Stolen car recovered -but now this?! Madness

[Bugblatter]

Makes you want to scream, doesn't it?

Sure does.

How about putting a counter claim against him in the civil court for the costs and expenses he has put you to? These should be more than the value of his poxy stereo gear and the civil court would decide whether or not he is a thief based on "the balance of probability" rather than "beyond reasonable doubt" which the CPS would be looking for.

I think the County Court judge would easily side with you.

 

[Swiss Toni]

I think the County Court judge would easily side with you.

I don't think you have ever set foot in a County Court....

 

[Ian B Walker]

I would suggest that as Simon and others have said that the sub and the speakers may well have been damaged - beyond all use and that you are prepared to send the items back as is but you will send it via courier to his solicitors address only and you will charge a reasonable handling fee on top of the postage charge...

oh lets say around £80 ish?!

Steve

Send them back via Parcelfarce, they will be damaged beyond repair, I know I work for them (I could have a word with the sort staff at the delivery depot)

 

[big x]

Surely the low life has to prove ownership of the audio gear via an original receipt ? Otherwise anybody could say it's mine.The chances of him of having a valid invoice are of course remote.

adam

 

[jonw2000]

Thanks for the great ideas and constructive and practical solutions!

Hi everyone

Thanks very much for all your wonderful replies and constructive approaches to this problem. Sorry for delay in replying - I went away for the weekend to 'de-stress' and feel all the better for it.

To summarise the points made, the first five points suggest some things to do about the audio equipment, and the last five suggest some ways to take the issue further.

1. Give the stuff back (eventually) but sabotage it in some way;
2. Say that the stuff in the car was stolen (I left it unlocked one night or it was broken into) and then sell it;
3. Say that I don't know what they are referring to as I haven't seen anything that isn't mine;
4. Ask him for the original receipt and proof of ownership;
5. Turning the audio equipment into the police to see if it was stolen;

6. Write a letter to Chief Constable or Complaints Dept airing grievances;
7. Write letter to papers and MP;
8. Make enquiries to police about who he bought it from, why isn't he claiming the money back, who did he get insured with, and perhaps asking my insurers to claim against his;
9. Put a claim against him in the civil court for costs and expenses he has put to me;
10. Sell up and move to the island of Tonga and forge a living as a coconut shaver.

Ok, the last point is mine and reveals a lifelong ambition, but perhaps I'm still not ready for that challenge yet.

As an update - I spoke to the policeman in Ipswich yesterday and he promised to send my keys and documents back today (and I asked him to do it recorded delivery), so hopefully I will receive them today. Before I do anything about the audio equipment or contacting the police again I wish to have the keys in my hand and check to see which ones work with the car. I suspect that the thief changed the ignition barrel and my original keys don't work.

(As an aside here - may I ask your opinion on this other but perhaps related matter. Back in December this year the ignition barrel broke and I couldn't start the car. I went to the local Mercedes garage and asked for a new ignition barrel to be made up for my current key. As that would take some time to make I also bought a new barrel with its own key and I had this fitted straight away so I could drive the car immediately, thinking I would swap them round later. Hence at the time it was stolen I had one key for the door and one key for the ignition. Now, when I picked the car up from the garage in Ipswich the manager said that there had been no entry damage to the car whatsoever, suggesting the thief had a key to get in. No windows were smashed or locks look like they were picked. If the thief had a key for the door how easy would it be for him to hotwire the car and would damage to the ignition barrel result from this?)

Now, once I get the keys back I intend to check that car once more as I say. I may need to get in contact with the insurance company if I find out my original keys don't work and get them to pay for changing the ignition barrel again (I can still claim now can't I?)

Next, I will just wait to see if I am contacted again about the property. At the moment I don't have a key for the boot (it only opens by central locking and my battry is flat) so I can't say what's inside. I think I will just try to drag this on as long as possible without giving too much away. I will ask for my property back first (stereo, CDs, MP3 thingey, car vacuum cleaner, mats) and then ask him to prove he owns it.

I also agree with glojo that it would be foolish to risk anything for the sake of a lump of metal. The thief does know where I live because he found my documents in the glove compartment when he stole the car. I also found out from documents which he left in the car that he is associated with two addresses in London and that he claims benefits and has been to prison. To be honest, I just want to be done with the whole thing, although I am intending to contact the papers and my local MP and leave a letter of complaint with the police complaints department. And when it comes to giving the stereo back I will check it against the stolen property list first.

I will also give my insurance company his details to see if they can claim anything on my behalf.

But thanks to all for your support and great ideas - I will keep you posted with developments.

Cheers

 

[jonw2000]

And another thing...

I contacted the DVLA as well when I found out the car was stolen and informed them my log book was also taken. How then did the thief manage to re-register the car in his (or whoever's) name without being detected and the police informed? It seems ludicrous that he could still register the car while it was on record as being stolen. Actually, I have just remembered that police said he re-registered it with the date being a week _before_ I had reported it stolen. Obviously he backdated the registration and forged the signature, but surely alarm bells should have rung somewhere? I have spone to both police and DVLA and both unsurprisingly blame it on the other's procedures.

 

[prprandall51]

If you do wish (after due consideration) to interfere with his stereo equipment, I would suggest that you take it first to a car electrician (or do this yourself if you feel you can):

Get him to solder a direct connection between the positive and negative connections of the amplifier with a really meaty wire.

