Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Gavin Reardon on January 11, 2005, 11:08:28 am
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I had a phone call on Sunday from a cc who works for me "Gavin the van is gone"
After a few choice words he told me that he had gone to the van to get some overshoes from under the seat he put the keys on the seat whilst getting them. Then his phone rang and he forgot about the keys!!! >:( Of he went back to work, after he had finshed he walked to where the van was NO VAN ???
Rung the police etc
Next day my phone rings there's a man with a irish accent on the end. He has rung the number on my van!
"Hello if you what your van and stuff back it is going to cost you, if not it will be gone up country by the morning!"
I then spoke to the police who told me not to buy it back as a few weeks later they will come back for it again, and that they had most likely had keys cut!
Can you believe the cheek of it >:( ???
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What a bunch of bas**rds.
what type of van, colour etc just so people can keep an eye out for it. you never know we may get lucky and spot it somewhere. Also which area.
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Sorry to hear about that Gav. I would arrange to meet him in your van with your welsh rugby mates in the back and kick ten bells of s***e out of him
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Hi Steve
Cheers mate.
I WAS GOING TO!! ;)
But he told me to meet him and friends in one of the local gypsie sites! and after talking the the police and being told that they carry guns etc I think its best not to >:(
The police say thay will look down the sites etc but dont hold my breath :'(
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Very sorry to hear this Gavin.
Having had an car theft by gypsies a couple of years ago, I know how bad it makes you feel.
It may be better if you never saw it all again. If you have insurance you can claim, if you get it back it's more than likely going to be trashed, soiled and will never feel the same, ours was.
Where in the country are you?
Our experience happened in May when the circus/ fairgrounds etc were all in Hertfordshire. The police told us that the "legal gypsies" (travelling circus/ fairground etc) are some of the worst offenders.
Nicky
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Thanks Martin + Bigfish
My Van is white
Reg CK02 VNN
And its a Mercedes - Benz, Sprinter
Im in the Cardiff Area
The police tell me that my signwritting and reg plate will have been removed!! >:(
Regards Gavin
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Yes, nice big van. Our car was a Volvo Estate with tow bar and 12 months tax.
Change the reg plate, as long as it's got tax, lights & 4 good tyres, it's unlikely to get stopped. Able to pull a caravan nicely...and away.
When it gets a bit worn out, it will be burnt out somewhere and they do it all over again.
Inform the DVLA as soon as poss. The plate they take off of your van will not go to waste. There is money in it for some scum bag.
Nicky
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Would anyone miss gypsies if they all went away, not me!
sorry to hear about your van,
Insurance may not pay out IF YOU TELL THEM! that you left your keys in the van.
Paul
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similar thing happened to me earlier last year gavin, ford transit , eqipment etc.
police didnt really want to know, even implied would be gypsies, but no point in going onto their sites!!!!!!!!!!!!! in other words they can do what they want
talking about ring ing you up? around tree years ago ,
i left my mobile in my car , along with a set of golf clubs , 1 or 2 other small items, parked down a side street to go buy a take away, got bakc alarms blaring, side window smashed .
they were in and out with the lot ,even into the boot .
then lo and behold, got a call in middle of night demanding £1000 for return of items , and that they knew where my daughter lived ,they had called her , after looking at all my stored numbers
i was f.....g fuming and slammed phone down , pondering what to do ,
little later another call asking for £200 , by this time deduced where young druggies , because of the known area, " woodcock st , for mike "
i said would meet and give them £50 , so met about 12 ..14 of them at 1 in morning got my items pain up
still wonder whether i did the right thing ???
geoff
p.s. wish i had a gun at the time , im sure i would have used it
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Hi All
I have just had another call asking for £5000 cash for the van and all that is inside it >:( >:( >:(
The werid thing is it was a women this time ???
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Gavin ,
I would contact the police and see if they are interested in a sting operation.
Afterall the scumbags don't know what you look like so you do not even have to be involved.
