Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: mike1986 on August 12, 2015, 03:46:50 pm
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I've had my van stolen today whilst working on a customers house. The van was parked on the drive with the keys in the ignition and i was working around the back with a backpack. Went around the front to fill up and my van is gone! Had all my window cleaning gear and all my pressure washer stolen. I know its a very long shot but if anyone in cardiff saw the van today after 10am please let know. Ive attached pictures.
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also if anyone is offered any window cleaning or pressure washing equipment in south wales area, again please let me know. Thanks
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keys in the ignition, what do you expect ???
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Guttered for ya mate, propa low life will be lucky to get a few hundred pounds for what can take years to build up.
I would keep an eye out on eBay and other places like that........
Chin up tho mate u have to back at it some how
Good luck
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Thats a low blow but we all do it. leave the keys in the door or van. I have always tried to teach myself to carry them in my pocket. Sorry for you Mate.
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Check with surrounding houses as there are so many now with CCTV set ups. You never know.
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Bandits.
Really sorry to hear this.
Hopefully they just wanted it to transport some stolen goods and will abandon it soon.
Keep us posted. I'll keep an eye out on eBay and gumtree.
If possible give us the makes/models of the equipment so we can be on the look out.
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It will have been stripped down for parts, and exported by now ;D
Really sorry for your loss . . . .you won't be able to make a claim on the insurance either as you left the keys in the ignition :'(
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It will have been stripped down for parts, and exported by now ;D
Really sorry for your loss . . . .you won't be able to make a claim on the insurance either as you left the keys in the ignition :'(
He may be ok if he says nowt about that and produces two keys to the loss ajuster. Then hope it's not found with the key in it
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Low life's
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That's an atrocious scenario to have to deal with. If you can use a van or car to get yourself back on the road I have a spare PureFreedom trolley you can borrow if you like with half a dozen barrels.
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keys in the ignition, what do you expect ???
He'd expect people not to be thieving lowlife scum I'd imagine.
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bassa's probably torched it by now.
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It will have been stripped down for parts, and exported by now ;D
Really sorry for your loss . . . .you won't be able to make a claim on the insurance either as you left the keys in the ignition :'(
why the grin.? are you enjoying his misfortune.?
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Nightmare. Wish you luck.
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Happened to a pal of mine a few years back. Was working round the back of a property and his water stops running. Goes round front to sort problem only to find his hose cut and van gone. Insurers were a problem as he couldn't find his keys though he swore he hadn't left them in the van. They did pay out in the end after quite a bit of wrangling.
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I am sorry, it's so much hassle
Mike to Churchill 'I've had me van knicked as I left the keys in it, am I not insurred?'
Churchie, 'oh yes'
Don't mean to take the p155 but be very careful what you tell the insurance company.
They will often refuse to pay out if they think you've not taken reasonable care of it.
Good luck
Tony
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THIS THIS THIS
My mate had his car stolen with keys in it & insurance refused to pay out!!
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Mike, sorry to hear about your bad luck mate, they have got to be the lowest form of scumbag to take someones work
vehicle, if its joyriders, they might just leave the van abandoned somewhere you never know.
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Thanks for the replies. The pressure washer is a honda petrol. It has a red hose reel and pressure hose. The window clenaing equipment in the back is a 400 litre tank, reel, gardiners brush etc.
Also my insurance company have refused to pay out so that's about 10 grand down the drain.
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Thanks for the replies. The pressure washer is a honda petrol. It has a red hose reel and pressure hose. The window clenaing equipment in the back is a 400 litre tank, reel, gardiners brush etc.
Also my insurance company have refused to pay out so that's about 10 grand down the drain.
I have removed my comment, I'm so sorry.
Tony
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Thanks for the replies. The pressure washer is a honda petrol. It has a red hose reel and pressure hose. The window clenaing equipment in the back is a 400 litre tank, reel, gardiners brush etc.
Also my insurance company have refused to pay out so that's about 10 grand down the drain.
I know its a long shot but I would have a word with a solicitor, your could say you felt the vehicle was secure because it
was parked on a private drive or something to that effect.
A solicitor will be able to tell you there and then if you have a chance, the insurance company will always take a get out
of paying option if they find one and hope you wont fight it.
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Thanks for the replies. The pressure washer is a honda petrol. It has a red hose reel and pressure hose. The window clenaing equipment in the back is a 400 litre tank, reel, gardiners brush etc.
