Insurance Help/recovered bike.

[Qwiktune]

Long babble:

[I posted a few months ago about my bike being stolen]

Okay, i got a call today from the police, they found my bike that got stolen 3 months ago, and told me i had half an hour to come get it, or a recovery service will pick it up (and it may cost triple figures).

Obviously i ran there. It was in a complete state, they dragged it out of a hedge. Levers snapped, tank dented to fuck, seat hanging off, foot rests bent, fuel cap popped out, obviously wires cut/meddled with, license plates gone.

They didn't check me for ID or anything, i walked up to them, they asked if it was my bike and then let me push it away through town back to my house.

The insurance company paid me out for the bike, so technically its theirs. I rang them saying its pretty much a write off but i would like to buy it back off them, for the parts. They declined saying they don't do that and will be sending some people to come collect it.

Police are also coming to dust it for prints to find the culprits.

My questions are:

''Should i have even told the insurance company, or just garaged it and taken it to bits?''

''Should i just TAKE off the parts i want before their collection people come to get it, for all they know it has no parts left on it anyway. When i picked it up the police hadn't taken photos of it, or even written what condition it was in, they didn't know i had claimed on it already''

''If they find the people who stole it through prints, would i be able to claim comp? I lost about £800 on the thing, plus i could big up loss of earnings due to not getting to work, depression because of the incident etc etc''


Thanks in advance, Sam
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CBT Passed: 25.05.11, Theory Passed: 12.07.11, MOD1 Passed: 01.04.12, MOD2 Passed: 20.07.12
bikes: Lifan LF125(stolen), Sukida sk125, GPZ 600r, CBR 600F

[Minty]

Forget prints, they let you drag it back home, hello contaminated crime scene.

It isn't 'technically' the insurance company's, it is theirs, plain and simple. You should have left it in the hedge for them to resolve with the police. Any storage costs would have to be paid by the insurance company.

As to taking bits off someone else's bike, well, they don't know what is on there and what isn't. Just dont bitch down the line about high premiums.
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My fingers smell of your mum.

[Rogerborg]

Yup, you're being punished for being honest. Sorry, that's not the way that it should be, but it is. The victim gets the fuzzy end of the lollipop at every stage.

The moment you got the payout, the bike was neither your property nor your responsibility.

It doesn't sound like there's much left to part out, but if I were you, I would go ahead and remove anything that is easily removable and in good nick, and I'd do it with a clear consciences: if you don't strip the bike, the recovery outfit goons are likely to do so anyway. The insurer won't care either way, they're looking at getting a token amount from a scrappy, and they've already had their pound of flesh out of you with their excess. The money's better in your hands than theirs.

Forget the dusting for prints, they can't possibly secure a conviction even if they'd been taken at the scene. Plod only want them so that they next time they collar Barry Bikeblagger red handed he can go guilty early doors and fess up to nicking your bike and a heap of other ones as well. Why would he do that? Because Magistrate Sally Sobstory will praise his resolve to take responsibility for his actions, turn over a new leaf, deal with his inevitable drug habit, all the same tosh that he trotted out the last time he got banged to rights. The cop shop's figures will get a little better, and Barry will get exactly the same token fine or community sentence - neither of which he'll ever deliver on - as he'd have got for one bike, possibly even a slightly reduced sentence, depending on how good a repentant sinner performance he puts on. I only wish I were joking.

In theory, a court can tell Barry to pay you, or even garnish his (inevitable) disability benefits. In practice it'll be a risible sum, and you're unlikely to see much if any of it. Again, better in your pocket than his, mind.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike