Tool theft - can you all help?
October 2017 edited October 2017 in Not Sports Related
I'm really sorry to bring this on here. Just trying to cover as many outlets that I know will have people who will help.
My van got broken into and they stole everything. My livelihood. It's caused me a world of grief. I needed to feel I've at least tried to do something. So I started a petition. It probably won't amount to anything but I'm at least trying. Please don't pick holes or point out what I should have done just sign it if it affects you or anyone you know. I'm pretty sure everyone on here knows someone this has happened too.
It's become a right nightmare for tradesmen today. It only takes a second and costs nothing
Thanks kindly
https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-van-tool-theft-action-urgently-needed/fbog/235380446?recruiter=235380446&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_for_starters_page
Sorry to hear that mate.
They need to regulate tibbe keys too, terrible that they are available online, Transits can be broken into as if they've got keys.
charltonkeston
Very sorry to read what has happened to you. It's a vile crime to do and those who buy secondhand tools must have a pretty good idea where they come from and are just bad as the scum who commit the original crime.
Obviously shit for anyone to go through this however knowing what you do and what affect these skidmarks have on your life especially knowing they will nigh on give your gear away to fund drug money makes me feel like vomiting blood.
The only justice these maggots understand is the type me and my neighbour dished out, prison for a few weeks doesn't deter them, breaking their jaw and smashing their teeth out made us feel like some form of justice got done. Even since then we've caught people on CCTV brazen as you like getting into his van and trying their luck with my van and cars. The worse part is the police hate the perpetrators of this type of crime too but unless they are caught absolutely red handed there is little they can do apart from give you a crime reference number to dick about replacing tools built up over years only to worry it's going to happen again. In fairness to the 5-0 they were keen not to pursue and understood that thieves can be very accident prone regardless of what you see in the red tops
Anyone who thinks they are getting a bargain buying a year old DeWalt chop saw or drill of the nice bloke at the bootfair who had loads of stuff is encouraging this. Buying obviously stolen tools is like skulking around peoples homes and stealing their livliehood yourself in my book. It needs to be as socially unacceptable as fly tipping.
cabbles
Sorry to hear this mate and I think a petition is a good, practical way of trying to raise awareness
We had a builder round a year or so ago to fit/refurbish our kitchen. All the units etc were in our garage The builders were working in between there and their van. Everything open. They had a tea break as they like to do,went back to their van and half their stuff had been robbed all DeWalt stuff.
Builder reckoned it was do as you likies following them from their home/office to where they were working and just milled about waiting for them to leave the stuff for a few minutes. Hopefully they got some carter justice. Knowing the builder, they would have if they caught up with them! Utter scumbags.
I consider myself to be very liberal apart from when it comes to crimes where honest people are hurt -not just physically. These pigs have no care for your hard work and livliehood and deserve to be caught and punished severely.The punishment should be so severe that it deters other pathetic evil bastards like them.
help is needed, absolute scumbags no different to people that nick toys out of peoples gardens, work in the construction industry all be it office based now and our vans are decked out with the tough boxes etc, its a sad state of affairs when you have to spend thousands on securing tools, to stop some C**T pinching them, personally i would like to string them up, but of course doesnt happen this day, although hopefully some get caught by tradesman, trade counter we use if they ever get offered 2nd hand tools, distract the seller whilst they ring the police.
Fortune 82nd Minute
Really sorry to hear that mate. My son is a carpenter and has spent thousands of pounds on his tools and he is constantly telling me similar stories that he has heard so I know what a problem this is.
This won't help you but might make you feel a bit better. Absolute true story. When my son was doing his apprenticeship, one of the guys he was working for had his van broken into and his tools nicked.
The following Sunday, he went down to his local boot sale on the off chance the bloke who nicked them might be trying to sell them there. And sure enough there they were. He didn't say a word to the bloke but just went up to him and lumped him one. Bloke went down like a sack of potatoes. He just rolled the blanket up that his tools were on, explained to the people who were watching slightly aghast at what had happened what the situation was and just walked off with them.
Justice at its best.
robroy
My mates Dad has done a lot of work for me.
He was doing a job up a high rise and was carrying his tools down. A car pulled up and emptied his van of tools he had built up over 30 years of working, whilst he was coming down.
He just gave up then and there and has now retired. Said he did not want to start again.
Utter scum bags these people.
Valiantphil
This happened to my brother while the van was on his front drive. I also know of a van broken into without any force as (@North Lower Neil) has described.
Also, tradesmen should take care when loading and unloading at the start/end of the day - these maggots sit and watch in a vehicle, then pounce as you are away for a split second, so never leave your van unattended at any time.
These people are filth.
