Stolen bike.....then i see someone riding it....

[twain]

what annoys me a bit is to hear people say "it was my fault, it wasn't locked"

it is not your fault regardless of being locked or not. if it gets nicked its because somebody made the decision to take it

totally agree with this statement. surely there was a time when bicycle locks weren't even around...?!?!?

 

[Elmo]

My son had his bike stolen from the corridor in the flats where he lived,the ex wife then got a tip off and description of the lad who had stole it.
The lad was her cousins husbands nephew so a quick phone call and the bike was returned with the excuse "I didn't nick it I found it"

And...

I sold my first 1992 Cindercone to a local chap who then had it stolen from him.About 6 months after the theft I found the back end of the frame on a verge near home,it had been cut through the top and down tube.
I knew it was my old one because I had had it custom painted mettalic grey and it still had the Suntour XC Ltd front mech fitted.

 

[Neil]

what annoys me a bit is to hear people say "it was my fault, it wasn't locked"

it is not your fault regardless of being locked or not. if it gets nicked its because somebody made the decision to take it

Well there is that - but being pragmatic, you must know there's a good chance an unlocked bike will get nicked.

I learnt that lesson at the age of around 12, leaving my then beloved bike outside a local library, unlocked.

So, accepting there's not a lot you can do to control what others do, you can control your own circumstances. If spending a few extra seconds locking your bike up prevents the odd, ne-er-do-well opportuinist, then surely that's time well spent.

When I was 12 (this would be in 1982) I certainly felt it was my fault my bike got nicked - because I knew then, I was being lazy by not locking it, and am fairly sure had it been locked, it probably wouldn't have been nicked.

As I said, you can't contol what others will do when you're not around. What you can do is do your best to protect the things you care about.

 

[Neil]

No it's still YOUR property !!

Unless your insurance company has paid out, in which case it's their property, I believe...

Dunno about the legalities, there.

Maybe they might have a claim to it, but I guess it would depend on the terms of your insurance, and what was stated when they paid out.

I guess it's slightly different for cars, as they have a mechanism for declaring their interest or the status of it.

With payout for a bike, though, unless you've accepted (by contract, and the terms of your insurance, or a settlement time by some agreement) that you are releasing your claim on ownership to the insurance co, surely, technically, and legally, you still have a valid claim to own it?

 

[silverclaws]

I would be very careful about taking back what s rightfully yours, as the law is a very strange animal, and very often logic has nothing to do with it. If something has been seen ,or the location found where something that was stolen from you, get the filth involved, it is their job to act in instances where crime has been committed, or you could very well find yourself in the poo if you take the law into your own hands.

Remember the old adage, possession is nine tenths of the law, if something is stolen from you, it is down to you to prove said item if found is yours, so a good written description and photos as well as any serial numbers is a start, but one can go further;

For example one gleaned from an ancient cycling magazine, put your name and postcode or something similarly identifying on a piece of paper, wrap the paper in a plastic bag and stuff it way down the seat tube, similarly for the forks, stuff it down the steerer or any other expensive cavity. ( With this one, if anyone comes across a '92 black 17'' Saracen frame and they look deep into the seat tube, you may find my note in there, I would like the frame back if it is found, Oxford area)

Another one, is get the bike registered with the fuzz or/and join the NCR or Bike Register. Come on, it is really cheap and if you ever have the situation where your cycle is stolen, what excellent proof it is yours, prove you are the rightful and a responsible owner, interested in preventing crime ;

http://www.thencr.co.uk/

http://www.bikeregister.com/index.htm

The latter I believe is the better option, it being linked in with the fuzz.


The register is also a good place for you lot that buy old bikes to check a bike out, check you are not buying stolen property.

But, be very wary about taking the law into your own hands, for one can come quickly unstuck despite what common sense says.

 

[legrandefromage]

Does it help that I dreamt last night that my Airborne was stolen outside a hospital?

I followed the tyre scuff marks through the back of the hospital where my brother (who has been dead some 38 years) was annoyed that I'd lost my bike again and showed me where it was. I also bumped into my old manager from 20 years ago...

I then woke up, 9.34am, the weather was foggy...

 

[Supratada]

what annoys me a bit is to hear people say "it was my fault, it wasn't locked"

it is not your fault regardless of being locked or not. if it gets nicked its because somebody made the decision to take it

totally agree with this statement. surely there was a time when bicycle locks weren't even around...?!?!?

I got into a small argument with my neighbour once, when her daughter was "almost killed" because the car she was in was hit by a stolen minibus nearly an hour after she had parked the car. Obviously the mother, my neighbour, was upset but she was trying to claim off the minibus company as their vehicles were left unlocked in a locked compound. Bus thief had cut the chain on the gates. She did not agree with my postulation that the only criminal in this situation was the lad who stole the bus, and that theoretically, we should all be able to leave stuff unlocked without having it taken. It was a bit like being "Will" in the Inbetweeners, fundamentally correct and sound of argument, but insensitive.

