My stolen bike on Ebay « Singletrack Forum

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My stolen bike on Ebay

75 posts & 49 voices | Started 5 months ago by Basil | Latest reply from Bazz

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2bit - Member

My nicked bike appeared on eBay (spotted by the STW compound eyes) months after it was nicked.
eBay wouldn't do anything about it as there was no 100% way to prove it was stolen & mine.

Local police (Hammersmith, London) were informed & initially reccomended just buying it back!? After winning the bike & getting the sellers mobile no., I passed it Onto the police for them to arrange the meeting. The number popped up in their DB referenced to several other crimes, some violent, all for some form of theft.

Police had a good idea who he was & busted his door down. He had mine along with several other bikes.
I got my bike back thanks to STW & the local police & I'm very glad I didnt go round with mates & bombers.

Posted 5 months ago #
kimbers - Member

call the po pos on his ass

dont be surprised if they do sweet fa though
couldnt be arsed to go after the guy ebaying my cammera, even tho i had proof of purchase, serial no. etc

Posted 5 months ago #
I_Ache - Member

Win the bike arrange to meet and take a pair of these to own him with.

DSC_0014 by i_ache, on Flickr

I have some in the shed if it is anywhere Birmingham.

Posted 5 months ago #
hora - Member

couldnt be arsed to go after the guy ebaying my cammera, even tho i had proof of purchase, serial no. etc

but now you know you let someone get away with taking something from you. Even if insurance pays out you've got to tick a box on subsequent renewals for claims. Plus do you really want someone to be buying his spliffs and Stella with his bird Chantelle to get jiggy on thanks to your largesse

Posted 5 months ago #
flow - Member

Win the bike arrange to meet and take a pair of these to own him with.

About all they are good for

Posted 5 months ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

Definately inform the Police.

Most people who nick bikes are not exactly the best people in society so likely to be involved in other criminal activity. Telling them about your bike gives them an excuse to go and see what else they have been up to.

Besides dont you want some form of revenge to the person who nicked your bike?

Posted 5 months ago #
nosedive - Member

I love that video. could we have a whole thread of people trying to steal bikes from kickboxers? that would make my day

Posted 5 months ago #
Basil - Member

24 hours left on auction. He has bids so somebody would be buying stolen property.
One phone call from police this am.

Posted 5 months ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

bid yourself and bid high to get it - I would. Once you win then you can sort out what to do depending on the police action but don't let the bike get away

Posted 5 months ago #
yunki - Member

I love that video. could we have a whole thread of people trying to steal bikes from ~~kickboxers~~ Ben Stiller's camp twin brother?

FTFY

Posted 5 months ago #
oneoneoneone - Member

what was the outcome??

did the police get your bike back.

Posted 5 months ago #
Rockdodger - Member

Has it all come to a good conclusion for you and the thief been dealt with.

Posted 5 months ago #
Basil - Member

Auction ended Thursday 8pm.
No reply from police by Thursday noon so I called the police again,They said I had to make a statement. I said no problem. They made an appointment for my to give a statement on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I called EBay. Did you know the only person who can inform Ebay that goods for sale are stolen is a law enforcement offficer, not me the owner of the goods. Highlight of that conversation was "It must be annoying having your stolen property for sale on Ebay".
And yes I did try the you are facilitating the sale of stolen goods point but they very clearly had a stock position and reponses on this issue. Probably best described as we don't care and you cannot do nothing about it. They did not stop the listing or auction.
The seller had bids and I was watching the time run down.So some innocent was about to pay good money for stolen goods and have it confiscated sooner or later.
E-mailed the seller. Proved to him it was my bike. He drove to Police station and handed bike over along with a "I bought it at a car boot sale" statement.
I made my statement on Sunday, identified the bike ,which is quite badly scratched and marked.
Civilian investigator (Police do not do the investigation!) stated with no lines of enquiry the matter is closed.
Called the insurance company. They will have a salvage company collect the bicycle.
Hindsight would suggest, I have wasted my time and the purchase of bolt croppers would appear to be a low risk career move.

Posted 5 months ago #
kimbers - Member

ebay + police = criminals have an easy life

Posted 5 months ago #
blablablacksheep - Member

i hate to say this but...

