[Closed] I've bought a stolen bike. - Follow up.

OIC will get back to you eventually.
might be on leave, working nights, checking facts, working a higher priority case.....

might be on leave, working nights, checking facts, working a higher priority case....

He's been on duty since Tuesday. Email still works when it's dark so nights is a crap excuse, anyway.

If it's important enough to send 2 plod round my house it must be worth picking a phone up occasionally?

Working a higher priority case? I'd say that if I was caught out being idle, too.

I suspect that they have a nabbed a serial offender and are just visiting everyone that bought bikes off them through ebay.

They may not even know who the original owner was.

wwaswas - Member

I suspect that they have a nabbed a serial offender and are just visiting everyone that bought bikes off them through ebay.

Even so turning up at someone's house with no details is just plain stupid and a waste of everybody's time and money.

In my recent experience, the police don't give a toss about stolen bikes. 👿

checking facts

If only they had done that before they knocked on the OP's door eh?

OP - I Imagine they have asked the lawful 'owner' for bike i.d details and they maybe don't have them.

As an interesting counter view...

I attended a job where a person had fallen from a bike and sustained an injury. The person had left the scene and abandoned the bike. The bike was a fairly nice £1k ish 29er in as new condition with various extras added (lights/saddle pack full of tools/semi slick tyres etc). When we finally found the rider, I engaged him in generic bike chat and he knew very little about the bike. WAsn't aware the wheels were a funny size, hadn't really thought about the tyre change etc etc. I raised this with the police in a "This bike is probably stolen" kind of way. Rider had previous for various types of theft, handling and other bits and pieces.

Anyway, turns out the same type of bike had been stolen 2 months earlier in a town, maybe 15 miles away. Police ring the victim of crime, and ask him if the bike has any identifying features, so they can prove this bike is stolen and arrest the thief (or chap in posession of stolen item/search his property etc).

Victim says he's not interested as insurance has paid out, and is cross that the police have rung him at night. hangs up.

MAn with long history of theft and possession of stolen goods rides away on probably stolen bike, police unable to do anything about it.

This tale doesn't really relate to yours, but I just thought I'd share it.

Justice was not done in that case, but Plod tried to help.

I wonder what that would be like...?

Even so turning up at someone's house with no details is just plain stupid and a waste of everybody's time and money.

This^^

Sell it, quick.

I had a couple of bikes stolen recently (not joking and trying to claim its mine.......)

What was the bike in question?

the plod probably haven't got back to you because they are generally only good for stealing small children's moto x bikes and sitting in speed camera vans eating pies.
The police are some of the most dishonest people i have ever had dealings with.

b45her - Member

the plod probably haven't got back to you because they are generally only good for stealing small children's moto x bikes and sitting in speed camera vans eating pies.
The police are some of the most dishonest people i have ever had dealings with.

sitting in speed camera vans eating pies.

Only in Wigan!

One thing's for sure... there are so few Police out on patrol that there's never been a better time to speed, drink-drive or use a cellphone.

sitting in speed camera vans eating pies.

Only in Wigan!

Surely it'd be a Wigan kebab...

just a thought as i never read your other thread.

are you sure they were policeman ?

it could be a scam where the seller sells a bike, then gets his mates round to your house ( as he has the address, make of bike etc), says there police, you've bought a stolen bike etc etc, they take it, and the now seller has your money and now the bike.

or am i just paranoid......... 😯 😉

Thread resurrection!

Another follow up if anyone can be arsed.

I eventually returned the bike to Halifax cop shop. The Plod in charge couldn't be bothered to come and get it, so I delivered it to a place between the two. Guess what? Halifax coppers had no idea I was coming. I showed them all the emails and crime ref etc. and they issued a receipt for it. I have done my part.

I mailed the plod in charge to say I'd done it and I had no response. Nor to the 4 or 5 follow ups I sent. Idle, workshy barstards. No idea if anything happened to the guy I bought it from. I bet not.

eBay and Paypal refuse to refund my money as it is outside the 60 day period. Each blame the other.

So I am about £500 out of pocket.

Bit of an expensive life lesson, but don't buy anything from Ebay of any value. Don't pay Paypal fees as you get no protection for it.

Bitter? You bet.

Sounds like you did the right thing, it's a shame that the system doesn't see you as a victim of crime as well.

I wonder what the chances of it turning up in some police auction in 6 months time are?

Don't understand? Five months ago plod comes to get bike - possibly stolen. They leave with a flea in their ear. Despite some chasing nothing at all happens for 5 months. Then all of a sudden you decide to hand the bike over to the cops? Why didn't you keep it? Sounds like the cops in Halifax were as confused by this as I am - I presume I'm missing a vital part of this tale? 😐

Even so turning up at someone's house with no details is just plain stupid and a waste of everybody's time and money.

Bit like the 2 plod who knocked on my door and wanted to know why I didn't attend court as a witness to a burglary next door? Seeing as I hadn't given a statement, (apart from stating at the time that I didn't see him as there was a power cut while the offender ran across the unlit garden chased by a WPC) received any communication from them or even given them my name.
They just mumbled 'oh sorry' and left. 😐

From your story it sounds like you didn't get a great result from the cops you dealt with.
But don't tar all with the same brush....my wife is a police officer and works her ass off dealing with all sorts from domestic violence to rape, fraud, drugs, sudden deaths, plane crashes, missing kids. She often is out of the door before 7:15 and doesn't get home until 10pm (supposed to finish at 6) because she's dealt with jobs all the way through, rather than leaving them for the next shift.
Last week she went in early (7am) for a special operation she'd been asked to work on and didn't get home until 2:30am the following morning. She then had to get up at 5am to go in and brief the superintendent and clear up loose ends and didn't get home that day until gone 8pm.

