friends car stolen after PH advert viewing :(
Discussion
Hey guys,
thought i'd start a thread after the above happened. i'll try and cut the very long story short:
a colleague and good friend of mine had advertised his Golf here on PH:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2721498.htm
had a call earlier on in the week and they guy he speaks to says he wants to come and view it.
so... yesterday afternoon, Steve gets a call from the "buyer" saying he is on his way and is looking forward to seeing the car. the bloke turns up with his girlfriend, look over the car, take it for a drive while steves in the car etc.
says its the best one he's seen and will call in the morning once cash has been arranged. Steves happy, takes the key back off the guys girlfriend and goes back into the house.
an hour or so later, steve looks outside to see a space where his car was. its been stolen.
they must have swapped his key without him noticing until it was too late as he has now found that the key given back to him is not the same as his main key (he used a spare to test drive the car as it didnt have a massive keyring hanging off it).
he called the police immediately and they have logged the plates as stolen, but other than that they didnt seem very bothered as it was stealing by deception thus fraud. they also warned him that his insurers might not pay out as the key was used to take the car rahter than it actually being broken into.
so i'm guessing that the guy distracted steve with all the car chat while his girlfriend swapped keys, handed them back, waited round the corner til steve went in, then just used the key to drive it off.
the guy was black and mid 20's and his girlfriend was white, early 20's (a bit chavvy is steves description) the phone number he was called from is now dead - so probably PAYG and he's lost £12k of car.
he's waiting for SOCO to pick the key that he was given up so they can heck it for her prints. his insurers are sending him out a claim form but have also stated that they will review the claim to see IF they will pay out.
he is properly gutted! its sadly an ongoing story as the only reason he's selling the car is that he got knocked off his motorbike about 5 weeks ago on the north circular and has been off work since then and cant afford to keep the car now he's not working.
i know theres nothing you lot can do but i thought i'd put it out there anyway. the cars probably in pieces by now anyway.
thought i'd start a thread after the above happened. i'll try and cut the very long story short:
a colleague and good friend of mine had advertised his Golf here on PH:
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/2721498.htm
had a call earlier on in the week and they guy he speaks to says he wants to come and view it.
so... yesterday afternoon, Steve gets a call from the "buyer" saying he is on his way and is looking forward to seeing the car. the bloke turns up with his girlfriend, look over the car, take it for a drive while steves in the car etc.
says its the best one he's seen and will call in the morning once cash has been arranged. Steves happy, takes the key back off the guys girlfriend and goes back into the house.
an hour or so later, steve looks outside to see a space where his car was. its been stolen.
they must have swapped his key without him noticing until it was too late as he has now found that the key given back to him is not the same as his main key (he used a spare to test drive the car as it didnt have a massive keyring hanging off it).
he called the police immediately and they have logged the plates as stolen, but other than that they didnt seem very bothered as it was stealing by deception thus fraud. they also warned him that his insurers might not pay out as the key was used to take the car rahter than it actually being broken into.
so i'm guessing that the guy distracted steve with all the car chat while his girlfriend swapped keys, handed them back, waited round the corner til steve went in, then just used the key to drive it off.
the guy was black and mid 20's and his girlfriend was white, early 20's (a bit chavvy is steves description) the phone number he was called from is now dead - so probably PAYG and he's lost £12k of car.
he's waiting for SOCO to pick the key that he was given up so they can heck it for her prints. his insurers are sending him out a claim form but have also stated that they will review the claim to see IF they will pay out.
he is properly gutted! its sadly an ongoing story as the only reason he's selling the car is that he got knocked off his motorbike about 5 weeks ago on the north circular and has been off work since then and cant afford to keep the car now he's not working.
i know theres nothing you lot can do but i thought i'd put it out there anyway. the cars probably in pieces by now anyway.
gutted for your friend. That is something that many people could have fallen for. I haven't personally heard of it happening before so thanks for the heads up.
I guess the moral is - have something personal attached to your keys in future so you know you get the correct ones back.....
I hope he gets the insurance......or they find the car
I guess the moral is - have something personal attached to your keys in future so you know you get the correct ones back.....
