Should have listened.
Discussion
Bought a Transit a couple of weeks ago, nice tidy one for seven and a half grand. Parked it up on the street where one of my drivers lives in the East End, never had any problem there. A mate of mine who "knows stuff" said I should let his mate sort it out for me as a lot of them are being stolen around the area.
There's some doohicky in Transits that allow you to start them without the key seven times over, his mate would come round with a box of tricks, activate said doohicky seven times so it can't be done anymore, slip him a few quid and problem solved.
"Nah, that'll be fine" I say.
It got nicked last night sometime between 10 and 5, no sound, no broken glass, just vanished, like an old oak table.
Police said it probably took them about two minutes.
[sigh]
There's some doohicky in Transits that allow you to start them without the key seven times over, his mate would come round with a box of tricks, activate said doohicky seven times so it can't be done anymore, slip him a few quid and problem solved.
"Nah, that'll be fine" I say.
It got nicked last night sometime between 10 and 5, no sound, no broken glass, just vanished, like an old oak table.
Police said it probably took them about two minutes.
[sigh]
Update.
Got a call 2 weeks ago from a lovely Met lady officer:
"Essex Police have found your van, it's in a pound in Clacton but it has been used for a serious crime so they are carrying out forensics, it will take about a week then you can have it back. I'll email you all the details".
"Thank you thank you, is it in one piece?"
"Can't say yet but Essex Police will call you in a week so sit tight".
Good stuff.
2 weeks go by and I've heard nothing so I call EP:
"Any news on the van?"
"Oh yes, we've finished with it but we are waiting for an email from lovely Met lady officer to give us permission to release it"
"I have her email, is it okay if I chase her?"
"Yes, please do, she's not responding to us"
I email LMLO:
"I know you are busy but would really appreciate it if you could give the release permission so I can get my van back"
I get an email back instantly:
"I have given the release permission over a week ago! I have no idea what they are playing at I'm getting on to them now!"
Followed by some frustrated comments about "County forces"
Five minutes later a phone call from EP:
"Oh we're really sorry but we had permission to release all the time, bit of a mix up"
"Okay that's fine, these things happen, thanks again for getting it back, is it in one piece, when can I collect it?"
"Anytime you like, you could come up tomorrow and....oh wait, looking at the paperwork it appears we haven't done the forensics yet, that'll take about two weeks, we'll be in touch"
I email LMLO and let her know and thank her for her time. She goes ballistic and thanks me for being so calm "I'd normally be getting screamed at by now".
I do appreciate them finding the van, got a lot of time for our police force but you know, a little co-ordination would be nice.
Got a call 2 weeks ago from a lovely Met lady officer:
"Essex Police have found your van, it's in a pound in Clacton but it has been used for a serious crime so they are carrying out forensics, it will take about a week then you can have it back. I'll email you all the details".
"Thank you thank you, is it in one piece?"
"Can't say yet but Essex Police will call you in a week so sit tight".
Good stuff.
2 weeks go by and I've heard nothing so I call EP:
"Any news on the van?"
"Oh yes, we've finished with it but we are waiting for an email from lovely Met lady officer to give us permission to release it"
"I have her email, is it okay if I chase her?"
"Yes, please do, she's not responding to us"
I email LMLO:
"I know you are busy but would really appreciate it if you could give the release permission so I can get my van back"
I get an email back instantly:
"I have given the release permission over a week ago! I have no idea what they are playing at I'm getting on to them now!"
Followed by some frustrated comments about "County forces"
Five minutes later a phone call from EP:
"Oh we're really sorry but we had permission to release all the time, bit of a mix up"
"Okay that's fine, these things happen, thanks again for getting it back, is it in one piece, when can I collect it?"
"Anytime you like, you could come up tomorrow and....oh wait, looking at the paperwork it appears we haven't done the forensics yet, that'll take about two weeks, we'll be in touch"
I email LMLO and let her know and thank her for her time. She goes ballistic and thanks me for being so calm "I'd normally be getting screamed at by now".
I do appreciate them finding the van, got a lot of time for our police force but you know, a little co-ordination would be nice.
Had a similar experience after my partner's sister died and the police had her flat keys.
Day 1 - no-one bothered to tell us that the property office at the police station closed at 4pm. Not bets pleased after driving for 2 hours to get there and arriving at 4.15pm.
Day 2 - 2 hour drive to arrive at police station for 8.30am. Confirmed with appropriate PC the night before that we could collect the keys. Arrive to find they have the keys but don't have a signed form by the PC saying we can have them. Did take a bit of assertive communication to leave with the keys...
All the individuals involved were very pleasant and polite and I know only following procedure but we didn't need the extra hassle when my OH's sister's unexpectedly dropped dead at 45 years old.
Day 1 - no-one bothered to tell us that the property office at the police station closed at 4pm. Not bets pleased after driving for 2 hours to get there and arriving at 4.15pm.
Day 2 - 2 hour drive to arrive at police station for 8.30am. Confirmed with appropriate PC the night before that we could collect the keys. Arrive to find they have the keys but don't have a signed form by the PC saying we can have them. Did take a bit of assertive communication to leave with the keys...
All the individuals involved were very pleasant and polite and I know only following procedure but we didn't need the extra hassle when my OH's sister's unexpectedly dropped dead at 45 years old.
Edited by GadgeS3C on Friday 25th October 17:50
kers getting caught. 
Couple of days after saying that the van was sorted (back in November) it broke down again, it had to go back to the insurers repair centre. Got it back a couple of times only for it to break down straight away each time.
After lots of messing about I got it back, properly, finally on Tuesday of last week. I used it for work on Saturday and it was perfect, the garage had basically done everything, even stuff that had nothing to do with the original theft, out of embarressment for messing me about so much.
I was very happy.
It got nicked again on Sunday night.
Same MO, no broken glass, no evidence, just gone.
Part of the repair works was to update the ECU which should have prevented it being started with a laptop again, apparently this didn't work
Couple of days later I found it (with a little help from my mate who is a little non-legit), parked up on a dodgy estate. Dashboard ripped out while looking for a tracker but otherwise okay, I clipped it all back together again and now it's as sweet as a squirrels dinner.
I took to a "mate of my mate" who using some magic machinery has now started it 5 more times without the keys, on the sixth attempt it failed, this means the bad guys can't do it anymore.
They'll probably take it away on the back of a lorry next time.
I'll keep the thread updated.
After lots of messing about I got it back, properly, finally on Tuesday of last week. I used it for work on Saturday and it was perfect, the garage had basically done everything, even stuff that had nothing to do with the original theft, out of embarressment for messing me about so much.
I was very happy.
It got nicked again on Sunday night.
Same MO, no broken glass, no evidence, just gone.
Part of the repair works was to update the ECU which should have prevented it being started with a laptop again, apparently this didn't work
Couple of days later I found it (with a little help from my mate who is a little non-legit), parked up on a dodgy estate. Dashboard ripped out while looking for a tracker but otherwise okay, I clipped it all back together again and now it's as sweet as a squirrels dinner.
I took to a "mate of my mate" who using some magic machinery has now started it 5 more times without the keys, on the sixth attempt it failed, this means the bad guys can't do it anymore.
They'll probably take it away on the back of a lorry next time.
I'll keep the thread updated.
Rude-boy said:
Thought about parking it elsewhere?
Not easy, the bloke who drives it for me lives there, it's an East London borough and there is nowhere else that isn't resident only.If it goes again I'll have to think about it.
This guy has worked for me for 8 years and always parked a van there, never had a problem before this. Might be something personal against me, I'm in Waste Disposal and not everyone I've had dealings with over the years has been angelic.
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