Forum menu
My bike stolen in July.Insurance has paid out. Now for sale on Ebay.
Do something? Do nothing?
Why on earth would you do nothing?
link
Tell the insurance company that the bike they have paid out on has appeared.
Tell Ebay just to cover youself.
Tell plod, you never know.
NO LINK, softly, softly, catchy monkey.
do something
contact one of the plod on here for advice???
I'd do something for sure, at least try and find out how the guy came accross it, ask him how long he's had it etc
I'd be happy to ask him a couple of questions if you feel uncomfortable doing it. It would be good if some of these bike thieves were caught out.
Checked his feedback. He has sold a random selection of stuff, not been selling lots of bikes.
Bikes still got my brand new XT Spd's on.
Anger growing.
is it in the your area? if you ask at the local police station they may send a plain clothes officer with you to view it. once you confirm it is yours. they should take the bike back and arrest the offender.
Just think about how hard you worked, or how many hours you did to buy that bike. Then this guy decides he deserves it more than you and is now making a quick few quid at your expense.
I'm sure there's some good advice on previous posts about how to deal with this exact situation. I guess the outcome you want is for him to get nicked...?
chances are if you found it on ebay, go with the place and get it back, the insurance company probably won't bother trying to get the pay out back, or take the stolen bike back, so you are quids in.
As the insurance have paid out it's theirs isn't it?
If collection is an option bid enough that no-one can outbid you. Two choices either turn up to collect with some big mates or tell the police and meet them at the address.
here's a true story rather than just rumour and speculation:
I spotted a mates nicked bike on ebay.. I called him, he called the police, and the police seized the bike and nicked the fella that very afternoon..
he was only moving it on so they let him walk but he had some other parts which they also seized and they recovered parts that had already been sold..
after a lengthy process and investigation my buddy got most of his bike back..
so although you may hear some made up stories about how little the police care about bike theft, there are some success stories too..
If collection is an option bid enough that no-one can outbid you. Two choices either turn up to collect with some big mates or tell the police and meet them at the address.
Do that
nmdbase - Member
As the insurance have paid out it's theirs isn't it?
Yes, however they very rarely bother to collect the bike back. I know two people who have been in a similar situation and both have kept theirs.
Take some mates and give him a right going over. Theres a video below for inspiration.
Make sure you get him to wear a brighty coloured cycling helmet around his neck for added comedy value.
Be sure to film it to, and then post it up on here. I'm sure all cyclists would love to see a bike thief getting a good seeing to.
Contact police - some Singletrack test bikes were nicked and ended up on Ebay - the police were very helpful and assisted with the 'buyer collects' moment.
Every little thing that makes nicking bikes less attractive is a good thing.
after a lengthy process and investigation my buddy got most of his bike back..
[b][u]so although you may hear some made up stories about how little the police care[/b][/u] about bike theft, there are some success stories too..
Why presume that they are made up ?
When my bike was nicked from my locked garage last year, the police did nothing useful at all despite the fact that a very good quality CCTV image of the thief was available to them. They didn't even come to look at it for 8 days.
When they traced the guy 4 weeks later the bike was long gone.
Even though he was recognised instantly as a known burglar by the officer who eventually came to look at the footage.
Just telephoned the local police station number, No answer!!
My brother had his bike picked and reported it stolen the insurance paid out and then about a month later it too appeared on ebay. so he informed the cops they got involved they seized the bike (and four others) the bloke got a fine and community service, after around two months he gother his bike back and the insurance did not care that they had already paid out. tell the cops and do not go round with the heaviest as if they are tracking this guy and you buy the bike you are handling stolen goods and risk getting done yourself.
I had my bike stolen from the car in Edinburgh and it was sold on ebay to someone on here. I went on a group ride and noticed a bike that looked very much like my stolen one in the pack about 10 months after it went missing. After inspection,the titanium bottle bolts were still in place and once i found out the frame number,it matched up and i arranged to meet up to get my frame back. To cut a long story short.. we sussed out where the guy that sold the bike on Ebay worked.The police in Edinburgh were told where he worked and we passed his name etc along with his phone number over to the police to take over from there. (sanny,who was on the group ride,even rang the guys place of work to see if he was still working there, got the receptionist who was about to transfer the call..and he had to hang up!) This confirmed he still worked there.. but the police showed no interest in pulling a finger out and asking where HE got the bike from in the first place.
Its a waste of police time in the big city. I would move on after reporting it and dont waste your time chasing it although it would definitely be worth reporting it as these thieves need stopped.
As before.. I have pointed out that you all need to ask for proof of purchase when buying 2nd hand off the classifieds if you arent sure where it came from in the first place. You dont have to but it sure takes the piss (like the OP has found out) when you find out the reality of where and how it ends up.Especially when it leaves you completely out of pocket.
sorry Neal.. I was being a bit of a nob..
Just spoken to local police,seem keen on taking action,especially as there is no doubt the bike is my stolen bike.
I have bought bikes 2nd hand before but I have always gained proof of original purchase.
When the theft orginally happened the value was more than £3000. We got no more action than a phone call and a crime number.
Basil don't post a link until after a result just incase someone emails abuse or a lot of questions/any suspicion etc to the tealeaf. As said softly softly. Innocent questions from you- bid to win etc. Don't tell ebay as they might pull auction and the bike may then be thrown in a canal/disapear forever.
Just the Police IMO
please let us know how it goes!
martinxyz. At the very least why didn't you ask to speak to the guys boss and enlighten him?
