RE:Some little B8stard tried to steal my GTI

[AndyC]

On Thursday some little 8rse broke in through the back door of my house, and raided my kitchen and lounge looking for VW keys, they were unable to find GTI keys as these where in the safe hidden, but they managed to find my Ford Focus keys  "Company Car" . and took that instead.  I have now been suspended by my Employers for there vehicle being stolen.  The Police told me It is a Gang of ex Prisoners who have been released recently and are living in the Wigan area.  They have managed to steal 96cars including Range Rovers, BMW X5s, Porsche Carreras, Ford Focus St and Golf GTIs, etc, he stated non of these cars have been recovered, and they are desperate to get this gang.  My advice is to you is to make sure your High performance Vehicle keys are well hidden.

[Tony D]

Holy $hit man!   

Sorry to hear about your break in / job suspension...... surely the Police can advise your employers it was a genuine case and they can re-instate you?  Bit harsh to be treated like that by your company.....   

[Teutonic_Tamer]

That's bad news   

It's just one of the reasons I always debadge my motors.

What I don't understand, though, is why did you not have a Tracker fitted  , they would certainly have caught the low-life scum then!

Rgds

[wantmygti]

Just goes to show people are ar5eholes!

[AndyC]

I asked the police about trackers, they stated some of the cars that already been stolen had trackers fitted, but still were not traced and recovered, something about when these cars are parked in containers they cant be traced or something.  Found out that company car had third party insurance only, no fire or theft "Oh Dear".  Will be having a meeting tomorrow at 14:30 with the boss man.

[S11EPS]

I'm not claiming to be an expert on the subject or anything, but I think if you took your boss to a tribunal for suspending you, he'd be f*cked six ways until Sunday.

Unless it specifically states in your contract of employment or company car users policy that theft from or of your company car will result in such action  then he has no right to act in this manner - your boss is acting like a pr1ck.

He is obvioulsy smarting from being a proper cheapskate (insuring cars 3rd party only? What is he, 17 and just passed his test?) as it's now going to cost him a replacement vehicle. I have never, ever heard of a company insuring such valuable assets in such a penny pinching fashion.

How big is your company fleet? I can't imagine why anyone would do that - our FC insurance fleet cost is £12k p/a for 6 cars (My scoob, a new A4, a Passat, 320d SE and two 9-3 Saabs) 5 vans (3 new Kangoo's, 2 hi-aces) and a Lorry, plus cover on any vehicle we hire/are loaned.

Not wishing to move away from the core issue (the house being broken into/car being stolen etc) but do not let this guy take liberties. You have no idea how many rights as an employee you have, seriously. When you meet with him make sure he knows you know what he's done is wrong, and further examples of such attitude will not be tolerated.

If I treated someone like that I would be expecting a resignation or a mouthfull for acting like a c0ck.

As for the house being burgled, you have my sympathies, and I hope you and yours get over this intruision as soon as possible.
Unfortunately this is becoming more and more common, with the need for the keys in order to physically snatch the car, and indeed, sell it on. I rarely bother with locking my keys in the safe, but they are never left anywhere obvious and this fella is always strolling around the house. My advice to potential thieves, try next door...

[Creepy Coupe]

Sorry to hear of your bad news Andy, low life scum what their hands chopping off IMO. I hope you can get over the thought of them in your home, I'm sure you will in time, I know it's a bit "after the horse has bolted" but have you thought of a house alarm, might help you and your family sleep a bit better at night, and also detracts from your house being the soft target.

You can get a good alarm for around £500 nowadays, and some insurance companies give 5-10% discount

Anyway, good luck, and I hope the Plod catch them soon.

[timp7748]

Sorry about your loss. My parents have just had the same thing happen with their X5. Some really tall fair haired bloke - claims to be swedish declared his interest in my dad's car and paid with a banker's draft which was signed by the bank manager. However, all his ID was fake, the draft was fraudulent and my dad is now less of a car. The police have informed us that the car is probably in a container or in another country by now. this all happened last sunday. the police have also said that some vehicles have been recovered.

Sorry to hear of your bad news Andy, low life scum what their hands chopping off IMO.

My old man would do more than cut his hands off believe me!! The theiving b@stards!!!

[illyun]

Hands chopping... yeah thats sounds good - if only we could send them to Saudi Arabia for punishment 

[Teutonic_Tamer]

I asked the police about trackers, they stated some of the cars that already been stolen had trackers fitted, but still were not traced and recovered, something about when these cars are parked in containers they cant be traced or something.

Hmmm . . . there are trackers, and then there are "Tracker" - http://www.tracker.co.uk.  A few years back at a motor show, I had some bunch of tossers try and flog me some el-cheapo vehicle tracking system - long and short of it, they were trying to sell on the grounds that is was better than the proper "Tracker", was approved by all the Police forces etc, etc, but when questioned, NO Police force actually used their system.  9 months or so later, I heard the same company had been prosecuted by trading standards, on a whole host of charges, including obtaining money by deception, and the two directors (who were both at the motor show) were jailed as a result!!

Trouble with tracking systems in general, some peeps just buy the cheapest, most basic system, just to satisfy any "insurance" requirement, and invariably the thieves know the weak points in most of the cheaper systems.  Even the orginal official Tracker Retrieve has been obsolete for some time now.  The latest offerings from Tracker include three separate, but complementary "tracking" technologies, as well as key tagging.  These can not be "hidden" in containers, because one of the technologies will find it.

Regarding your job, and your boss, I merely echo what others had said, and feel for you!