BASTARDS (1 Viewer)

[bigfoot]

Hi @bigfoot been wondering how you have got on have you heard any more , what is your insurance saying, hope you get a satisfactory outcome sooner than later.

Hello Carol, Nothing heard,I suspect it is in Eire on false plates by now. It passed an ANPR camera about 1.5 hours from Holyhead. I will have to wait 28 days before insurance will even consider a payout. My wife and I tried to list what was in the van and the equipment in the garage alone came to over £1k!

 

[MitchandJenny]

Our heartfelt sympathy goes out to you Bigfoot..
Now, your only option is onward and upward.
This is why we pay our insurance mate.
Please don't lose your enthusiasm for this wonderful lifestyle...
Or they will win TWICE !!
Much love.
Mitch and Jenny.

 

[Puddleduck]

Hello Carol, Nothing heard,I suspect it is in Eire on false plates by now. It passed an ANPR camera about 1.5 hours from Holyhead. I will have to wait 28 days before insurance will even consider a payout. My wife and I tried to list what was in the van and the equipment in the garage alone came to over £1k!

So sorry to hear this. I hope the insurance does play fair and pay up promptly when the 28 days are up. They are always fast to take your money.

The question now is would you really want the van back? I know you'd like your personal effects back.

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[Rob and Val]

Nothing heard,I suspect it is in Eire on false plates by now. It passed an ANPR camera about 1.5 hours from Holyhead. I will have to wait 28 days before insurance will even consider a payout.

So sorry to hear this. Hope all is settled to your complete satisfaction .... and soon.

 

[andy63]

It passed an ANPR camera about 1.5 hours from Holyhead.

I like everybody else feel for your loss and aggrivation ..
I really can't understand why when the vehicle was tracked initially and then spotted on a camera that the thieving bastards can still get your van out of the country... why do we have a police force???
Sorry just feel so angry when I read these things... Can't imagine how you must feel...
Andy

 

[Abacist]

I like everybody else feel for your loss and aggrivation ..
I really can't understand why when the vehicle was tracked initially and then spotted on a camera that the thieving bastards can still get your van out of the country... why do we have a police force???
Sorry just feel so angry when I read these things... Can't imagine how you must feel...
Andy

Very much agree with this post! Frankly it strikes me as gross incompetence. If the police were too busy on more important things then they could have alerted the port to check all vans answering that description or all curtain sided lorries to look for it. Theft, regardless of the value, seems to have become a crime that can be just ignored unless violence is involved; its as if its your own fault for it being nicked!

I have every sympathy for you and hope you get a decent payout from your insurers!

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[bigfoot]

Thanks for all your support. I have been motorcaravanning in various forms since 1974 both in the UK and abroad-very abroad! The actions of a few thieving dirty little scroats are not going to stop me,only until I get a replacement van. The frustration is,apart from waiting,is that it was loaded with gear we have accumulated over the years,some impossible to replace and it took us nearly 8 years to wait for the Hymer after having a B544 for 19 years. I feel sorry for the mug who buys it from them and the Police or Garda sieze it as stolen,and they have lost their money!!!

 

[MC 55 FUN]

@bigfoot . . are the Garda aware ?

 

[pappajohn]

If you call 1471 it will tell you who called

Hey....That would be the answer.....If Joy could find the phone which rings.

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[pyro]

I am wound up for poor @bigfoot . I though the whole objective of these cameras was to enforce law. Or is it just an easy way for them to enforce revenue collection for road tax?

The Guarda won't do anything, they watched the provos operating for many years without lifting a finger for fear of upsetting Sinn Fein, I rather doubt they care much about the loss of an English owned motorhome.

Good luck with the insurers, mate, I don't personally rate them much better than the thieving scumbags who took your pride and joy. And don't take their first offer

 

[Tootles]

The Guarda won't do anything

Just tell them a couple of Brit Soldiers are hiding in the garage.........You wont see them for a streak of boot rubber.

 

[pyro]

Sad, but very true!

