions that will result in a fixed penalty fine. Whilst this is not the case, the damage is being done because this is the IMPRESSION that is being created.

Asking someone to PAY to recover THEIR property that was STOLEN, immediately appears UNJUST.

Unfortunately, such impressions & experiences colour peoples views of the service & those involved.
When Mark required the assistance of the Police in the UK because he was a VICTIM of a CRIME, HE was asked to PAY.
That is WRONG, the damage to his view of the Police & the criminal justice system has cost the citizens of this country far more than the recovery costs of his car!

Gareth

[Yazzyfooty]

I am very much aware of police targets as my fella is a copper and he is over the moon that some police forces are now reviewing the stupidity of some of their policies and is hoping that his own force will be following suit.

As an extreme about police resources say for example you had 3 coppers in your locality and your village had a crime spree......2 burglaries, 1 GBH, 1 rape and you get your car stolen. As an Inspector what would your priorities be in deploying your officers? To deal with the stolen car? I very much doubt it. And as a member of the public I would very much hope not either!

Having been a victim of car theft during a burglary I know at the time my needs were paramount to me! but on reflection I know that does not been its priority for anyone else including the police.

The police did not ask this person to pay to recover his car, it was safely collected and stored by a PRIVATE company and it was the PRIVATE COMPANY that asked for monies not the police officer or the police force!. If the police had left the car where it was abandoned who is to say that he would have got the car back undamaged and intact? Who is to say the people that nicked it wouldnt come back and torch the car?

I dont know about where you live but part of my council tax goes towards funding the police so we PAY them anyway!

[Gareth]

Yazzy

This will probably be my last comment on this, because I honestly don't want to slag off the Police.

Generally the problems relate to the IMPRESSION, rather than the substance. As a whole the majority of officers I have meet are police officers because they wish to SERVE the community, there are, as in all orgainisation bad apples & idiots, but they are in a minority.

The problem is due to policy, which is not the fault of the front line officers, but Goverment (of both colours), the Home Office, Chief Constables & senior officers.

My view now, of the police, (as an orgainisation including the criminal justice system,) (in my late 40's,) is a lot worse, than my view when I was in my early 20's.
My experience in my 20's was in general a fairer & more just orgainisation, my experience as I have got older has been worse & worse. Less & less just making me feel more & more a victim.

I do not believe I am in a minority.

This is a significant problem for the Police & the criminal Justice System, & all of us!
The objective should be to make us feel Safe, & that they protect us fairly & justly, not leave us all with the impression that we are all a combination of victims, a source of revenue &/or criminals.

As anyone in sales or marketing will tell you one piece of bad press or bad impression will destroy years of good. It takes years to recover that ground.

Gareth

[Mark Cowgill]

Did not meen to slag anyone of,but I am allowed to comment and give My oppinion, The Police in general do a great job, and I was having a go at policy rather than the Police,I am not the best at how I word things and was a little upset the day I wrote the thread, My brother in law is a Cop of more than 20 years and I would not want His job. I suspect that the Police have their hands tied most of the time because of Policy,

What I was trying to say was, Why do We not have a fund for such situations where the victim can claim back the costs of recovery of their property,When I see the amount of money that is spent on criminal rehab and all that, I think I have a point.

I know this is not the fault of the Police so I appologise to all the hard working Police out there.


Mark

I am glad to hear you got your car and kit back but disappointed that you feel the need to slag off the police, why? As you say the people that had your car in storage are independent of the police.

The police found your car very quickly considering it was abandoned. So whats your beef about them? Personally I would much prefer that my local police were out dealing with crimes more serious then looking out for nicked cars.

[johnskerry]

If the justice system is not prepared to provide us with the service we pay for. they should not object to us talking maters into our own hands.?

[AndyA]

Is it not the case that your insurance company will not pick up the recovery bill ?
As if the vehicle had not been recovered when it had, it could easily have been a) taken again, b) stripped or c) burnt out.
So really the insurance company I would imagine are quite pleased that their loss is pehaps quite minimal compared to what it could have been

[cwesterling]

A few years ago, my brothers car was stolen. I found it after driving round looking for it in a local estate. When the police turned up, they said that the tow truck was on its way, and we could pick it up after they had finger printed it in a few days, and we had payed £150 for it. We refused and said that as we had found it and it was them that wanted to inspect it they should foot the bill. They wouldnt, so we wouldnt allow them to take it.

I have since heard whether correct or not that although the towing company they use is a private company, the police pensions have significant shares in the company which is fairly common practice.

[Mark Cowgill]

Is it not the case that your insurance company will not pick up the recovery bill ?
As if the vehicle had not been recovered when it had, it could easily have been a) taken again, b) stripped or c) burnt out.
So really the insurance company I would imagine are quite pleased that their loss is pehaps quite minimal compared to what it could have been

Possibly, but Premium will go up and I have an excess of £500.

[Maria CM]

Mark,

I'm so sorry all your personal stuff went.

best wishes,

Maria

[robscubaproxlt]

Right what a load of BOLL-cks..The police are totally to blame for the IPs (injured party) costs. when they find an abandoned vehicle they use the PNC police national computer to obtain the owners full and inclusive details inc tel number. the ip is usually rang to notify that the vehicle is or has been found or to ascertain if its stolen.in this situation it seems that the useless officers at the time couldnt be arsed to follow protocol to ensure good public relations and reputable police SERVICE....!I used to be a police officer...!The ip has been ripped off especially having to pay the removal of items not owned or used by him.If it was me i would report the officers for being negligent write a full complaint to the police authorities and make a small claims court proceedings against the recovery company.

[ozone1]

I have had a motorbike stolen and my wifes car.
On both occasions the police contacted me when they found
the stolen bike / car and told me where they were and told me I could collect them.
I have nothing but praise because on both occaisions they found it the next day.
When they found my wifes car they drove to my house picked me up and drove me
to the car which I was able to then drive home. I had to pick the bike up with a trailer
but I still got it back.


I can only praise my local police force.

ozone.

.