Also my insurance company have refused to pay out so that's about 10 grand down the drain.
It can't be as open and shut case as that surely. Like it's been said, you were a few steps away from the car, parked on a drive way. They came onto private property and took it.
Just like if you don't lock your front door, and someone walks in, takes your keys and drives off with your motor. Your still insured. The keys were in your house, and they can't force you to lock your front door all the time.
Get legal advice ASAP as the insurance company will just try fob you off.
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What suprises me is they have stolen a brightly sign written van innit ? They obviously arn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, and I think the police chopper, and high speed souped up nuttter b*****d car will be in hot persuit as we speak ;D
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I've shared this post on a few different groups to see if anyone can help spot it.
The more looking out for it the better, even though it's a long shot.
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The problem is they'll have had the sign writing off it in about 30 seconds flat :(
Have you got a pic of the washer? We get asked to look at stuff all the time....
The reason we don't do second hand stuff is that much of it has been nicked at some point in its life.
Very sorry!
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The problem is they'll have had the sign writing off it in about 30 seconds flat :(
Have you got a pic of the washer? We get asked to look at stuff all the time....
The reason we don't do second hand stuff is that much of it has been nicked at some point in its life.
Very sorry!
You could donate a machine in the name of charity ;D
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I can manage heavy discount if that helps ;)
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I can manage heavy discount if that helps ;)
Now your talking my language ;D
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I can manage heavy discount if that helps ;)
Now your talking my language ;D
I might make a trip down to yours, and see if that washer will fit around my tank.
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Sorry to hear about your van.
May I ask what insurance company are you with?
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Hey if you need some kit just ask on here. I've got a pole and a tank you can have? I can deliver if it helps
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Nice to see people offering to help Mike out. We all make mistakes on occasion and have to live with the consequences. When I broke my ankle and later had to have follow up surgery, I had three good friends, all fellow window cleaners help me out by taking care of my work for me. Without their help I would probably have lost a good deal of my work.
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Sorry to hear you are stupid enough to leave your keys in the ignition and disappear out of sight of your van, MADNESS, absolute MADNESS, who does that??? Your insurance company won't pay out as you left your keys in the ignition enticing a would be thief, the world is full of opportunist thieves, lowlifes they may be, but they are everywhere. Scumbags round our way smashed a few windows and broke into a few homes near me so I installed CCTV cameras and various other security measures so if anyone does break in they are recorded with face recognition software, automatically captured and backed up onto the cloud to enable the police to identify them. I don't give a thief the opportunity , SCUMBAGS !!!!
::)roll
I'm sure your kind words touched mikes heart during his time of need.
:'(
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CIU all round. Let's kick someone when they're down.
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you really shouldn't have left the keys in the ignition, but I guess you know that by now,
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Sorry to hear you are stupid enough to leave your keys in the ignition and disappear out of sight of your van, MADNESS, absolute MADNESS, who does that??? Your insurance company won't pay out as you left your keys in the ignition enticing a would be thief, the world is full of opportunist thieves, lowlifes they may be, but they are everywhere. Scumbags round our way smashed a few windows and broke into a few homes near me so I installed CCTV cameras and various other security measures so if anyone does break in they are recorded with face recognition software, automatically captured and backed up onto the cloud to enable the police to identify them. I don't give a thief the opportunity , SCUMBAGS !!!!
and you never done anything wrong in life, ;) ;)
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Sorry to hear you are stupid enough to leave your keys in the ignition and disappear out of sight of your van, MADNESS, absolute MADNESS, who does that??? Your insurance company won't pay out as you left your keys in the ignition enticing a would be thief, the world is full of opportunist thieves, lowlifes they may be, but they are everywhere. Scumbags round our way smashed a few windows and broke into a few homes near me so I installed CCTV cameras and various other security measures so if anyone does break in they are recorded with face recognition software, automatically captured and backed up onto the cloud to enable the police to identify them. I don't give a thief the opportunity , SCUMBAGS !!!!
and you never done anything wrong in life, ;) ;)
Agree - every one gets out the fan without their phone / keys / wallet at some point in their life. I've got a tank you could have but by the time you'd have picked it up you could have bought one. :/ sorry
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Again thanks everyone for your comments and thanks very much to those who have offered to lend equipment ect...thats really kind of you!
Yes i am going to appeal the decision as it was on a large private driveway which was mostly concealed from the road with tall hedges. The most annoying thing is i never leave my keys in the ignition but was asked to move the van over half way through the job so that the customer could get her car out. I then watched her reverse out and obviously this distracted me from the fact that i had not removed my keys!
