Good news!
Vehicle was recovered yesterday. It had been parked up, in a street only about a mile away.
Recovery people apparently had a devil of a job getting it without damaging it, but they have done, and they think it looks completely unharmed.
I am hoping to get it back once it has been fingerprinted, and then straight over to the dealer for new locks and keys.
Of course, I have in all probability lost the entire contents, but fortunately due to the burglary nature of the crime the home policy should cover me for that.
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That is great news! The main question now is: why? Perhaps they were testing to see if you had a tracker in it (as suggested by someone else).
A while back, I had my Montego stolen from outside my brothers house and the scroats wrote it off (not too difficult!) trying to outrun the police. (They then legged it over the fields and were never caught, tho'). BUT although they had nicked everything hidden in the boot, they didn't check the (unlocked) glovebox which was full of important documents. (Car was locked but they screwdrivered it, no knickable stuff on view tho'.) SO there might be hope.
Billy.
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Good news DBC. I bet you had a grin on your face when you got that 'phone call.
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and they think it looks completely unharmed.
What looks unharmed, might be a different story when you start to drive it. Prob thrashed within an inch of its life. Wheelspins and handbrake turns galore. So unless you've been very lucky, expect at the very least tyre wear, or worse clutch, gearbox, suspension, and steering damage.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Keeps us informed of the actual outcome after you've seen it for yourself.
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Looking on the bright side as always DD they may have put some petrol in.
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Great news - obviously get the car thoroughly checked over by your Volvo dealer when getting the locks changed for any other damage - but if they went to bother of nicking the keys and then parking the car not too far away it's unlikely to be joyriders - much more likely to be some pro car thief who was stealing an executive saloon 'to order' - good point about thief maybe checking to see if there was a tracker system fitted - may be worth investing in one now!!
Anyway, so long as your car is ok then that's obviously saved you a packet given depreciation (and the likely payout), finance costs, etc.
:-)
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Of course, I have in all probability lost the entire contents, but fortunately due to the burglary nature of the crime the home policy should cover me for that.
I would be very surprised if your household policy covers contents stolen from the car. However, it would cover the keys as they were burgled from your house. Hope I'm wrong!
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I dunno, all sounds a bit iffy to me.
Just make sure that *ANY* other keys they could have got to, even if they were back on the hook, have had the locks changed. Bolts are all very well when you are in the house, but they don't help when you're out.
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Household contents policy should cover, IMHO, I claimed with no trouble when my camera kit and the bitter half's makeup bag were stolen from our car.
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Got the car back from the recovery agent last night.
They are running a nice scam - the standard recovery charge is £105 - as indicated by the Home Office and their contract with Greater Manchester Police. However, they also insisted on charging me £185 more for extra work involved with the recovery.
I took issue with this, as I never authorised a recovery in the first place. Of course, I had to pay it to get the car back, but I will be pursuing this with GMP and my solicitor.
All of value is gone from the car, but it did look materially undamaged. On starting, the engine management system warned me that attention was required, and my wife noted some smoke blowing from the exhaust.
I have asked my Volvo dealer, who is recoding the transponder and keys for me, to attend to the engine and check the shocks, clutch, exhaust etc. for damage.
This is all now at my expense - car insurance company warned me that a claim, even with my protected NCD, would cost a £300 theft excess and likely bump my premium up by £500 next year. I am now thinking about taking the depreciation hit, selling the car and moving back to my company scheme, where at least I wouldn't have all of this hassle and unplanned cost.
Still pursuing a home insurance claim for the contents...
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They are running a nice scam - the standard recovery charge is £105 - as indicated by the Home Office and their contract with Greater Manchester Police. However, they also insisted on charging me £185 more for extra work involved with the recovery.
I suggested this was a scam a year or so ago. Some felt that it was reasonable. I still don't.
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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From what DBCohen has just said, you can understand why people don't bother insuring vehicles at all.
Glad you got your car back btw, but I think the toerag that nicked it would have done you more of a favour by torching it, instead of just abandoning it.
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If the engine management system is requiring attention, expect a 4-figure bill. Pound to a penny the cat and lamda will be as effective as playdoh by now. It's also possible that the lamda sensor could have "spiked" the ecu.