Cheers,
Doug
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Hi Doug
But they know were I live!
And the police dont want to know!
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Sorry to hear about your situation Gavin,Pykies really are the scum of the earth
(Pykies are not the real Romany's who are generally no problem at all and make good neighbours. Irish pykies generally have homes in Ireland which they return to on a regular basis once they have done all the robbing they can get away with here.Only to return once the money runs out)
The police really are a waste of time when it comes to dealing with pykies,more often than not they are frightened of them and as we all know gypsies are above the law.
They can drive round in uninsured brand new vans,4 wheel drive jeeps and mercs and not a word is said.They speed,drink and drive and never obey any laws of the land.They nick from shops and the police will not go onto their sites to retrieve stolen goods.
I will relate a story to you told to me by a customer of mine about his cousin who owns a farm in Buckinghamshire.
Pykies pulled on to his land and took over a field in the summer.He called the police and while he was waiting went down to tell them to move on.The police came and told the farm owner there was nothing they could do as it was private land,despite the fact that they broke down fences to get in.
He once again told the gypsies infront of the police to move on or they would be sorry.The police said they would arrest him for threatening behaviour if he said the same again ::)
Any way next day he got a mate who owns a skip company to drop down in the entrance to the field two skips full of gravel.The rest of the field was hedge rows and ditches so they were now trapped in.This of course prevented anyone from driving out and going about their pykie business of stealing,bodging drives and tree felling etc. After the initial threats a few punches thrown,the gypsies realised they could do nothing about the situation and asked to be let out, he refused ;D The police were called again, who told the farmer to let them out. He reminded them, 'like you told me in the begining its private land and you can't tell me what to do with it'.The police were stumped,the gypsies were raging and the farmer was laughing his head off.
Eventually he agreed to let them out as long as they cleared all the land of their sh*t and took it with them.They left the next day, the field was spotless and the fences were mended. Result for the farmer,police look like the mugs they are and the pykies left with out a word said.
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Trevor,
It's heartening to hear that they do not always get away with whatever they choose to do,
Gavin,
When My van and equipment were stolen, the van and half the contents were burnt out within 90 minutes.
Had I received a ransom message I am not sure what I would have done. It must have pained Geoff to have given them money but when the cost of saying no is higher than the price demanded, then, no matter how unpalatable, it makes sense to pay.
If you do decide to barter them down and pay something, take care, as you could end up loosing both van and money.
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Hi John
What if they have had keys cut etc
Regards
Gavin
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I'd think about this Gavin:
Why should you pay them for something that is rightfully yours?
If you pay up and get it back how do you know what condition it will be in? NO
Will they have mucked up all your equipment? PROBABLY
Will the van be damaged? YES (and probably be soiled too)
Will they have got keys cut? DEFINITELY
Will they be back? OH YES
Is it all worth it? NO
Let them burn it out ... CLAIM ON YOUR INSURANCE
Next time they phone laugh at them and tell them they can keep it.
They left our Volvo with all the wiring ripped out, ignition smashed, windows smashed, dented roof, broken sun roof, central locking done in and needing a re-spray.
It stunk, was soiled, there was glass everywhere and they'd even eaten my toddlers biscuits!
We had it all repaired and soon traded it in, it NEVER felt right again and I lost confidence in driving it.
Nicky
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Hi Gavin,
Really sorry to hear whats happened. Being the son of a farmer I have been stolen from many times by these b@stards, most recenty a couple of months ago when they stole a childs motor cycle I had bought for my lads, they took it before i had given it too them >:( >:( >:(
Dont give into them and pay up, as tempting as this may be it will only encourage more of this type of behavior.
The only way we can get rid is if the government make a stand and get tough.
This would be a major vote winner (worked for Hitler) but I cant see any of the parties doing it, Britain really is going to the dogs and the crime caused by this type person is one of the main reasons.