My friends in the police all say the same thing, it isnt the police men and women who cause a lot of these problems with victims being unable to get a good end result but the CPS they are utter useless

From the storys i have heard they fail to prosecute people who even when police have clear evidence and witness statements they still dont follow through due to "not worth the judgement"

Point is if the CPS arent willing to prosecute people for these crimes then the police dont really care that much about following through.

The end result is, rough justice is the only way it seems, should of asked to view the bike, take a video camera+some friends..

"hello id like to see the bike"

"say hello to my friends tom dick and i going to punch your face in"...

i dont encourage this, but with a few mates who knows what can happen.(helps if mates are beefy and 6ft 6 /armed service)

Posted 5 months ago #
TandemJeremy - Member

Suggest to the insurance co that you buy it back . they will probably only charge you a nominal sum.

You did prevent the continuing sale of a stolen bike and stopped someone profiting from it.

Posted 5 months ago #
timc - Member

Basil why did you not win the bidding?

Posted 5 months ago #
drinkmoreport - Member

i also don't understand why you din't win the auction either?

Posted 5 months ago #
neninja - Member

It sounds like the individual selling it probably was an innocent party in the theft (although if you buy a decent bike at a car boot sale for considerably less than market value it's a bit obvious it's nicked).

If he was actually a career criminal, he'd have known that Ebay and the police are too busy to catch thieves and fences who use the internet and would have just sold it.

Posted 5 months ago #
dirtyrider - Member

cn we have a link now to the auction so we can save the seller to flag up anything else he sells?

Posted 5 months ago #
Basil - Member

I did not bid on the bike, I used the ask question function to contact the seller.
The civilian investigator believes the seller to be innocent party (suggested I ask the insurance company to give the bike back to him)
The insurance company's salvage company will ascribe a value which I will be offered to by the bike back at. The old practise of handing bike back to original owner has ceased with this insurance company due to appointment of a salvage company,

Posted 5 months ago #
timmys - Member

I'm very surprised the seller didn't just cancel the auction when you emailed him! Very risky tactic!

I'm sure placing a huge bid so you definitely win is always the way forward as you know the bike isn't going to end to end up with someone else and it gives you time to get the police to sort their act out.

Posted 5 months ago #
jonah tonto - Member

blacksheep - of course the CPS dont want to prosecute in this kind of case. where is the profit in it for them ? this is why people loose faith in the police, its not the cps you have dealings with its some poor copper who dosn't want to tell you that 'activity based costing' means the courts wont let him help you. this leads to a situation where all people see the police doing is breaking balls and never helping.

Posted 5 months ago #
van cough cough - Member

You have to say something.

In 2000 I had a house break-in and my GF MT Tam was stolen. Insurance pay out was rapid; two weeks later I was heading down the high street on the replacement. Outside a cafe I saw my 'old' bike. I immediately locked my new bike to the old one and demanded to know who in the cafe was the 'owner'. I was angry, the bike was stolen in a house break-in not from outrside a shop, so it felt more personal, and invasive. Anyhoo...

Just got loads of sniggering. I phoned the police, they threatened to arrest me when I questioned why they were letting all the customers of the cafe go. They handled the situation badly. Luckily I had also phoned the bike shop and they came up the road to help me out. I had a very close relationship with that shop. Anyhoo...

I got to keep both bikes. Insurance company wanted £100 for the old bike. The old bike was in very good condition despite its ordeal. So insurance company got a few quid back, and for £1100 and a slightly higher insurance premium I ended up with £2000 worth of bikes.

Posted 5 months ago #
FuzzyWuzzy - Member

Err you didn't really expect the police to detain everyone in a cafe over a stolen bike did you? You should have just waited for the guy to come out...

As for the police, whilst I'm sure they're hands are often tied by budgets, meeting targets and the CPS there's still far too many occasions where they seem to show very little interest in dealing with stolen bikes. It often seems to come down to whether there's a cop that's into cycling in your local nick which isn't right.

Posted 5 months ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

"Basil why did you not win the bidding?"

What does that acheive though?

Posted 5 months ago #
Singlespeed_Shep - Member

hopefully means the Basil would win the auction and stop other innocent party being drawn into it.

