My Car Has Been Stolen

[219]

How does it sit with insurance when the keys have been handed over , albeit under duress ?

That used to be a prime reason for refusal of a claim .

 

[CarlPea]

Does Mercedes Me allow a car to be remotely disabled ?

It would be ideal if , after first phoning police , and hopefully having them round in case scum come back , the car could be immobilised with a simple phone call , and report its location back .

Not all tech is bad .

Same would apply to all those losing cars with keyless go .

No, however you can track your car live and pass the information onto the police.

 

[MancMike]

Then the keys were robbed. It was a robbery.

He didn't give them away. It's not the same as leaving keys in your front door or leaving them in the ignition.

 

[st13phil]

How does it sit with insurance when the keys have been handed over , albeit under duress ?

I think that what happened to John fairly falls into the category of Robbery:

Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear​

Note the "threat of force or by putting the victim in fear" bit. I fancy that an insurer would struggle to wheedle out of a claim arising from the circumstances John described.

 

[markjay]

From memory, the insurance requirement is that the keys are not left in or near the vehicle.

I don't think there's an issue if the key is lost or stolen.

 

[clk320x]

John. Do you have CCTV?

 

[whitenemesis]

My commiserations, what a horrible, horrible tale! Sounds like it was stolen to order too, it appears to have been a well planned theft.

Sadly this sort of thing has become more common as car security has increased - we're now the weakest link in the chain as far as thieves are concerned

Don't really know what can be done to combat it, only four options are:

1) Turn your house into a fortress. Not a nice option IMO
2) Decrease car security so theft no longer involves any risk to the owner
3) Ensure every car is fitted with an always-on tracker, though this is an invasion of privacy
4) Buy an Alfa so it throws a strop before it's even made it off the driveway

I'd be happy going with Option 4.

This was in our car park this afternoon, think I'd be quite happy with option #4 as well

 

[clk320x]

This was in our car park this afternoon, think I'd be quite happy with option #4 as well

until you really need to go somewhere and it falls apart

 

[tommytucker]

Bloody Hell! I've only just read this, absolutely shocking. John I can't add
to what's already been said except to take the counselling, I'm sure it will help.
My thoughts are with you and family buddy and you know where I am if you want to talk.

 

[Doodle]

Note the "threat of force or by putting the victim in fear" bit. I fancy that an insurer would struggle to wheedle out of a claim arising from the circumstances John described.

I would also suspect any attempt to do so would see them utterly crucified by the ombudsman and/or the press.

 

[mj2k]

until you really need to go somewhere and it falls apart

The daily emotions you experience as an Alfa owner:

:bannana:

 

[whitenemesis]

until you really need to go somewhere and it falls apart

If you really need to go somewhere ...

 

[Noelmc]

You absolutely did the right thing, that's an awful situation you have been through, it's a situation no one wants to go through. The world is not completely full of *******s, please take strength from the positive posts wishing you well from this forum.

 

[merc85]

If you really need to go somewhere ...

We would have to disagree as nice as it is, I think you could go anywhere with this lol

 

[MancMike]

He said go somewhere, not anywhere.

How's John's thread been derailed all the sudden?

 

[merc85]

He said go somewhere, not anywhere.

How's John's thread been derailed all the sudden?

I was making a light hearted Jest , Looking back probably incorrect place to do it.

Apologies if any offence caused to the Op,

 

[whitenemesis]

No disrespect intended and no intention to diminish the severity of the event ....

 

[Cabb]

So sad hope you and your family are all ok soon after this shocking incident it's becoming all too common this kind of theft take care and hope you all get over it

 

[219]

No, however you can track your car live and pass the information onto the police.

It wouldn't be a bad idea , and would help dispel some of the criticism of 'keyless go thefts' in particular , if after the owner answering some security questions , MB were able to remotely disable stolen cars - since the car's location ( and presumably speed ? ) can be monitored , the operator could wait until a safe place to disable the car ; or the tracking data could be relayed to police and disabling done on their instruction from a following position ( when police can see engine being cut won't cause a crash or endanger others ) .

 

[mj2k]

He said go somewhere, not anywhere.

How's John's thread been derailed all the sudden?

Sorry, my fault for the Alfa quip...

This sickening thread has brought home something I've been wondering for a while (apart from why I own an Alfa) though - are modern cars too secure? Assuming there's always going to be some scum who are willing to go to these lengths for a few extra quid and knowing you can't steal a modern car without a matching key, is the extra security putting car owners at greater risk than they would have been in the old 'hot wire' days?

Though it'd be annoying, personally I'd far rather someone put a brick through my car's window, broke the steering lock and drove it off than break into my house in search of a key.