Oh, and last year she was in the office and overheard a conversation about a stolen bike that had been found in a scally's house, realised it sounded like the description of a bike that had been reported stolen earlier that day, confirmed it was and delivered it back to the owner (who was delighted) later that same day......

Don't understand? Five months ago plod comes to get bike - possibly stolen. They leave with a flea in their ear. ... Then all of a sudden you decide to hand the bike over to the cops?

Wrong. I spent 2 months trying to get the Police to either come and get it, or tell me where I should take it. You would think that would be the easy bit, but oh no. The Officer in Charge (!) would never ring me back despite dozens of messages left at the station and emails. After turning up out of the blue you would think they would be keen, but not a bit.

I said I would return almost from the outset it as it was the right thing to do. So eventually it was settled that I would take it to Halifax station. They would contact them and arrange for a receipt etc. But they didn't.

If I'd have been a less honest type I maybe should have forgotten about it and kept my head down. Or sold it on eBay; there's a route without any consequences.

The remaining time I've spent chasing ebay/paypal through indemnity claims and their (laughable) customer services.

stumpy - glad to hear your missus tries to do her job properly. Sadly, her workload may be down to PC's like I dealt with not doing half they should do, so others have to take up the slack.

Bitter? You bet

Indeed. I'd have at least five pints, actually...

I too am unsure why you have taken it to Halifax police station. Why didn't you give it to the police when they came to get it? Or keep it. Now all that will happen is you are £500 down and it will end up in an auction in a few months time. If they can't be bothered/have no interest in chasing it why would you do yourself out of £500? You brought it in good faith. They had no evidence it was stolen/details of the bike when they came to see you and have failed to show you that that situation has changed.
And I'm no fan of eBay or PayPal but surely there has to be a limit to how long they are willing to cover you. And that limit is 60 days. Why didn't you start the claim the day after the police initially came round?
I too am indeed rather confused.

Idle, workshy barstards

Is my consistent & repeated experience with them.

I'm going to blame all my challenges at work today on "cutbacks". 😆

First why did you hand over the bike?

Second, if the bike doesnt get back to the owner you may be entitled to havee it returned to you. Do some research on this and formally register interest wiht the Police and follow up regularly. One reason can be that the owner's insurance has paid out so he is NOT entitled to get it back as that is double recovery, but insurance dont want it as they dont care (happens a lot with mobile phones).
Third sue Paypal, take out a european small claims and take them on, it is the luxembourg entity you are after and they will refund you if you stick at it. I did and I got my £100 back.

toppers - Halifax was at the suggestion of the Police.

I didn't hand it over straight away as they came asking for "that bike from ebay". They didn't know when I bought it or what it was. Since I had 2 bikes from eBay, what should I have done except ask for more information?

60 days was co-incidentally less time than it took for the Police to get my details from eBay and let me know there was an issue. Is there any way I could influence that?

My main guidance was my moral compass if someone has lost a bike, why should they not get it back? It's not their fault.

Mind you, if they had reported the listing to eBay when it was running, they could still have got their bike back and I would be significantly better off

I wonder what the chances of it turning up in some police auction in 6 months time are?

What size is it? I could be interested. Sorry 😯

Sounds like you've been dealt a ah1t hand there, especially when you tried to do the right thing.

You shouldnt have handed over until they got a court order.

Moral compass? most likely it is covered by insurance, so the victim would have been less out of pocket than you. Its about who is loosing the least. You can ask to contact victim direct.

Forget 60 days its a smoke screen, go after them for an illegal contract and get your money back.

I am all for moral compass. Really I am. I would have just told them if they want it to come back with the actual details of the bike and they can have it. You brought it in good faith. The owner doesn't seem very bothered.

Go back and ask them has it been claimed yet, if not ask for it back

bellefied - Member

Go back and ask them has it been claimed yet, if not [s]ask for[/s][u][b]steal[/b][/u] it back

FTFY

sitting in speed camera vans eating pies

camera vans are operated by civilians. Cutbacks, see.

You shouldnt have handed over until they got a court order.

what "court order" would that be? You are right that if insurance has paid out the the other party with a claim to ownership of the bike is the insurance company, not the original loser, and often they aren't interested. We recovered a stolen bike recently and returned it to the owner during the investigation; he'd had a payout and the insurance company told him to keep both bikes (I really should find out who he was insured with!).

OP, if you bought the bike in good faith then lawful ownership is not as simple as it sounds. You might want to look into the Police Property Act, where in effect a magistrate decides who owns property in the possession of the police (which we assume the bike now is).

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/60-61/30/contents

Yours, CTM (useless workshy b*st*rd plod).

Did you pay through paypal with a credit card? If so doesn't there insurance cover your loss?

What bike was it ???

What court order? - that'd be the 'sorry it isn't here anymore so you can't sieze it and unless you really really need it for evidence and want to charge me with obstruction which you can't because you clearly aren't that bothered about collecting it then the owner will be needing to get a court to order me to deliver up court order'. That's not a pop at the police, it's practical justice.