Bearing in mind that these people usually install their steros with cable sufficiently heavy-duty enough to use as jump leads, when the low life wires it into his next stolen vehicle, with a bit of luck he will short the battery, melt the wiring loom and - we have to cross our fingers and hope for this bit - set light to the vehicle with him still in it.

Good luck.

On a more practical note, you might have a degree of success in the small claims court. My personal experience of this fine institution is that judgements are based on sound common sense, unlike the higher levels of the criminal justice system. On the other hand, if anything is awarded in your favour, he is unlikely to pay you.

Philip

 

[jonw2000]

Cool, thanks for the tip.

Good electronics advice, and one can only hope...

With regard to small claims - I have thought about it - and would love to get something back, but considering the type of person this scumbag is I doubt any tangible payments would ever appear.

I will look into it though, again, one can only hope.

Cheers

 

[nickg]

Mate, I feel for you. I had it easy compared to you after having my car nicked a couple of months ago and never found. I have just received a second penalty charge notice though. This time my car was photographed driving through a red light (about 5 miles from my house) and the police have kindly asked me to pay £60, or provide them with details of who was driving the car..............as said earlier, it is no surprise that there is little respect for the police anymore.

 

[jonw2000]

Really??? That would be absurdly hilarious if it wasn't so frustrating and personal. You would think that even if these messages are automatic they would cross check with the files and mark it for human attention if the car was stolen. The police obviously need to haul their systems and procedures into the 21st century.

Knowing that the car is still being driven in your local area must really p*ss you off. Maybe we can ask everyone on this forum to keep an eye out for it. Which area and what type of car?

 

[prprandall51]

Nick - I can't believe you've got another ticket!! That must really hack you off. As you said, it's no wonder that society's belief in the justice system is eroding so quickly. Very frustrating for you. Sorry to hear it.

Philip

 

[nickg]

silver SL60 AMG P684 KMS. Immaculate condition.
NW London.
See other threads for the whole story!!
I wonder whether the scumbags have put the plate on another car......
Still, its not mine anymore. The insurance company have paid me off and now effectively own the car.

Am still on a bad run. Got a parking ticket last week for parking outside my own house (no yellow lines or anything). I live at the bottom of a cul-de-sac and got a ticket for having one wheel on the pavement - supposedly blocking it for pedestrians!! No-one ever comes down there except me and my neighbours!!! Another £40 to the London Borough of Harrow.
Where will it all end ???????!!!?!?!?!?!?

 

[MainMan]

And they wonder why there's so much crime. If no one gets punished anymore what do they expect.

I spent 3 months working in Dubai. While I was there the local paper reported two crimes (in the whole of Dubai). One was the theft of some food from a shop - punished by 2 years in one of their exceedingly uncomfortable jails. The other was the theft of a car. This was punished by the removal of a hand - the thief was given the choice as to which should be removed. Now, I don't necessarily condone this kind of draconian punishment but the point is that it is an absolutely massive deterrent. Over there you can drop your wallet in the street and no one will touch it. They leave their flash Mercs with the engine running and the keys in to key the air con going, and no one nicks it. I think we're at the other extreme.

 

[jonw2000]

I know it's not your car anymore, and maybe it's better that you don't see it. But if you did see it I would hope that if the police were told they would try to catch it. If not then at least you may be able to follow it to a house and take it from there.

Perhaps we should have another section on here - Stolen Cars - with pictures and descriptions, then everyone can keep their eye out in their local area. A sort of specialised national Neighbourhood Watch.

And that sucks that you had a parking ticket for that - why are councils always run by a bunch of moronic automatons with no common sense or reason.

And MainMan, although excessive, it works and certainly it's to do with the lack of deterrent in our system, which I guess is down to being underresourced, or not even that perhaps - maybe it's just that the police spend too much time on minor traffic offences. However, as much as I complain about the police I think overall they are doing ok - I just wish they were a little more considerate to the victims.

 

[Doodle]

Events of late do remind me of the sticker on the numberplate of my Transalp (before it was forcibly removed by a Hilux)

"It's taxed, insured and MoT'd, so go chase some proper criminals"

Sadly it seems, even if just on the surface, that it is easier for the powers that be to extort money from motorists than put in the hard graft to nick and put away the scum of society.

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

outsourcing is the key problem....I dont think the police give two s***s about your wheel being on a pavement. However, a private firm runing on commission does.

oh well....next thing you know the police helplines will be outsourced to India, a country with a different legal system and thus an inherent lack of understanding. Oh well.

 

[nickg]

And that sucks that you had a parking ticket for that - why are councils always run by a bunch of moronic automatons with no common sense or reason.

Actually, the problem is that councils are run and staffed by people too useless to get a job in the commercial sector. They live in a different world...

 

[jonw2000]

Car alarms immobilisers and trackers

To change topic slightly - now I have my car back - I am still too scared to park it on the street overnight.

What systems (alarms, immobilisers and trackers) would people suggest for both a mid-range and top-of-the-range system? Is anything thief-proof?

 

[Bugblatter]

I don't think you have ever set foot in a County Court....

Yes I have. Have you?

 

[Sp!ke]

Yes I have. Have you?

Deep breath chaps......

I think that there would be little point in the County Court route as even if he won the case, actually getting any money would be unlikely since the chap is on benefits and you'd probably be chasing the £5 per week for life.