We have posted it all over facebook etc with pics of the van, and the morons were seen about 2 hrs after the incident driving around a street where i have a lot of customers. Perhaps trying to collect money from them? i dont know, but they are obviously not the brightest thieves in the world!
The pressure washer looks almost identical to the on in the picture
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keep driving about your find it locally
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Will keep eyes open for dodgy Nailsea machines :)
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Its not quite so cut and dried for your Insurance company.
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/motor-insurance-keys-in-car.html
As said above, that van won't be far away. Taken by an opportunist, and seen in the area still. Good luck getting it back.
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You never know your van might turn up somewhere.
A mate had his stolen off a drive a couple of years ago, van was later found abandoned on the side of a road.
A couple of bits were missing but most of his setup was still intact.
If I was you I'd start a campaign, knock doors in the area, put up a few posters offering a reward etc. It might just scare the scumbags into ditching the van somewhere.
The best case scenerio you could hope for is to at least get the van back with half your kit still there.
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MY VAN HAS BEEN FOUND ;D ;D ;D Just had a call from the police, the van was dumped about 5 mins from my house, apparently looks untouched. They have even left my ladders on the roof! Im assuming they've knicked the gear out of the back but i really dont care now. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!! ;D ;D ;D
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Great news!
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brilliant news Mike...now remember turn up at customers house and TAKE KEYS WITH YOU (http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1439481963_grin[1].gif)
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Glad you have got it back , Was they stupid enough to leave the keys in it ? :)
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EXCELLENT!!!!! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Wonderful news!
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AWESOME!!!!
What a relief. I bet you will sleep well tonight.
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Glad you've got it back Mike.
John.
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Thats great news mike, so glad you got it back. :)
Regards
Lal
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Great stuff ;D
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;D
Now phone the insurance company and tell them to stick their business where the sun don't shine.
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phew!thank god for that!hope most of your gears still in the back.
you ll never leave your keys in the ignition again! ;D
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Let the insurance company know, wait a week, then set the van on fire.
Just to annoy your insurance company, like.
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Glad to hear it.hope your kit still in there :)
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glad to hear that you found it :)
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Cant believe how lucky i am to be honest. ;D
Thanks again to everyone!
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It will have been stripped down for parts, and exported by now ;D
Really sorry for your loss . . . .you won't be able to make a claim on the insurance either as you left the keys in the ignition :'(
why the grin.? are you enjoying his misfortune.?
What kind of person would laugh at someone else losing their lifeblood and then to kick the poor fella again while he's down by reminding him of the obvious insurance issue. ::)roll
Glad you've got it back Mike, a lesson for us all there! As been said already many of us have left the keys in before, just got to get into the habit of taking them out no matter how small the job is.
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Glad you got it back.!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I try not to leave keys or phone or money in van...BUT I DO. Cant believe....yes I can, That arse holes on here slag him off.
Even though you havnt claimed, it will be logged on your insurance as a no loss/fault claim.
I reversed into someone. Told insurance and ended up giving them a few hundred. No damage to van. Closed case, but we both have to declare it every year.
Insurance companies are vermin!!!!!
Now get a tracker fitted
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Very pleased for you.
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👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
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I'm delighted for you mate. It started sounding hopeful when they were seen driving around in the area two hours later. Just a couple of lads wanting to lark around by the sounds of it. Very unpleasant though.
Can you send them to nick mine?
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Glad you got it back.
Now what happens at insurance renewal time, they'll ask have you had any claims etc. If you say no could your insurance be invalid?
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Glad you got it back.
Now what happens at insurance renewal time, they'll ask have you had any claims etc. If you say no could your insurance be invalid?
Has he repored it stolen to the insurance company ?
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He said some bloke with a dodgy ankle that stalks Perseid comets at 03.00 in the morning who used to drink too much tried to knick it.
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MY VAN HAS BEEN FOUND ;D ;D ;D Just had a call from the police, the van was dumped about 5 mins from my house, apparently looks untouched. They have even left my ladders on the roof! Im assuming they've knicked the gear out of the back but i really dont care now. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!! ;D ;D ;D
Good news.
Have you got it back yet and what is it really like ?
Also what did the the scumbag nick ?
Myself if it was me the first thing I would do is get the van locks changed and if you had your house keys on the fob change those too.
