Stolen tools

[jeremy]

My pick up was broken into in the Docklands Travelodge car park on Wednesday night. Kit taken is as follows:
Fluke 1654
Fluke 381
Fluke T6-1000
Fluke 3000 multimeter, DC ammeter, AC ammeter, Voltmeter
Fluke 325
Fluke IR thermometer
Above packed in Fluke storage cases
Bosch 12V FC drill
Bosch 18V FC drill
Bosch 18V jigsaw
Bosch 18V recip saw
Bosch 18V multitool
Bosch 18V vacuum
Bosch GO scredriver
Wera insulated socket set
DeWalt 400mm tough system boxes x 2
Cembre 550dn hydraulic crimp tool
Dymo XTL 500 label printer
Roughly £8-9k
Some of the kit has my company name ULSTEL LTD written on, with a contact number.
I'm not expecting to get anything back, and as not covered by insurance, a fairly hefty loss.
If anyone hears of anything matching the above, I'd be eternally grateful for any info.
I thank you.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Thefts of tools and gear certainly seems on the up

I know 2 tradespeople who have been van broken into in the last few weeks , one in a car park on a call out job in broad daylight and the other at night on his driveway

absolute nightmare

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

There should really be a central register where MFT serial numbers could be registered - in case they ever get put in for calibration. Or for sale in places like Cash Converters....

By then they'll be in the hands of someone who may not know they're stolen of course, but even so it might limit the market for them - or at least get a few back to the rightful owners...

The schemes would be well placed for this! With each company is the calibration certs and at annual inspection the testers are logged/ recorded. Held on a central database. Truth be told it exists all they need us somebody to write correct code to pull it out the databases that they have

 

[Mike Johnson]

The real problem is the market for these stolen tools, if no one bought tools down the pub the market would not exist........................

 

[Dustydazzler]

The real problem is the market for these stolen tools, if no one bought tools down the pub the market would not exist........................

Exactly

other than an electrician, technician or maybe a maintenance person who else uses a MFT

If a bloke in the pub offers you a near new £1500 MFT for £150 then alarm bells should Start ringing

 

[Zerax]

The real problem is the market for these stolen tools, if no one bought tools down the pub the market would not exist........................

...and there will always be a market for stolen tools.

 

[Zerax]

The real problem is the deliberate dismantling of the criminal justice system. It's been going on for years and years and heading in one direction only. And of course to make it all totally farcical, the traveller community largely have an automatic immunity to the law.

To put some numbers to this... For most crimes, there's say a 5% chance of being caught.... then once caught, maybe 25% chance of being charged up... then if charged and found guilty, maybe 10% chance of being properly punished... So that's 5% x 25% x 10% = 0.125% chance of being properly 'dealt with'. Not much of a disincentive is it ?

 

[LukeD]

Lots of stolen tools get shipped abroad .There is a market for stuff everywhere . The fact is a very well known travelling community within Ireland and the Uk are the biggest players .

 

[UNG]

The problem is that prospect of a stay at one of the HM Hotels is just that they have no punishment value anymore because they have become driven by the PC brigade and are there to rehabilitate not punish, is any surprise we have career criminals. Then you have the courts with the sentencing why give a prison sentence when the reality is only 50% of it will be served.
I've had a few close calls with people looking to steal stuff from my van one was a Saturday afternoon I had nipped into the office to pick something up I came out of the office to find a couple of lads who had been hanging round the area being chased off by one of the salesman from the car showroom opposite the police had already been called and arrived quite quickly the lads were identified by someone who knew who they were and when a police officer stopped them one ran off and the other was arrested, it went to court a couple of months later and his clever brief got him off by blaming the other guy in the foyer of the court I walked up to this smiling career crook and told him not to walk in that street again as if a saw him the first thin he would see would be the front of my van then the underside and when he saw daylight again I would be jumping on him I followed it with this is not a threat it is a promise so don't go to the police about 6 weeks later I heard that both of them were back inside for 12 months. After he got out I did see him start to walk into the street where our office was just as I had got into my van it was quite funny watching him run just for the hell of it I followed him for a short distance

When I was on a call out rota for the alarm systems we installed I saw many things as to how these criminals work the problem was the lack of police response and that was 20 years ago, I lost count of the number of times I was told the way I was carrying my 4 or 6 cell on my shoulder looked threatening by keyholder's as we investigated where the alarm had been triggered. A popular one I had a few times was the trigger the alarm and run do it a few times and hope that the alarm is then left off, it worked well on a couple of occasions when we left a police officer and his dog in the building while we went and stood off a short distance away making it clear we had left the alarm off (we hadn't) a short while later the K9 made an arrest as they came back to break in

 

[HappyHippyDad]

@jeremy
Really sorry for you chap. That's a lot of tools and a lot of money to replace them.
There's always going to be some horrible person around that will steal tools. You have to learn from this. You must now insure your tools, It's not that expensive. I add mine on to my PL insurance and it gives me great peace of mind. in addition, you must make sure that the tools are covered in your vehicle over night as some insurance companies offer this as an extra, but do not make it clear when you take out the policy.