CharltonKerry
We were working on a large project on an industrial estate in the Black Country were theft of tools were becoming a major problem. It was tea break and all the lads were in the canteen which was hidden from view from the car park. a van pulled into the car park and a few scallywags got out and started to wander round this big building site, unfortunately unbeknown to the scallywags they passed by the canteen and seem. They started looking into vans and "borrowing" the lads tools. So the fifty or so site lads parked a JCB across the car park entrance and exit, then the police was rung, we were asked by the police if we wanted 5 minutes before they arrived for "discussions" with the scallywags. Justice was handed out by a combination of welders and builders, police arrived after 10 minutes and the scallywags surrendered willingly to the police, the only comment from the police, was we ought to get the scaffolding checked out, as they thought it might be unsafe as it was unusual for eight scallywags to full off it at once. They all went down for a very long while, from memory it was years.
Cut their bloody hands off!
AFKABartram
done, so sorry to hear mate, hope you get sorted
Swisdom
It's about time toolmakers started to put a gps tracker or something in their machinery. I'm sure tradesmen would spend an extra £5 or £10 on a device that's built in to the tool if it meant they could be traced much more easily. This in turn would deter thieves from taking these and hopefully stop them nicking all other tools at the same time.
It's heartbreaking to see people work for years and years to amass their equipment just for some wanker to come and steal it all - more than likely just for a hit!
RodneyCharltonTrotta
Scum. Brother and step dad are builders and have had tools nicked out of vans. Lovely to read of the justice being meted out to those caught.
If I was a billionaire like Batman I would have one day a week scheduled in for acts of vigilantism including hunting down these types and catching them in the act before going all reservoir dogs on them. Don't have the time or resources now to do it with my office work.
Swisdom said:
This technology is just coming into play now. A guy I work with has drills that connect through his phone (as everything seems to nowadays) and won't wont work until you unlock them.
carlsberg said:
People will steal anything regardless of what safeguards you try to put in place. It's a sad but true fact. The only sure way of avoiding this grief is to clear the van every night and be vigilant during working hours.
The police might be sympathetic but you won't get too much help from them these days. There's not enough of them to deal with violent crime let alone what they would now consider petty theft.
Really sorry to hear this has happened to one of ours.
Some years ago I was putting up a shelf in a mates kitchen. I had finished and was loading the tools back into my car. I started to stack the gear by the front door to then load the car boot. I walked back into the kitchen to collect something else for what couldn't have been more than 15 seconds. When I came back my drill box had been nicked. 15 fucking seconds.
ShootersHillGuru said:
I used to be astonished how opportunist and quick thieves were with work gear. Now it's just something that happens to workmen and another pain in the nutbag when it does, fortunately for me at least the tools I use for my job didn't cost me money, doesn't make it less of a nuisance.
Violence meted out swiftly and decisively is the only deterrent and as much as I'd like to beat the living shit out of all of them it's a bit impractical.
sillav nitram
Signed, sorry to hear of your plight.
Does insurance cover this or is there the usual loophole?
It is amazing how in countries where these saddos are punished harshly, this sort of thing is rare. Signed by the way.
Rob7Lee
sillav nitram said:
If stolen from a locked van it should do, not many do for 'open thefts' as the premium would be heavy.
iainment
MuttleyCAFC said:
Really? Please tell where and what the stats are.
I think in terms of theft here it's actually quite rare. It's just that it happens in a close community that passes info around.
Having said that obviously it has a huge impact on the victims and is not to be dismissed lightly.
iainment said:
No way is this sort of theft rare mate, in fact I don't think it has ever been so common
I'm part of an electricians page on Facebook which has thousands of members and posts like this come up multiple times every single day. Absolutely disgusting, the lowest of the low to steal the tools someone needs to put food on the table.
You'd be surprised how many people genuinely manage to locate their tools in places like bootfairs and them cash exchange shops
Fanny Fanackapan
Only too pleased to sign.
It's ironic that the scumbags that steal these tools are typically lazy lowlife who don't want to work.
I think in terms of theft here it's actually quite rare. It just that it happens in a close community that passes info around.
http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/Saudi-Arabia/United-Kingdom/Crime
You can make assumptions that certain crimes are rare if you're not affected by them or they aren't flavour of the month in the press.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39744644/epidemic-of-van-tool-thefts-blamed-on-skeleton-key
BBC report stating a van broken into every 23 minutes. Far more prolific than the scooter scum smash and grab jewellery store thefts epidemic that affect a different class of society and are afforded far more coverage and attention (albeit more "eye catching" in terms of news).
JaShea99
Fortune 82nd Minute said:
Yeah that is justice at its best. Assuming of course the bloke selling them was the actual perpetrator and hadn't innocently bought them off the thief, blissfully unaware that he was handling stolen goods.
RodneyCharltonTrotta said:
Fair enough. The builders I know in the pub must be lucky then as I can't remember it ever coming up in conversation.
They're probably the ones nicking them :-)