Anyway, back OT, I had my Tufftrax stolen twice. The first time was when I left it outside a mates house on the way home from the pub. A few days later, a guy turned up at the door and claimed to have bought it in a pub for £50 and then found out it was stolen (no!). As he had previous for "handling" he just wanted his money back. Obviouly he wasn't concerned enough to just hand it back and take the hit.

My mate rented a room from a young couple who had just had a baby, so they made it clear to me that whatever happened they wanted no comebacks that would endanger their child, ie bricks through windows.
I was over a barrell really, I knew the police would not act sufficiently enough to prevent any risk so we met at a pub and I handed over the cash.

Of course, the lights, the carrier and the pannier had gone so it cost me a further £80 to replace all that stuff.

A few years later it was taken from outside the studio at University, U lock as well. Never to be seen again.

 

[silverclaws]

It is a sad reflection on society that despite us being well, supposedly civilised, things still get stolen. As to whether this is purely monetary, a have/ have not situation, or jealousy I don't know, but I adopt the paranoia that people are thieves and so guard against them, but it would help if the plod took theft of cycles as a crime, as let's face it, cycles can cost more than cars and despite the fact that they don't have an engine, they are still used by many as their main if not only transport.

The last time had a bike stolen, the form I had to fill out when I reported the theft was laughable, it asked if the bike had rod brakes or hub brakes, acetylene , dynamo or battery lights.

 

[hydorah]

Bike theft

I've had two bikes stolen from me,

First was Peugeot Trail '88 pink and black

When I were just a wee lad

I saw a bloke on it

And I confronted him

But the bike was such a mess I didn't want it I just vented on him

Of course he'd bough it somewhere dodgy etc

Second was terrible

My brother and I lived in a dodgy council block back in the '90s...

Some smack-head sneaked into our flat while we were in it and made off with my Stumpjumper and a Technics portable CD player

Quite disturbing, the level of desperation to take such a risk

A while later I saw a kid skid a bike to a halt and disappear into a local gangster's pub, yep you've guessed it with my Stumpjumper

I just cursed my luck for not seeing him further from that pub

Or perhaps it's lucky I hadn't seen him earlier and dealt with it... It was one of those neighbourhoods...

 

[Neil]

what annoys me a bit is to hear people say "it was my fault, it wasn't locked"

it is not your fault regardless of being locked or not. if it gets nicked its because somebody made the decision to take it

totally agree with this statement. surely there was a time when bicycle locks weren't even around...?!?!?

I got into a small argument with my neighbour once, when her daughter was "almost killed" because the car she was in was hit by a stolen minibus nearly an hour after she had parked the car. Obviously the mother, my neighbour, was upset but she was trying to claim off the minibus company as their vehicles were left unlocked in a locked compound. Bus thief had cut the chain on the gates. She did not agree with my postulation that the only criminal in this situation was the lad who stole the bus, and that theoretically, we should all be able to leave stuff unlocked without having it taken.

It's not quite so simple as you suggest, though - negligence can be criminal, too.

I think in that instance it would be for the courts / a jury to decide - and I suspect the reality is perhaps the deepest pockets were being considered.

Private motorists can be liable, if they allow friends / acquantancies to use their car / vehicle, without making proper checks and assurances that the driver was qualified and insured.

With potentially dangerous equipment, comes responsibility.

I'm fairly sure there's precendence for equipment or vehicles not properly secure, being considered at least partly negligent when there's been consequences of crashes when it's been stolen.

It was a bit like being "Will" in the Inbetweeners, fundamentally correct and sound of argument, but insensitive.

Or theoretically pure, but without and real-world mitigation?

I have a flipside to your anecdote - which often doesn't reggae with most peoples' perception of insurance, liability, and / or blame.

Some years back, a driver experienced a heart problem which (from memory) caused him to lose conciousnous (and subsequently die fairly quickly - possibly fractionally before impact). Not sure it was simply a heart attack, though - but whatever it was, was spontaneous. His car veered over the road and collided with another car - causing mucho damage, and I suspect injury. I don't think there were any fatalities in the other car, though.

The driver encountering the heart problem, was insured - the driver (or passenger(s)) in the other car felt they had reasonable grounds for recovering their losses (not sure if personal injury, or just damage to the car) from heart guy - I suspect most of us would, you're driving along, suddenly a car veers from the opposite direction and side of the road and crashes into you, you'd feel like the other driver (or their insurance co) should compensate your losses (even if they died). Perfectly natural expectation.

However, heart guy encountered an instantaneous heart issue - that couldn't reasonably have been detected previously, and as such was undiagnosed, and could not have been reasonably prevented. As such, he / his estate / his car insurance, wasn't liable - he was a victim too - there was no liability, therefore no grounds to claim from his insurance and / or estate.

To all intents and purposes, it was an "Act of God" or force majeure. No negligence, no legal liability or "blame".