Time for a serious thread question.. Today some scrots broke into my house. I’m at the other end of the country and my pregnant mrs was at her mums. Her and her brother are sorting things and her bro will stay there till I get home. We can secure the house again fairly straight forward and we’ve traced all the important house keys except two items.

The first is my car key. I leave it at home when I come away as such the scroats have clearly picked it up. My wife has her key to the same car as she was out in it. So tonight we can park her brothers car behind and trap our car in. We’ll empty anything from the car. But clearly I need to get new keys for the car. Is this a dealer job? It’s a fairly new car with all modern alarms etc. will I have to wait until Monday for the local dealer to sort?

The second item nicked was the electronic key fob attached to the car key. This opens the front of the garage where my bikes are. They are all secured by gold standard motorbike chains/locks and ground anchors within the garage… But my wife can’t find the keys for these, so I guess could be missing too! OR highly likely they are just somewhere in the house and I can’t remember where. I tend to tuck them away. But it is a worry as paranoid me thinks they’re coming back for bikes. Our car will be parked against the garage door tonight, with her brothers close next to that and we will unplug the door disabling it. So the garage should be pretty secure. The plan is that tomorrow night I look for said keys and that might end the panic… But if not I’ll be down the local motorbike hardware store on Monday to buy new locks to lock the next links in the chains thus making the others redundant.

I know there’s lots of things I can do I wondered if anybody knew anything about electronic key fobs and disabling them. If the toerags have one how can I reset it so that the one they stole won’t work? Anybody know? Any experts in the house at this late hour? It’ll likely be Monday before I can call the company direct.

Help appreciated.

May be able to disable car keys from another one for the same car. Check the manual. My 2004 Ford can be tied back to a single key in just a few minutes with certain button pushes/lock movements. My 2005 golf was similar.

Hth

Surely you can disable the electronic opening on the garage door.

park you car against the garage door and pop the negative terminal off the battery? can your brother-in-law do this?

Thanks for replies guys.

Yeah unplugging the door disables it. Done that. Next problem is how to reset the door so the stolen fob will never work???

And the car will be nudged to the door tonight. Her brothers car will further block our car in tonight but not tomorrow night, so … disconnecting the battery sounds easier than my idea of taking a wheel off. But will that upset the electrics / alarms and stuff. If they have a key they could just pop the hood and reconnect it no??

Take the battery out and stick it in the garage – no chance of reconnecting it then!

Assuming there is no space in the garage for the car that is.

I’d hope your insurance comply would be on the case and get locksmiths etc round to you ASAP.

Currently, and hopefully for a little longer yet, the garage is full of bikes and outdoor gear these days.

I’d also begun to think about parking it a few streets away , that was idea number two until I can get to the dealer on Monday. Or to borrow a neighbours car and ask them to park behind us doing the same job as her brothers car.

Rockhopper, Yeah, now got the crime number so will call them in the morning.

Removing a coupe of HT leads from the compromised car along with the battery if you want to go belt and braces.

What’s the car? Disconnecting the battery for long periods can cause problems with a lot of modern cars – don’t do it without checking it’s fine on yours. If I was the thief, I’d be looking to come back in about a month for the car. Tonight is too soon – he’d have to assume you were on high alert and watching the place like a hawk.

Alternatively, try leaving the car on the drive with some kind of tracker inside? With any luck the culprits will drive off and lead you directly to their stash.

3 litre Audi estate. Being watched like a hawk as you say and will have the keys changed Monday.

Do you know the weirdest thing? Sure they stole a few nice things from the house, the cops think they took their time, they took the usual watches, jewellry, cash.. but they also nicked my three bottles of half empty after shave??? WTF. They left an ipad on the coffee table but nicked after shave. Nowt so weird as folk.

What’s stopping them breaking the window to your brothers car, taking the hand brake off, rolling it out of the way and stealing the Audi?

I would be taking the Audi to the Audi garage and leaving it there in the hands of the insurance company.

I would also move the bikes until you are 100% secure with new locks

Don’t leave your car on your drive they’ll just break in to it and roll it out of the way if they want yours. Ideally a garage of somewhere else until you can get the keys done.

I guess they could but it would set his alarms off in his car and hopefully both mrs and brother would see it happening and call plod. As for moving bikes.. If they’ve nicked the keys then I’ll have to spend a few hours cutting the current locks off to move them. A new set of padlocks one link up will deter them a little if they get that far until I get sorted. I’m sure I can get replacement keys.

It’s late but I’m clearly not sleeping tonight. Grrrr thieving scumbags.