I'd be annoyed if i'd won a bike that turned out to be stolen and the person that knew did nothing, and then have to go through the police.

Posted 5 months ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

Ok thats a fair enough point but it still wouldnt mean you get the bike off the seller, or stop them listing it again?

Posted 5 months ago #
Mr Agreeable - Member

I'm sure placing a huge bid so you definitely win is always the way forward as you know the bike isn't going to end to end up with someone else

The seller could still accept a second chance offer. However if they're greedy (most bike thieves are) or your bike hasn't attracted much interest (mine didn't, it was a rigid singlespeed with V-brakes) you could potentially stall them for long enough for the police to take action.

Posted 5 months ago #
batfink - Member

Seems to me that both Basil and the seller handled this whole situation pretty well. Assuming that Basil was satisfactorally compensated by his insurance company, it's really only cost him the ball-ache associated with making the claim (not insignificant I know).

The person that seems to have lost-out here is the seller: losing whatever he paid at the car-boot sale (assuming that story is true). But to be honest, as others have said, buying a high-value and much-nicked item at a car-boot is a risky strategy.... and he got stung.

Fair play to the chap for handing it in to the fuzz, and not stringing the whole thing out further.

Whether its the Police or the CPS, it's a bit of a farce when you can hand them a couple of thousand quids worth of stolen goods on a plate, along with (potentially) the perp, and nobody seems particularly interested.

Makes you want to go and have a riot about it

Posted 5 months ago #
foxyrenard - Member

The easy way to make it hard for the thieves to sell would be to make it mandatory (this would probably need a law) to publish the frame number with any bike advert. Ebay could easilly implement this themselves but they make millions from stolen goods and don't loose any sleep over it.
Always ask for a frame number from the seller, that is showing they are honest. check it maches when u pick up the bike.

I am looking at buying a new bike for my girlfriend right now. recycledbikesno19 was selling two bikes on ebay and had soled bikes previously. He was asking for cash and gave a mobile number.
So I asked him about one of the bikes;
Dear recycledbikesno19,

Hi,
Can I also pay by paypal as it is easyer for me?
apart from any cosmetic damage is the bike fully functional?
could you please give me the frame number from under the crank?
Thanks
Is colection possible in the evenings, going to be a present for my girlfriend

- Foxyrenard

He replied;

Dear Foxyrenard,

no cash on collection because of the cost of fees
collection is ok if you win it also ill have to dig bike out for ser/number as its packed away in the garage

- recycledbikesno19

AND REMOUVED THE BIKES FROM AUCTION STRAIT AFTER !!!

auctions were:
MANS GT AGGRESSOR MOUNTAIN BIKE 21 SPEED
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170750211859?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

and

MANS SPECIALIZED HARDROCK MOUNTAIN BIKE 24 SPEED
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170750208564?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&
_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

he has now listed a different bike, Calls himself steve tel:07961423108

Thaught cheap bike may buy but would feel to guilty. he is selling ford escort with numberplate E734 XJO, so police could locate hime and ask where he got the bikes if they wanted to.

Ask for SN. ebay like criminals. So sad that people can sell stollen goods so openly. Criminal law is only good for giving out speeding tickets, if police catch a robber they usually have to let them go. If buying from a car boot get a reciept with frame number and ask for ID.
If the public didnt buy suspicious bike it would be harder to sell them.
Secure your bikes properly. cheap locks can be cut with cheap cutters.
Chain to an anchor point in you garage. search bike theft on youtube you can get security ideas when you watch some of the thieves methods.

Posted 5 months ago #
foxyrenard - Member

The law seems to help only when the thieves are caught red handed. there are police operations just not on a large enough scale.
Here is a cool documentory
on "The London programme"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdugFzCi24
Also shows how mant professional thieves there are

Posted 5 months ago #
ncfenwick - Member

cn we have a link now to the auction so we can save the seller to flag up anything else he sells?

Like he said

Posted 5 months ago #
birky - Member

Motorbikes too MCN link

Posted 5 months ago #
andyl - Member

From the link on the 1st page, look how much stolen stuff people have bought off the guy: http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=09jennygee112&&_trksid=p4340.l2560&iid=260897941610&sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

Posted 5 months ago #