@bigfoot Quick point: On major losses of this nature, I have known independent loss adjusters (note: not unqualified "claims handlers" employed by insurers) to have been worth their weight in gold for clients of ours.

The insurance companies hate them, and they cost a fair bit, but in every case that I have seen they have significantly increased the settlement figure well above the offer made by insurers. Worth investigating, a) it takes away a lot of the hassle b) insurers know that you really do mean business and c) they haven't much chance of getting away with their usual shenanigans and try to fob you off with a 19 year old clerk calling herself a "claims handler"

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[bigfoot]

@bigfoot . . are the Garda aware ?

As for the tracker situation I reckon they had a jammer 2-3m range the size of a 12 plug and available from ebay but possession is legal in UK but use isn't! Personally I wouldn't want it back.
I phoned the Garda and the conversation was like this "my motorhome has been stolen and it may be in Eire" Garda " I bet you were feckin gutted" me trying to keep cool " yes you could say that"!
Assessors generally try to save as much money as they can,because it makes their fee higher,all we want is the same model,same year,with same fittings (Gaslow, solar system and Status aerial) plus cost of equipment. I'll put the Memsahib on it-very few people,if any,can ignore her(be afraid,be very afraid)!

 

[sdc77]

When you report your vehicle stolen police will often check history on anpr cameras. So it may well have been seen on that camera before it was even reported stolen.
As for police checking all lorries and motorhomes at ports .. it's just not going to happen.
Tracker systems and some others have their rf receivers at ports and customs / border force have their methods but searching for 1 individual stolen vehicle will just not happen.
It would be great if it did but it's just not feasible with the amount of vehicles stolen.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of vehicles are recovered at ports every year as it is.
Most police and or border force wouldn't know what this motorhome looked like in any case. (Yes a picture could be sent ... but how many pictures of vehicles do you send. )
They rely on cameras, anpr and intelligence.
Terrible for the op.
Do phantom offer any compensation?

 

[stcyr]

I can't believe this story! The handwritten receipt is not worth the paper it is written on. A thief cannot give good title to an innocent buyer. The police are well aware of this!

Not in this instance ....

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[rangi]

I must commend you @bigfoot on your attitude to all this kaffule. you are coming across , to me anyway, as cool and calm, (initially Yes ! a tad pissed off.)
Man oh man if I was in your shoes, I'd be ripping the throat out of the local plod for not following up on the early tracker reports!

All power to you

 

[Spidey]

CRIS are going to be bringing out something for motorhomes along the same line as their caravan package. There are microchips embedded in security tags (you get a lot) that if the Police point at it with a piece of equipment it gives all the details. So this gets around the changing of number plates. I think it is something we would join if or when it is available.

 

[Tootles]

I bet you were feckin gutted

Must be standard jargon for the Garda. I remember a conversation with one such officer many years ago, when I told him how Cpl Ian Armstrong was shot dead by the IRA whilst they just stood and watched. He said exactly the same line.

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[Bobby22]

@bigfoot was there anymore news on your van.

If all the transit based motorhomes in ireland were scanned for theft do you think a big % of them would prove stolen.

 

[bigfoot]

I fully sympathise with any owners ,my Hymer Exsis was stolen 2 months ago and a lot more Transit based motorhomes have since been taken. This article from the Irish independent is interesting. BTW I have posted it to the police and the SCA just in case they are not aware of the scale of this theft.

"Gardaí have launched a major international investigation into the activities of an organised crime gang which specialises in the theft and sale of commercial vehicles between the UK and Ireland.


Officers seized 14 vans and camper vans in a series of pre-planned swoops.
The vehicles were recovered when gardaí searched seven locations in Granard and Longford as part of a joint operation involving local gardaí and Scotland Yard's Stolen Car Squad.

The Irish Independent has learned that most of the vehicles have been confirmed as stolen from several locations in England - including Manchester and London.
According to senior sources, the operation has uncovered a "major international criminal racket" and further raids are being planned.

Investigators believe that the crime gang has been using a network of thieves across the UK to specifically steal commercial vans and campers. The vehicles were then transported to Ireland for storage at a number of locations in Longford for resale to unsuspecting buyers here.
Gardaí are expected to broaden their search operation to include other Midland counties where members of the gang have known associates and families.