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Glad you've got it back Mike. :) :) :)
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This appeared on my facebook feed this morning:
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1439545556_2015-08-14_10-41_Facebook.jpg)
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Thanks for the replies. The pressure washer is a honda petrol. It has a red hose reel and pressure hose. The window clenaing equipment in the back is a 400 litre tank, reel, gardiners brush etc.
Also my insurance company have refused to pay out so that's about 10 grand down the drain.
Watched something years ago where a house fell down and the insurance never paid out because they never mentioned a phone call regarding a loss but never actually claimed for it.
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First thing I would do is phone your insurance company and tell them where they can poke their insurance policy.
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I definitely wont be renewing with them that's for sure. It is Gladiator insurance if anyone is interested. Its not just if you leave your keys in the car, they told me that if the van is left unlocked or any door is left open even whilst working from the van, you will not be covered for theft, even if parked on private property out of sight as mine was. Not really suitable for those of us who work with a hose running from the van. I know its unlikely the van is every going to knicked whilst working from it, but i really wouldn't put anything past these lowlifes in future!
Just waiting for police to do forensics etc before i can pick it up from the recovery compound.
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I know its unlikely the van is every going to knicked whilst working from it, but i really wouldn't put anything past these lowlifes in future
A pal of mine did have his stolen whilst he was working from it. He was round the back of a large property with a private drive. Cut his hose and drove off.
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I definitely wont be renewing with them that's for sure. It is Gladiator insurance if anyone is interested. Its not just if you leave your keys in the car, they told me that if the van is left unlocked or any door is left open even whilst working from the van, you will not be covered for theft, even if parked on private property out of sight as mine was. Not really suitable for those of us who work with a hose running from the van.
Glad you got your van back.
Honestly mate, tell Gladiator you want a refund for any time left on your policy (If it was me I would ask for ALL my money back - but that's just me) and find yourself a local insurance broker - one that you can look directly in the eye, or if he's going to have to tell you your policy is worthless, and you are £10k out of pocket, he has to do it to your face. Call centres are there to put a barrier between you and them and make it easier for them to fob you off. I have made claims on my insurance that others on here still claim are impossible - never had a vehicle nicked with the keys in like, but if I'd been phoning a call centre I'm sure the response from them would have been similar to what you got.
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Really happy for you that your van has turned up fella BUT...how insensitive and heartless have some members been when you were at your lowest point.. I really hope that they get hammered with some negative karma just as they were dishing out!! They should be ashamed of themselves!
On the other hand, bravo to the members who offered help and equipment when things looked bleak for this guy!
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I'm with Gladiator :o
So glad you got your van back :)
Tbh it won't put me off for now as the majority of insurer's wouldn't cover theft with keys left in & in my case Gladiator were by far the cheapest against the other like for like policy's.
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USE APLAN USE APLAN trust me on this again USE APLAN
we had a truck mounted carpet cleaning set up stolen in march which was worth 35.000 pounds , we have always used aplan even those it cost us around 300 ayear more with them but everything was covered
it took a few weeks but got a full pay out for van and gear , worth every penny more to go with them
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Really happy for you that your van has turned up fella BUT...how insensitive and heartless have some members been when you were at your lowest point.. I really hope that they get hammered with some negative karma just as they were dishing out!! They should be ashamed of themselves!
On the other hand, bravo to the members who offered help and equipment when things looked bleak for this guy!
I just came to this and couldn't agree more. Well done the lads who offered help; the others should take a look in the mirror.
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+1 Disgusting behaviour
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sooooooooooooooooooooooo ........................... what was actually nicked when u got it back ?
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glad you've got it back buddy
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I see in the Forest review John from Chepstow has had his van nick, keys in it on customers drive. And the insurance wont pay up, so customers are trying to raise £6000 to buy him a van.
http://www.forest-and-wye-today.co.uk/
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don't know what kit he had Roy , but reckons it will take £18.000 to get his biz back to normal?
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Got the van back from the compound 2 days ago. My pressure washer was gone with pressure hose etc ...but all my window cleaning gear still there including tank, reel, brush etc. So ive lost a few thousand from it but still feel very lucky to have the van back. Thanks so much to all those who have offered help and shared this on facebook and other forums! :)
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Great news Mike - Whats a pressure washer between friends - did the plod catch the scumbags??
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Although losing the few grand still hurts, it could have been far worse.
Great news.
Now keep that key tied to your belt on a chain. ;D