warning to transit owners in the south east.

[elybathrooms]

Last night my van was broken into and they have taken the lot alll my cutters and power tools all told about £3500 worth.

Here's the warning bit. There was no sign of the van being broken into, no window smashed and no locks tampered with. The police women said they must either be using a skeleton key or a radio transmitter to match that of the key fob. On phoning my insurance company they wont pay a penny because there is no evidence of a break in. In other words if i had smashed the window myself i would have been able to claim. me being the law abidding citizen it didnt even cross my mind to damage my own van.

Just though i would let you guys know as i wouldnt wish this situation on anyone. Its worth ringing up the insurance company and checking. I wish i had.

If any one gets offferd a couple of Rubi slide cutters, Makita 12v wet saw and a host of makita 18v gear and a nearly new fein multimaster. Its probably out of my van.

But we soldier on, managed to borrow a few diy tools from the next door neighbours and im back in busines. They might have all my tools but they sure dont have the skills to use them. LOL

[nybor62]

my mate had is vivaro stolen, 17000 . but because he could,nt find the spare key they wont pay up

[united]

Sorry to hear that mate. Thanks for the insurance advice

[doug boardley]

very sorry to hear that ely, I hope you get some leads as to who the thieving gits were

[paul flight]

this happened to my son about 6 mths ago . lost around £1800. worth of tools . not insured if tools are left in van. so he has now booby traped it with 6 pounds of cemtex seems the only way to stop these theives

[richard Kent]

Hi Ely how old is your transit? my brother in law had his broken into about 5 years back, apparently they cut through the cables at the back of the van leading from the frame work to the door and it releases the central locking, this fault has been sorted on newer transits.

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

oh nooooooooooo mate so sorry to hear of this i hate thieves, hope you get something back

[elybathrooms]

i wouldnt pay for tool cover again. I have been paying the premium every month for 7 year and when i need to make a claim they pretty much laugh down the phone. if you read the small print there is such tight guidlines on what they will pay out on. Just going to put that few quid in a saving account so if it happens again at least i have some money set aside. Im keeping a keen eye on ebay in the hope that the phrase as thick as thieves rings true. What frustrates me is there going to sell them for a fraction of what there worth. I wish they would have just knocked on my door and asked for the few hundred quid they will get down the pub for them. Save me and them a load of hassle.

here goes cutting ceramics on the beastly rubi wet cutter that was luckily in the garage. lol

[elybathrooms]

its an 02 plate. I will defo check that. The locks seem to be working fine. What was a little strange was that the left hand number plate light cover was on the floor but the bulb was still intact. have ordered some hefty lock to go on the back and side door. they must have been super quite the dog didnt even hear them and it right next to the house.

[paul flight]

richard thanks for tell me hoe to brake into old transits this could come in useful if i need any new tools!!

[Rob Z]

One of our trucks was just broken into in front of the job, residential neighborhod, middle of the day, busy street. They got several power tools, but were considerate enough to not tear up the back hatch too badly . I just bought two Knaack brand gang boxes for the site. It's Washington DC, so what else could I expect?

[richard Kent]

Just check the cable for any cut marks, they don't cut all the way through, it was a safety feature in case of an accident. Anyone with the older transit needs to fit a piece of angle iron in front of the cable to stop the blade reaching the cable.

[Dave]

Sorry to hear this...Don't forget to check out the car boot sales..

[paul flight]

the dogs in on the job . keep an eye on him . if he comes in with a new collar he is the insider

[fergy7197]

this is totally shocking.. sometimes taking the law into your own hands is justified!

[hillhead]

Bad craic that.my van sits on my property but my two lazy hounds would hear nothing im sure.must check for my spare key too.too many tools in my van.(not really but worth a lot).hope you find the tools and rest.

[fergy7197]

IIRC If someone has a ford master key! (hard to come by) they can open any transit/connect.

My mate next door is a plant mech - his back door lock snapped his key. spare was inside the van

Ford came out with a master and opened his van to get the spare. Guy told him that basicly the master opens everything!

[SandyFloor]

I had one stolen years ago. Police called about three days later to say it had turned up about 50 miles away. Went to pick it up the next day and took it home....broken steering lock and all. The real insult came a few weeks later when the reminder for the parking ticket came thro the door. You'd think a thief would have the common decency to park your vehicle legally, wouldn't you?

[Ken Bruty]

Scumbags! I'm just looking to buy a transit now as well

[Colour Republic]

its an 02 plate. I will defo check that. The locks seem to be working fine. What was a little strange was that the left hand number plate light cover was on the floor but the bulb was still intact. have ordered some hefty lock to go on the back and side door. they must have been super quite the dog didnt even hear them and it right next to the house.

Did the van have central locking?? I have heard of a trick where the wiring system can be shorted via the number plate light and hey presto, i'm sure if you did a goole such you'd come up with something. Wheather this is proof of a break in or not I don't know but hopefully it is documented by the police.

£3.5k is a lot of tools to lose, and would put a serious whack in anybodies pocket taking it to account the time lost... not only is it the financial cost but a lot of tools can't be replaced, I've had it happen to me before, luckily it wasn't a lot of my tools but they got a lot of thoses little hand tools you build up over many years, the ones that you can't remember where you bought them or have even seen again but make you life just that little bit easier... scum! absolute scum!

Where abouts are you in the south east mate?

[whitebeam]

Was the wire looms cut at the back doors, I have loom guards fitted because a sharp cutting devise can be put through the gap between the the back doors and the body work and cut through the cables which opens all the central locking.

[wildcard]

When you get a van spend a couple of hundred pound on yale locks & get a bulkhead fitted,that way they still cant get to your tools if they short out the c/locking.

[diamondtiling]

I have one of these locks on the back doors, very strong and reliable.


Kryptonite Van Lock (Hasp and Padlock) | Locks | Vehicle Locks | Van Locks | Kryptonite Van Lock (Hasp and Padlock) From Locksonline.co.uk

[andy-p]

I dont carry all my expensive gear in my van, i only load what im using..

[365drills]

Rotten news to read. I know this might sound self serving but last week we pitched Porsadrill to the buyers of a 300 branch chain of plumbers and one of the advantages of our £49.99 kit over equipment costing £300+ is that van break-ins plus theft off site does factor into the consideration of equipment purchases.

Its such a negative thing to list as a plus for your product but the harsh reality is that vans attract attention from thieves.

We've all been there at the end of a hard day where its just one chore too much to unload the van and then to reload in the early part of a morning to start out again.

I've done similar with exhibition equipment on our trailer. And then where do you do park up your nice expensive trailer overnight when away from home?

The only crumb of comfort is that you are far from alone. Many of us on here have been victim to crime (our stand was robbed of demo drills, stock, the till, food when we left it for 30mins during exhibition breakdown to have a beer) but at least your message about the insurance payout is loud and clear. Visible evidence of a break in is needed..... Understood !

[Phil Hobson]

Sorry to hear of your loss mate, these scum bags should be executed imo. To take a working persons tools is the lowest form of theft

[365drills]

No wonder theives are getting away with crime.

We have all the cops on our PORSADRILL diamond core drilling stand.



I dont think they come over to see me though.....

[Ceramico tiling]

where abouts were u Elybathrooms?