As a result of Monday's seizures, local gardaí have now called in the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and the Garda Stolen Car Squad in Dublin.
Seized

"This is a major international criminal racket, and the value of what has been seized so far is at least €150,000 - but this is only the beginning," a security source told the Irish Independent last night.
"The intelligence is worth many times more than that figure. Most of the vehicles seized so far have been confirmed as having been stolen in the UK, while the details of the remainder are still being cross-referenced with Scotland Yard to confirm that they are also stolen.

"This operation began as a result of information received from Scotland Yard's Stolen Car Squad. It has now mushroomed into a major international investigation which requires the assistance of CAB and other national units.
"An Irish gang has been operating a network which specialises in the theft of vans across the UK," the source added.

Detectives from Longford are working with UK colleagues to identify those involved in the operation."


As far as my vehicle is concerned I don't want it back especially if its been through the filthy hands of travellers.The insurers and their engineers are dealing now.I just feel sorry for any innocent buyer who has it in its new disguise.
If the Police could check the vehicles on the Traveller sites here they would find many stolen/uninsured and taxed and probably cloned or changed identity. Unfortunately they would have to be 'tooled up' with armed officers and remove the lefty pinkos from authorities!

 

[DBK]

I fully sympathise with any owners ,my Hymer Exsis was stolen 2 months ago and a lot more Transit based motorhomes have since been taken. This article from the Irish independent is interesting. BTW I have posted it to the police and the SCA just in case they are not aware of the scale of this theft.

"Gardaí have launched a major international investigation into the activities of an organised crime gang which specialises in the theft and sale of commercial vehicles between the UK and Ireland.


Officers seized 14 vans and camper vans in a series of pre-planned swoops.
The vehicles were recovered when gardaí searched seven locations in Granard and Longford as part of a joint operation involving local gardaí and Scotland Yard's Stolen Car Squad.

The Irish Independent has learned that most of the vehicles have been confirmed as stolen from several locations in England - including Manchester and London.
According to senior sources, the operation has uncovered a "major international criminal racket" and further raids are being planned.

Investigators believe that the crime gang has been using a network of thieves across the UK to specifically steal commercial vans and campers. The vehicles were then transported to Ireland for storage at a number of locations in Longford for resale to unsuspecting buyers here.
Gardaí are expected to broaden their search operation to include other Midland counties where members of the gang have known associates and families.

As a result of Monday's seizures, local gardaí have now called in the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) and the Garda Stolen Car Squad in Dublin.
Seized

"This is a major international criminal racket, and the value of what has been seized so far is at least €150,000 - but this is only the beginning," a security source told the Irish Independent last night.
"The intelligence is worth many times more than that figure. Most of the vehicles seized so far have been confirmed as having been stolen in the UK, while the details of the remainder are still being cross-referenced with Scotland Yard to confirm that they are also stolen.

"This operation began as a result of information received from Scotland Yard's Stolen Car Squad. It has now mushroomed into a major international investigation which requires the assistance of CAB and other national units.
"An Irish gang has been operating a network which specialises in the theft of vans across the UK," the source added.

Detectives from Longford are working with UK colleagues to identify those involved in the operation."


As far as my vehicle is concerned I don't want it back especially if its been through the filthy hands of travellers.The insurers and their engineers are dealing now.I just feel sorry for any innocent buyer who has it in its new disguise.
If the Police could check the vehicles on the Traveller sites here they would find many stolen/uninsured and taxed and probably cloned or changed identity. Unfortunately they would have to be 'tooled up' with armed officers and remove the lefty pinkos from authorities!

An interesting read, thanks. Coincidentally I had an alarm system fitted to our van yesterday, it includes a tracker and the ability to remotely immobilise the vehicle. So if it was stolen with the keys, which happens, a phone call will bring it to a halt. Of course that won't be much good if they winch it onto a trailer, but it is something to give a bit of extra peace of mind, compared to how it was before the system was fitted.