In addition, dead locks. Good quality deadlocks. Both my neighbours vans have been broken into and tools stolen. Mine has not been touched (kiss of death!) and I think it is because of the deadlocks. The thieves want quick easy pickings and will go for the easy van, not the hard van. However, if they really want to get in, they will, hence the insurance.

Sorry again chap.

 

[Pete999]

The problem is that prospect of a stay at one of the HM Hotels is just that they have no punishment value anymore because they have become driven by the PC brigade and are there to rehabilitate not punish, is any surprise we have career criminals. Then you have the courts with the sentencing why give a prison sentence when the reality is only 50% of it will be served.
I've had a few close calls with people looking to steal stuff from my van one was a Saturday afternoon I had nipped into the office to pick something up I came out of the office to find a couple of lads who had been hanging round the area being chased off by one of the salesman from the car showroom opposite the police had already been called and arrived quite quickly the lads were identified by someone who knew who they were and when a police officer stopped them one ran off and the other was arrested, it went to court a couple of months later and his clever brief got him off by blaming the other guy in the foyer of the court I walked up to this smiling career crook and told him not to walk in that street again as if a saw him the first thin he would see would be the front of my van then the underside and when he saw daylight again I would be jumping on him I followed it with this is not a threat it is a promise so don't go to the police about 6 weeks later I heard that both of them were back inside for 12 months. After he got out I did see him start to walk into the street where our office was just as I had got into my van it was quite funny watching him run just for the hell of it I followed him for a short distance

When I was on a call out rota for the alarm systems we installed I saw many things as to how these criminals work the problem was the lack of police response and that was 20 years ago, I lost count of the number of times I was told the way I was carrying my 4 or 6 cell on my shoulder looked threatening by keyholder's as we investigated where the alarm had been triggered. A popular one I had a few times was the trigger the alarm and run do it a few times and hope that the alarm is then left off, it worked well on a couple of occasions when we left a police officer and his dog in the building while we went and stood off a short distance away making it clear we had left the alarm off (we hadn't) a short while later the K9 made an arrest as they came back to break in

When I had my fishing stuff nicked and got a pasting for mt\y troubles, I have the satisfaction to know that one of the Perps is missing what was left of his front teeth, felt like that bloke from death wish at the time, my wife wasn't to pleased though. especially after the Sheriff and his men left, just can't believe they reported it. the nerve of some people

 

[Baddegg]

@jeremy
Really sorry for you chap. That's a lot of tools and a lot of money to replace them.
There's always going to be some horrible person around that will steal tools. You have to learn from this. You must now insure your tools, It's not that expensive. I add mine on to my PL insurance and it gives me great peace of mind. in addition, you must make sure that the tools are covered in your vehicle over night as some insurance companies offer this as an extra, but do not make it clear when you take out the policy.

In addition, dead locks. Good quality deadlocks. Both my neighbours vans have been broken into and tools stolen. Mine has not been touched (kiss of death!) and I think it is because of the deadlocks. The thieves want quick easy pickings and will go for the easy van, not the hard van. However, if they really want to get in, they will, hence the insurance.

Sorry again chap.

Check your policy @HappyHippyDad, after all mine were stolen last week I discovered the actual money I should receive in no way reflects the value, as a chippy I was taught from a young age to look after and maintain my tools, I kept them in pristine condition.....turns out over 3 years old I’ll only get 50% of the actual value so even if they pay out I still won’t be able to replace what I’ve lost, lesson learnt for me ?

 

[Mike Johnson]

The criminal justice system seems to be on the side of the perpetrator rather than the householder, two burglars broke into a house and where rummaging through the kitchen cupboards when the house owners son came into the kitchen, he pointed his elbows and came down on the collar bones of one, jumped up and drop kicked the other then tied them elbow to elbow on the kitchen floor, to cut a long story short he was prosecuted for GBH by the burglars and was found guilty, this was over fifty five years ago, nothing's changed.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

Check your policy @HappyHippyDad, after all mine were stolen last week I discovered the actual money I should receive in no way reflects the value, as a chippy I was taught from a young age to look after and maintain my tools, I kept them in pristine condition.....turns out over 3 years old I’ll only get 50% of the actual value so even if they pay out I still won’t be able to replace what I’ve lost, lesson learnt for me ?

Jeez! I didn't know that.

Cheers Scott, that nice peace of mind I mentioned has now gone ??

So how much were your tools insured for and what was the payout? PM me if you don't want to get into too many private details out loud. I'm just interested in what to expect, as mine are bound to get stolen at some point.

 

[Baddegg]

Jeez! I didn't know that.

Cheers Scott, that nice peace of mind I mentioned has now gone ??

So how much were your tools insured for and what was the payout? PM me if you don't want to get into too many private details out loud. I'm just interested in what to expect, as mine are bound to get stolen at some point.

No worries mate, don’t want anyone else getting caught like me, I was happy with myself taking out the policy and should have read the small print ? I have/had £2.5k for tools and £2.5k for stock, I thought that would be enough as I never ever anticipated losing everything in one go, but to then find out I won’t even get like for like replacement as I believed I would was a real kick......I lost probably £4.5k tools plus a load of cable/downlights and consumer units......they had a field day.......must’ve been there ages and went prepared

 

[Strima]

I've jiggled things around since this picture was taken but all my expensive tools are in a vault bolted to the floor.