Break In

[ajdavies22]

So last night my van got broken into and they cleaned me out, to a replacement value of around £4800 plus hand tools!! Please keep an eye out for anyone selling general sparky daily tools and a fluke 1653B in the slough area. :-( Kick in the teeth only been out on my own for 6 months just as I start getting somewhere I've been kicked back down!!

 

[Octopus]

Any insurance? Was your van sign written?

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Downer dude.

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Consolations maximum.

Watch out though as they may be watching for your replacements. Must have on the van now is a bolted down Van Vault and those extra secure tamper proof locks, or empty the van every night. And wire up the coil to the van door handles!

 

[Marvo]

It's worth doing some on-line investigating. We've had two forum members not so long ago that I know of who's stolen items were found advertised on the internet and they managed to get them recovered by the police. If I have time later I'll find the threads and post the links.

**Edit**
Here's one of the threads;
http://www.electriciansforums.co.uk.../92087-stolen-kewtech-kt64-s-n-8131422-a.html

 

[rapparee]

I was on slough gumtree there now, there was a mitre saw, stihl consaw and a set of steps for sale

 

[Geordie Spark]

So last night my van got broken into and they cleaned me out, to a replacement value of around £4800 plus hand tools!! Please keep an eye out for anyone selling general sparky daily tools and a fluke 1653B in the slough area. :-( Kick in the teeth only been out on my own for 6 months just as I start getting somewhere I've been kicked back down!!

Post the serial numbers on here .

That's how Ohmagain??? got his kit back.

 

[northstar]

Get around your local car boot sales in the morning fella.

 

[VoltzElectrical]

Any new tools you acquire through the insurance, make sure you register them with the manufacturer if extra warranty applies ( I just got a new Makita SDS mains powered and got 3 year warranty),
but also keep receipts and note down serial numbers.

The police can advise on extra security measures too. I think there is a special marker you can get. Ensure you put signs up in the van stating that tools are security marked.

It totally sucks that you got worked over, but you have to take precautions now as they will know that you will get lovely new replacement tools soon, so you may be a special target.

CCTV overlooking the van? I just put a maplins 4 camera system over my whole house and garage, plug and play for sub £500 and that will email and text me if it goes off. Worth thinking about.

 

[GMES]

Marvo beat me to it, but Glennspark suffered the same thing then found them on ebay and manged to get them back.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Marvo beat me to it, but Glennspark suffered the same thing then found them on ebay and manged to get them back.

Thanks for that update.

I knew he had been robbed but not that he got his kit back.

 

[7029 dave]

I feel for you, scum bags.!!

 

[trev]

I just put a maplins 4 camera system over my whole house and garage, plug and play for sub £500 and that will email and text me if it goes off. Worth thinking about.

You don't want it to text you you daft git. You want it to ring the police!

 

[GMES]

Thanks for that update.

I knew he had been robbed but not that he got his kit back.

Sorry mate I thought it was common knowledge, yes he saw it for sale on ebay , then involved the correct authorities and got his testers back, I can't remember if he got all of it back.

 

[Geordie Spark]

Sorry mate I thought it was common knowledge, yes he saw it for sale on ebay , then involved the correct authorities and got his testers back, I can't remember if he got all of it back.

Well I would think his testers would be the most valuable to him which is some sort of success, but the big question is; did he catch up with the bad guys?? :boxing_smiley:

 

[Richard Burns]

Sorry to hear that you have been the target of low life thieves stealing a persons livelihood.

I hope you have good luck in finding the kit
and that you are able to continue in business.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Any new tools you acquire through the insurance, make sure you register them with the manufacturer if extra warranty applies ( I just got a new Makita SDS mains powered and got 3 year warranty),
but also keep receipts and note down serial numbers.

The police can advise on extra security measures too. I think there is a special marker you can get. Ensure you put signs up in the van stating that tools are security marked.

It totally sucks that you got worked over, but you have to take precautions now as they will know that you will get lovely new replacement tools soon, so you may be a special target.

CCTV overlooking the van? I just put a maplins 4 camera system over my whole house and garage, plug and play for sub £500 and that will email and text me if it goes off. Worth thinking about.

Yes, there is, its DNA coded to your address. Its not cheap UNLESS you get it through a neighbourhood watch scheme, then it tumbles from £60 odd quid to £15. It looks like a mascara bottle, with some runny translucent fluid in it. Must remember not to get it mixed up with my other ones -oops

 

[bossian]

Years ago I took out a policy to cover all my tools, all the time in the van or on site. Sold by a rep in my local HSBC branch. Some time after this I awoke one morning to find the rear window removed and all my hand power tools gone. Called insurance company.....

Hi I'd like to make a claim on my tools being stolen...

When did this happen sir?

Sometime between my going bed at 11pm and discovery of van being broken in to at 7AM

I'm sorry sir, but your tools aren't covered between the hours of 9PM and 6AM.....it's in the small print....

Me now loosing the plot......and trying to get the claims guy to wrap his head round the fact I'd be an idiot not to have full protection 24hrs......who in their right mind would have a period in each day the tools weren't insured???

Anyway, lucky for me Mr Plod had knocked a few neighbours and one of them said he'd seen what he thought was me in the back of my van at 6:30......great I thought, but no, insurance guy said they believed I'd got the copper to lie!! Cheek of it!

6 months later, the ombudsman ruled n my favour and they had to pay out.

Lesson....read the sodding small print and NEVER believe what a rep says when selling you something

 

[telectrix]

agreed, most insurers stipulate in the small print "not covered 9pm - 6am", but they don't tell you. what happens if you're out on an emergency call at 2am? not covered.

 

[trev]

All insurers are gits, they'll do anything to get out of paying what might be a perfectly legitimate claim.
About the time of Hurricane Katriana which flooded New Orleans we had some incredibly high winds and we ended up with damage to our roof and a pretty substantial leak. A guy came out from a contractor and said that our insurers should pay up, a few days later a female loss adjuster came out and told Mrs Trev that they wouldn't because the roof showed signs of previous repairs so the damage was not caused by the storm. When I got in from work I rang her and asked where she had served her time as a roofer, she said(obviously) that she hadn't. I then asked what experience she had in roofing and general construction, she replied that she had none. So I asked her what qualified her to comment on the state of our roof and she started waffling. When we got the written confirmation that a pay out would not be made I cancelled every policy we had with them.
The buggers then had the gall to write to us telling us we still owed them several days premium.
If it was not a legal necessity I wouldn't insure very much at all.