Glad the police seem keen to help Basil. One of my stolen bikes was spotted by someone on here in the cash converters in town and through that very nice guy and the police they got it back for me. I rang the insurers (who had already paid out) as legally it was theirs, but as it needed some minor repairs and a new front wheel, they just let me keep it! Result! I hope you have similar success - after all, you can never have too many bikes! 😀
I had exactly the same situation about a year ago. I got a mate to contact the seller through Ebay to get some beter pictures so that I could be 100% it was mine. Once I was sure, I contacted the police and gave them the frame number etc. They recovered the bike, although it was located about 100 miles away.
Initially the insurance company, (M&S) said that if I wanted to keep the bike I'd have to return the full payout sum. Seeing as it was a "new for old policy" there was no way that was going to happen as I'd already splashed out on an Intense Tracer.
I told the Insurance co. where it was to enable them to collect it but they never did. I contacted them a couple of weeks later and they said I could keep it if I collected myself.
Quids in.....until the next renewal quote came through, but that's another story.
Good luck with the recovery!
Had the replacement and had the renewal!!
Would like to see a thief caught and find out how my bike is for sale 250 miles away?
I believe STWer Madbillmacbill had the same ebay situation. It worked out for him almost the same as what Albino is saying, so he ended up with a knackered old Giant and a nice new Orange.
Could have been traded against a drug debt etc. Could have been someone who is 'mobile as a lifestyle' that's then sold it on themselves to a contact (wholesaled), could literally have been sold on which you didn't notice and the new owner is two/three times removed etc etc.
Thieves aren't all stupid. There will also be people frequenting here for info, tips etc who ride who won't blink about buying a nicked bike then selling it on.
Ps. The seller could be down the road from you but list elsewhere to avoid suspicion with the idea to post the bike out? Don't forget thieves do know how to use a post office if they are good at fencing stolen goods effectively
why did no one post this?
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cube-on-ebay
see half way down for a guaranteed smile.
need I say more? Call the five-oh right away!
I am a police officer and yes they should follow it up. If it is for sale in another force area it slows things down a bit as they will have to get the other force to do the necessary. The local cops should take a statement from you listing how you know its yours as just saying the make and model is clearly not enough. Scratches, parts fitted, frame number etc, things that make it unique to you to identify it as yours. You sound positive its your looking at a picture you just need to list what makes it so clear in a statement. If there is enough to prove the identity of the bike steps should be taken to collar the person unlawfully in posession of it and lock em up. If that goes to plan they can search their house and anywhere else occupied or controlled by them for similar items. Very often insufficient to prove the theft but handling stolen goods might work. There are certain defences but depends how he came by it.
Not sure how the insurance company fits in either way if it is stolen the only difference is they are the complainant/owner and you are a witness instead. If you have been paid out think you may get the option to buy it from the ins company? Hope that helps.
Am I right in thinking if you got you bike stolen it goes like this...
1. Owner reports bike as stolen - police not interested, too much hassle so just give you a crime number.
2. Owner puts up posts in forums etc.. effectively the MTB community works as detectives.
3. Owner contacts police with info and police take action!
I guess its the same with cars or any stolen property...its just a case of when it gets spotted by someone..
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.
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
Win the bike arrange to meet and take a pair of these to own him with.
[url= http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4173916864_5b29b61301_b.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/29930426@N04/4173916864/ ]DSC_0014[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/29930426@N04/ ]i_ache[/url], on Flickr
I have some in the shed if it is anywhere Birmingham.
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 8)
Win the bike arrange to meet and take a pair of these to own him with.
About all they are good for 😉
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?
I love that video. could we have a whole thread of people trying to steal bikes from kickboxers? that would make my day
24 hours left on auction. He has bids so somebody would be buying stolen property.
One phone call from police this am.
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
I love that video. could we have a whole thread of people trying to steal bikes from [s]kickboxers[/s] [b]Ben Stiller's camp twin brother[/b]?
FTFY
what was the outcome??
did the police get your bike back.
Has it all come to a good conclusion for you and the thief been dealt with.
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.
ebay + police = criminals have an easy life
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) 😆
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.
Basil why did you not win the bidding?
i also don't understand why you din't win the auction either?
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.
cn we have a link now to the auction so we can save the seller to flag up anything else he sells?
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,
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.
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.
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 s****ing. 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.
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.
"Basil why did you not win the bidding?"
What does that acheive though?
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.
Ok thats a fair enough point but it still wouldnt mean you get the bike off the seller, or stop them listing it again?
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.
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 😯
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.
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"
Also shows how mant professional thieves there are
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
Motorbikes too [url= http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/General-news/2011/December/dec1311-police-recover-9-stolen-bikes-after-complaints/ ]MCN link[/url]
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
At some point in the future politicians and the police will wake up to the ebay problem
But in the meantome its an outrage that ebay and the police don't take the issue seriously
it wouldn't take much to deter criminals, the frame numners idea is excellent and would work on cameras and phones etc.
even if all it did was say this item is reported stolen and cannot be listed it would make life harder for the criminals
Is there a link to basil's bike on ebay so we know who that seller is?
inform the police.
Had exactly the same scenario.
Insurance had already paid out.
We (police & friend) made contact with the seller, agreed a buy & meet up. The police then went to the meet and relieved him of the bike once ID of the bike had been confirmed).
The police then held on to the bike until I turned up with a letter from the insurance (M&S) saying that I could have it.
When my wife's bike was stolen she spotted it a couple of weeks later on E-bay. She informed the police and was told that the frame number alone wasn't enough information for them to act, even though you can clearly see the shop sticker at the top of the the down tube. Looking at the seller's history it was blatantly obvious what he was (and probably still is) up to. The insurance paid out but it's galling to know he's got away with it.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/specialized-hardrock-sport-/150616338015?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item23116eee5f#ht_500wt_1223
Whether it would do any good or not i don't know, but if everyone was to bombard the IPCC with complaints then maybe they would collectivley be forced to act.