I hope he gets the insurance......or they find the car
its seems odd that he didnt notice, but thinking about it, if someone gave you a key back that "matches" yours, and says thanks - i'll sort out the cash.
i know i wouldnt notice immediately and all it takes if for you to go back indoors and within seconds they unlock, get in, and drive off.
i'm waiting to hear back from him when he gets more info from the police and his insurers.
he isnt due a courtesy car either as the car was stolen by deception. so thats his BH weekend travel plans funked.
i know i wouldnt notice immediately and all it takes if for you to go back indoors and within seconds they unlock, get in, and drive off.
i'm waiting to hear back from him when he gets more info from the police and his insurers.
he isnt due a courtesy car either as the car was stolen by deception. so thats his BH weekend travel plans funked.
Terrible news, and all the more infuriating due to your friend's circumstances. I bet he feels absolutely awful. Even more so when you think that he'll now have a fight with the insurers to get a payout.
I often have the piss ripped out of me by friends etc as I seem to have a bit of OCD. When I park my car up I put on the handbrake and put it in gear. When I lock my car I double check the windows are shut and double check the door and boot handles. When I leave the house I double check the door is locked etc. I can't imagine what I would be like with a test drive now I know what has happened to your mate.
I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing so I won't suggest anything that could have been done. I'm just surprised that people can do these things so quickly and easily (i.e. swapping the keys).
Did your mate actually lock the car when the test drive was finished, or did the bloke lock it for him and then hand him the keys? Must have swapped them then if this was the case.
I find it very annoying that we have scumbags like this in our society.
I often have the piss ripped out of me by friends etc as I seem to have a bit of OCD. When I park my car up I put on the handbrake and put it in gear. When I lock my car I double check the windows are shut and double check the door and boot handles. When I leave the house I double check the door is locked etc. I can't imagine what I would be like with a test drive now I know what has happened to your mate.
I guess hindsight is a wonderful thing so I won't suggest anything that could have been done. I'm just surprised that people can do these things so quickly and easily (i.e. swapping the keys).
Did your mate actually lock the car when the test drive was finished, or did the bloke lock it for him and then hand him the keys? Must have swapped them then if this was the case.
I find it very annoying that we have scumbags like this in our society.
Edited by funkyrobot on Thursday 28th April 12:15
okgo said:
How could they possibly have known pre test drive that the key was going to be a spare not attached to a load of keyrings... Seems like they were relying on a lot of circumstances in order to pull this off!
I doubt the scum that did this would have been put off by having to spend an extra 10 seconds removing a key ring.okgo said:
How could they possibly have known pre test drive that the key was going to be a spare not attached to a load of keyrings... Seems like they were relying on a lot of circumstances in order to pull this off!
you could be right, i wasnt there so dont know the exact circumstances, but i have personally test driven a number of cars where i'm presented with a single key. even if it was on a ring, they guys g/f could have swapped the fake key onto the keyring just as quickly. it probably made their day when they were given just a key - makes life easier.hindsight is a wonderful thing!
funkyrobot said:
Did your mate actually lock the car when the test drive was finished, or did the bloke lock it for him and then hand him the keys? Must have swapped them then it this was the case.
Sad story, but wouldn't the key have the alarm fob on it. How did your mate lock the car once they had gone?I've been scammed before - not nice
okgo said:
How could they possibly have known pre test drive that the key was going to be a spare not attached to a load of keyrings... Seems like they were relying on a lot of circumstances in order to pull this off!
A key is only ever physically attached to one ring. Also - this may have been the third or fourth attempt, you never know.okgo said:
How could they possibly have known pre test drive that the key was going to be a spare not attached to a load of keyrings... Seems like they were relying on a lot of circumstances in order to pull this off!
Maybe, however you could buy a large selection of dummy/spare keys for popular cars and then "test drive" 10-20 cars a day. Golfs, Focus', Astra's etc, one a week at a few grand a piece is worth it?Also how long would it take to switch two keys while your under the bonnet/in the boot and the girlfriend sits in the drivers seat with the keys...60 seconds with some practice and the right tools?
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