You may want to reconsider on whether to make a claim or not. And then shop around like nobody's business at your next renewal.
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Not necessarily, many things can cause the ECU light to come on - dodgy sensor connection for instance. It would take SOME abuse to cause that much damage in such little time - specially to a solid motor like a volvo. Oxygen sensors are fairly robust these days, so to cause lasting damage to the sensor and cat seems unlikey - unless they filled it with a tank of 4 star ;)
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4star? Wozzat then?
Still alarming. Enough revving the pink fluffy dice off it and a few speed ramps at 60 will comfortably nail the cat.
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it and a few speed ramps at 60 will comfortably nail the cat.
Most probably would have left it lying in the road where it fell off too! You remember 4 star, it was that decent petrol we used to get! Okay LRP then...
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Latest update:
Decided not to claim on car insurance, due to £300 excess and the warnings of £500 premium increases, even with protected no claims bonus, for my next year renewal.
Had the car into Volvo for a valet, and had the car transponder memory wiped. It will now only recognise my keys, not the stolen ones. That was a lot cheaper than a full new lock and key set.
Engine system service required message was disappeared from the computer on a reboot. Indicated a problem with the throttle housing - this is on order for a warranty replacement (I am on very good terms with the service manager). Total Volvo cost was £208.
Everything else looks OK. I had a settlement figure from the finance company that was fairly scary, so I am glad that the car was recovered.
However, due to the hassle I have had, when I get an opportunity (and I can I will move the S80 on and drop back into my company car scheme. I can get a new Merc C180K Avantgarde SE within my allowance.
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Do you have any sort of clue as to the milage they put on it?
How do the tyres look? Curious why they left it only a mile away and still managed to get the engine system light on. Any clues?
CMark
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Has your dealer checked the car's engine and gearbox numbers are correct? I.e. that they have not been swapped.
CMark
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Care to elaborate on the gearbox/engine thing? Surely they wouldn't rip out good stuff, replace it with duff and then park it up?
I don't think they could have done more than 100 miles in it. I can't remeber what the odometer said, but the trip computer showed a dip in average comsumption of 2-3mpg (I never reset it), which would tally in my experience with some fast urban driving.
I suspect the throttle body got damaged with some heavy foot mashing.
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I am just wondering why they went to all that trouble of stealing the keys for a "joy ride" (terrible word). As Mark (RLBS) says, it all sounds a bit iffy.
Would a throttle body really be damaged by heavy foot mashing?
Engine numbers etc are easy to check. Just a thought.
You are right, there is no logic to them fitting the duff units back to your car. I have heard of hire cars having major units swapped out, but that is obviously different...
CMark
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DBCobden - I recon you've got away with this! Well done.
I don't think it's *that* unusul for joyriders to take cars for a spin and not torch them/smash them up.
They've nicked a local car (within walking distance) taken it for a spin, dropped it nearby. Maybe they got spooked by something maybe they saw another car they wanted a go in maybe someone phoned with a better offer than joyriding for ht evening. You'll never know. You just have to take it at face value that the car is ok and that you're not going to get your premiums loaded.
A brisk drive won't have done it too much harm.
I reckon this might be one of the rare cases where you're better of getting the car back!
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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If the engine management system is requiring attention, expect a 4-figure bill. Pound to a penny the cat and lamda will be as effective as playdoh by now. It's also possible that the lamda sensor could have "spiked" the ecu. You may want to reconsider on whether to make a claim or not. And then shop around like nobody's business at your next renewal.
Ok, I'll put my doomsayer's hat away for another day. Good Result DBC.
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Grin..
Got a NIP this morning for a 61mph in a 30mph zone - committed about 12 hours after I reported the car missing (1940 in the evening, to be precise).
Of course, it is too much to expect 'joined up policing' from plod's computer systems - clearly, Central Ticket Office doesn't do a PNC check before sending out a NIP.
Got a call from the investigating officer yesterday - he didn't know the car had been recovered and returned to me either. I am glad it has - he is looking to collar someone, and I would imagine they would retain the vehicle if they had it when a prosecution is pending.
Wonder if I'll get any of my stuff back...