Anyone fancy creating a new Party in time for the election :)
Paul
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Gavin
Sorry to hear about your problem,there seems to be more and more CC having there equipment stolen.If what you are saying about the Police responce is true,I would log everything down of who said what and demand that your local MP takes action. All the best and keep us informed.
David Ware
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Of course Paul is right. Giving in to being bullied in this way and paying up only encourages them to do it again and again.
Years ago I had reason to complain to the council about a neighbour who was causing vermin. I was told that I shouldn't expect everyone to live to my standards and little was done about it.
The people who stole your van have no respect and live to standards that none of us can find any reason with.
There have always been pikies of one kind or another, and probably always will be. The problem is that in a country where we are not allowed to discriminate against people for race & colour etc (and rightly so), the scum bags have a safety net.
Nicky
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If they have offered to meet you and exchange money for vehicle then why not just arrange a time and contact the police, even better find some counterfeit money and give them that, as to the points raised about they know where you live, i wouldnt be to worried on that fact, these people are mostly wasters and would just move onto the next victim,
Dont give into these people if you want a couple of telephone numbers of gangland hit women then my two little daughters both have mobiles now,
regards Dave ADL
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It's not just the van that's a pain to lose. There's all the gear inside. Even low value bits and pieces that may have been gathered over many years.
Earlier this year I bought a Disklok steering wheel lock, about £70. It has a high rating from the Thatcham security outfit, ie takes longer than most to remove. Expensive, but cheap compared to a theft. I can't see how it can be removed without completely wrecking the steering wheel and rendering the vehicle undriveable.
I fit it everywhere I park, even when nipping into the butcher's on a Saturday morning, while other people nip in and leave their engines running. I have a nasty streak in me that fantisizes about jumping into their vehicles, driving them away, and abandonning them a couple of blocks away.
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Sorry to hear about your loss
However there may be a chance yet. A local cc had his van stolen and was found 3 months later in Dublin. Not a bit of damage, although minus the equipment. It was probably stolen to order as this is big business being so close to the border.
He had been fighting with the insurance company for this time so had recieved no compensation at all but was lucky to have the means to keep himself running.
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Cheers everyone for your kind words :)
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Hi Gavin
Sorry to hear about your van. I've been in the same situration and it's not nice when told by the police that they can go onto a site full of the b@stards because it's not safe for them. And we could see the van. and to top it all they told me that if I went on to there site it would be me breaking the law. Thats country for you that we now live in.
This happened in the north kent area.
Regards Kevin
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hi , i had my van and machines stolen 3 years ago it was a bedford rascal with two seahawk portables in side wands etc etc every thing i had anyway how they done was like this i was in frontroom watching t.v about 12 pm got up to make a drink walked into the kitchen and noticed some small draws had been placed on work top strange i thought then i noticed the door was unlocked but i had locked it looked out window and poop ! van had gone then it gets strange only my stuff indoors had gone like my wallet and phone but hadnt touched my kids or girlfreinds phones or anything which were on the worktops ? evently i worked out that they had used washing line pole out my backgarden to put it threw cat flap in backdoor to get keys off worktop ,well after begging banks for some money to buy new machines i get a phone call 3 months later the bloke says to me why is your van parked in our private carpark for last 3 months (he got number of van ) :o so i go to the carpark about 5 miles from my house there it is locked up and with every bit of my gear inside :o also they never ever used any of my bank cards one even had pin number wrapped round it for hole in the wall !!! whole thing was really weird after they got my keys why did they enter the house? they didnt nick anything or use my cards so why bother? why did they not nick my machines ?why did they lock it up ? i am convinced to this day it was another local carpet cleaner who done it who prob knew me and tryed to make it look good and they prob had guilty con thats why nothing was nicked what u lot think ?
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Hi Kevin
I cant see me being that lucky!
It sounds like someone was taking the p**s ;D
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Gavin
Get a truck-mount then you will know if nicked.
Len
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Hi
If they have your house keys too...change 'all' the locks pronto
Derek