You just said the police took ages come and you don’t want your family in harms way. So if they do come I hope you let them take it as its insured. You just don’t know who your dealing with.

Best bet is to leave a camera filming and let them have it if they try and give footage to the police

Go into any audi dealer and request the second key is disabled as lost. This can be done in minutes.

This key will still open the drivers door but the alarm will sound. No need to change all the locks. (That’s if you don’t have the new slot key)

This should address the concerns with the car

The police were pretty prompt, I said it was the thieves that took their time.. According to the police but you’re right they should let them take it if they show up. Filming it from inside is an idea if we hear them. To be honest if they really want anything they will take it but I’d rather deter them as much as possible up to the point that point.
Thanks for advice chaps – sleepless night being so far away.

Unfortunately I think you are probably safe for now, its in 1-2months time when insurance have paid out that they will be back.

Did the cops think it was organised crime job, or just druggies trying to get their next fix, that would probably determine whether the car is a target or not.

All aside being burgled is a horrible feeling and very unsettling. Think less about the material goods and more about how you can help your wife feel safe and secure during her pregnancy.

Sorry to hear this ti, my house was broken into two weeks ago, not something you need at all especially given Mrs ti’s current state.

Speak to your neighbours about the parking behind your car thing, my neighbours have been great and have helped me out sorting things.

Pull the fuse out for the ignition/starter motor. Must be awful getting burgled hope I never have to go through it.

I would put the steering on full lock with the wheels aimed uphill or at a kerbstone If at all possible. Do it on the blocking cars as well as yours.
Trying to manhandle a car out of the way after smashing a window and dropping the handbrake is twice as hard with the wheels not pointing straight.
You need to speak to garage door manufacturer re the door plipper . I think you will need a new plipper and prob a box of electronics from them. I dont recall any info on changing frequencies on my one. Hopefully wont be a complete motor assembly but it might as mine is a single unit.
Weird burglars too , leaving an Ipad and taking afterhsave? sounds like drunk alien teenagers

Or, make no attempt to secure anything, pop an armchair in the garage and sit waiting with a baseball bat in your lap……
😉

Sorry to hear of this 🙁

The garage door should be pretty easy to sort
Find out who manufactured it and then Google is your friend for new zappers and online manuals

Tying together a new zapper with your existing box at a different code should take a few button presses when you get the front cover off it

Best of luck

Sorry to hear this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Home-Security-Blank-Trip-Wire-Alarm-Anti-Burglar-Intruder-NEW-/131006656470

Wonder if you have to use a blank……..

Update.

The fence panels blow down during the storm which gave them easy access have now all been replaced. I took the day off and replaced, painted and fixed in 5 panels yesterday, thankfully there was enough sun to get it done.

Our car has been taken away to have the locks and keys replaced under insurance. they’ve lent us a car. should be back tomorrow.

when I got home I looked high and low and found the keys to the ground anchors so they hadnt stolen them, just my wife hadnt known where to look, phew!

disabling the electric garage was easy, unplug it! worked a treat. I have new fobs on their way and have also fitted padlocks to the runners which will stop it opening. nice tip from them company we bought them from. every little bit is a deterent.

so by and large seems ok, we’ve tidied the house up and listed missing items. still cant figure out the fact they stole 3 bottles of my aftershave but missed a laptop, weirdo’s.

thanks everybody for advice, it was difficult when it happened when I was away from home. STW rocks.

that’s rubbish thing to happen.

as above, if I was away on holiday I’d remove the specific fuse for the starter (and try and recall where I left it, and which slot it was!!)

kcal, me too, but I was away only for the weekend and the wife was home. burglars are just toerags but thankfully the important stuff is safe and sound.

The garage should have a enclosure box, the cables will go into that.
Inside there is a unit, there is normally a button on it that is for programming the fobs.
Try and find the make and reprogramme the fobs you have or buy another one with new fobs of eBay.
Do a search for “ellard” or “elard” on eBay, used them before and there pretty good. I have found it nearly as cheap to buy a new board and 3 fobs than buying a fob only.
Feel you pain, I got burgled years ago, scrotes even pinched my pet cockatiel!

I wonder if it was this chap who burgled you russ295?

Man stole parrot during burglary fearing it would ‘grass on him to the police’

ah, sorry, I meant if you were trying to immobilise the car now — before a new key could be ‘cut’ or chipped.

but yes, anything can happen when absence is matter of days or even hours. ouch..
my flat was burgled yonks ago, it still makes me feel uncomfortable – saddest thing they took was some basic watch that had been my father’s..

The reason they left the iPad was because of tracking software possibly. Try installing some and leaving it in the boot of the car in the spare wheel well. 💡