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[Bobby22]

Too many transit based motorhomes getting taken, it couldn't just be coincidence. There won't be many like yours in this country never mind ireland.

If they can block the tracker on the road, it must then be taken under cover until such times as the find it and dismantle it.

If they can block it they will also be able to block your remote immobiliser @DBK

@bigfoot it must be like losing one of the family and the best part of the summer lost because of these scumbags. I hope it doesn't put you off this great hobby and your back on the road soon.

 

[Teuchter]

I fully sympathise with any owners ,my Hymer Exsis was stolen 2 months ago and a lot more Transit based motorhomes have since been taken. This article from the Irish independent is interesting. BTW I have posted it to the police and the SCA just in case they are not aware of the scale of this theft.


If the Police could check the vehicles on the Traveller sites here they would find many stolen/uninsured and taxed and probably cloned or changed identity. Unfortunately they would have to be 'tooled up' with armed officers and remove the lefty pinkos from authorities!

Thereby lies the problem!! - most so called travellers, especially on travellers sites (be they official or unofficial sites) believe that the law of the land does not apply to them and in a lot of cases it doesn't as on occasions the police are either too pc correct or too timid to venture on to these sites and in a way I cannot blame them as all they get is denials and abuse if they do enter them>

This is however a very unsatisfactory situation - no one should be "above the law" in particular the bad element of travellers who contribute nothing (in the way of taxes etc) to society and demand everything from it whilst flagrantly breaking our laws, conventions and codes of reasonable behaviour

I do not condemn all "travellers" however the facts speak for themselves a proportion of them are certainly a "blot on the landscape" - both figuratively and literally!

 

[GJH]

This is however a very unsatisfactory situation - no one should be "above the law" in particular the bad element of travellers who contribute nothing (in the way of taxes etc) to society and demand everything from it whilst flagrantly breaking our laws, conventions and codes of reasonable behaviour

The current government did have plans to change the law to try to achieve that. Goodness knows whether they will have time now they have other, bigger and more pressing, matters to deal with.

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[DBK]

If they can block it they will also be able to block your remote immobiliser @DBK

I agree, nothing is perfect, all you can do is try to ensure it isn't stolen in the first place. Or broken in to which is much more common I believe.

 

[TheBig1]

all the time the human rights of the travellers are considered more important than house dwellers, then nothing will change. I know of several cases where stolen caravans have been tracked to traveller sites. The police could not seize and remove the stolen vans because families with children were living in them and it would breach their rights to make them homeless

As for the Guarda suddenly realising that there are thousands of stolen vans in their area, dont make me laugh. It puts money in their back pocket and benefits the local community. They have only now "noticed it" because of hassle from the uk police. From personal experience the guarda are corrupt and ineffective, choosing to turn a blind eye to organised crime

 

[bigfoot]

Too many transit based motorhomes getting taken, it couldn't just be coincidence. There won't be many like yours in this country never mind ireland.

If they can block the tracker on the road, it must then be taken under cover until such times as the find it and dismantle it.

If they can block it they will also be able to block your remote immobiliser @DBK

@bigfoot it must be like losing one of the family and the best part of the summer lost because of these scumbags. I hope it doesn't put you off this great hobby and your back on the road soon.

Thanks I have been motorhoming for years first with my family and now with my wife(and kids) for the last 35 years. It is very annoying when it was ready to go later that day so it had our personal goods in it and gear I have accumulated over the years,a lot of it irreplaceable,I do console myself that the toilet cassette was full of piss and shit due to be emptied that day!
There aren't enough words in the dictionary of slang to express my feelings,the ones I want to use would probably get me barred,suffice to say thieving filthy p***y bastards.

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[chaser]

Thanks I have been motorhoming for years first with my family and now with my wife(and kids) for the last 35 years. It is very annoying when it was ready to go later that day so it had our personal goods in it and gear I have accumulated over the years,a lot of it irreplaceable, there aren't enough words in the dictionary of slang to express my feelings,the ones I want to use would probably get me barred,suffice to say thieving filthy p***y bastards.

I take it there's been no news about it then.