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Got a NIP this morning for a 61mph in a 30mph zone - committed about 12 hours after I reported the car missing (1940 in the evening, to be precise).
Will they let you off the refusal to ID the driver? Is having it nicked a defence?
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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Oh my good grief! I laughed out loud at that one. Am now getting odd looks from various corners of the office, but I'm the boss, so what the heck.
I wonder how many times the Gatso brigade hear "But I have no idea officer, I was tucked up in bed at the time". Please please please let us all know how this one develops!
Who knows, perhaps the 'photo from the Gatso will be the extra bit of evidence needed to nick the pink fluffy dice that took your svedish delight.
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We need DVD.
The keeper *has* to ID the culprit of the offence or take the points.
Not being physically able to ID the culprit *isn't* a defence.
Now when the car is nicked I wonder what happens.
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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Don't be ridiculous, Toad.
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s.1722, subsection 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 states that:
A person shall not be guilty of an offence by virtue of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) above if he shows that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained who the driver of the vehicle was.
Essentially it means that you are guilty until proven innocent, but the standard of proof here is the balance of probabilities rather than beyond all reasonable doubt (which is what the prosecution must show).
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That's s.172, not 1722, if anyone wants to check it.
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So the Hampshire Deputy Chief Constable got convicted becuse it was felt that he could have found the ID of the driver with due dilligence.
In the case of a husbnad and wife who can't remember who was driving at a specific time?
Could it be said of whichever one was the registered keeper that they: "did not know and could not with reasonable diligence" ID the driver?
Do you see where I'm going with this? There are countless times people will not know who was driving at a certain time on a certain day. If the law excuses this it's pretty flawless defence if you are prepared to lie.
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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I guess that, in terms of the body corporate, they probably could have found the driver, certainly if they had exhibited due diligence before the event by keeping a log of who was driving, etc.
I very much doubt that reasonable diligence for a couple would be considered to be anything more than asking the other if (s)he was driving and giving an honest answer. However, given that an NIP must be issued within 14 days, it shouldn't be too difficult to answer and you might fail the test, but it would be up to the magistrate or jury to decide.
What you are really asking is more a question of fact than of law. And yes, it is quite difficult to convict, but if you do lie it is perverting the course of justice.
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What you are really asking is more a question of fact than of law. And yes, it is quite difficult to convict, but if you do lie it is perverting the course of justice.
So the whole system is based on our honesty?
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These are my own opinions, and not necessarily those of all Toads.
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Write to the police and informthem them of the circumstances and get them to check any other cameras in the area particularly if you have any monitor cameras or laser or IR speed cameras as some of these take the photo face on and they might get an ID. Regards Peter
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I contacted GMP Central Ticket Office this morning by email, giving them the circumstances and the crime reference number.
I got a reply within an hour telling me that I didn't have to fill in the NIP and return it, and that they would deal with the matter.
Just to be on the safe side, I printed out this email and stapled it to the NIP - I'll hold on to them.
I also called my crime's investigating officer - it's a standard Gatso, so no holiday snaps, but at least he will be able to place the vehicle to a location, date and time. Might help in collaring the scumbags...
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There are countless times people will not know who was driving at a certain time on a certain day.
I'm not surprised that all other toads do not necessarily share your views. Do you swap the driving so often on a journey that you couldn't say who was at the wheel at a given location? Even if you do, how little due care and attention to the road you're on do you employ behind the wheel?
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I realise the camera was a Gatso but I was suggesting that the boys in blue may find other camera images on Monitor Cameras, or other IR or Laser Cams which do take the image head on therefore may provide an ID of a known thief. Regards Peter
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It's one thing remembering who drove the same day, quite another 14 days later.
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Is it really difficult to work out where you were and who was driving ? Especially since you have a camera picture to give you a hint.
I'v managed to work out where my car has been for the last 4 weekends and who was driving fairly easily. In the week is even easier.
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Is it really difficult to work out where you were and who was driving ? Especially since you have a camera picture to give you a hint. I'v managed to work out where my car has been for the last 4 weekends and who was driving fairly easily. In the week is even easier.
For a hire firm the camera picture is very useful.
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