My bike was stolen and 10 months later it turns up in a shop

[jordanhammond]

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on my current situation.

In March 2012 my bike was stolen, the theft was reported to the police who had some leads but then they forgot about it.

Last week they contacted me to say that a dealership in London had requested the log book details for it so it's likely they have it.

They police went down and took photos of the bike and instructed them to not sell it. The bike has the same registration plate still on it.

The complication is that they claim the bike was in a bad condition when they received it and had subsequently spent money on restoring it (new body parts and paint).

The police have suggested I get some legal advice to my position as the shop may have received the bike in "good faith" as demonstrated by requesting the log book before selling.

I pointed out to the police that it makes no sense to spend any money repairing and painting a bike before requesting the registration information to see if it stolen or not. They are also awaiting the details of who sold the bike to the dealer.

As fate would have it the insurance ran out last month and was cancelled as the bike was gone. So I'm unsure if the insurance company should cover any lawyer costs.

Hopefully someone on here knows the best options?

From the police:

[P.addy]

Bike is yours, regardless.

Request that your property is returned to you.

Was a case on here a while back where someone crashed their CBR400, left it, went home and went to recover, it was stolen.

Months, maybe a year later a very similar bike pops up online/dealer.

The guy got it back, thieves had gone through the trouble of fixing it for him too, what nice chaps.

[yaigi]

Did you claim on your insurance when the bike was stolen?
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[BigDan1190]

Doesn't matter if they received it in good faith or not.

Its like when someone buys a track bike in good faith, gets it ready for track, then police check the VIN number... BOOM. Back to the owner/ins company.

Its your bike, the company have lost out on paint e.t.c. because they didn't make the necessary checks.

EDIT:

I lolled that the police are telling you to seek legal advice on a motorbike theft. SURELY, considering they are handling the matter, they should know your position.

[Wafer_Thin_Ham]

Seek legal advice as the police have suggested.

Also, have you claimed off of your insurance?

If so it's not nothing to do with you as the bike would technically speaking belong to your insurance, so let them know where it is and leave it with them.

Who is the bike shop in question, as it reeks of dodgey to me.

Whether or not they've spend money doing up the bike is irrelevant. To my mind.
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[lllN30lll]

Surely the shop should have HPI'd it. it's their fault they bought a stolen bike.
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[jordanhammond]

[Polarbear]

[P.addy]

[jordanhammond]

Thanks for advice everyone.

I will call the insurance company & police again tomorrow and press them to sort it out. Also track down the seller (if there was one) and get then charged.

[.....]

Walk into the shop and push it out. It's your bike.

[P.addy]

[mcgoogle]

i would do the same as joe go down to shop and ask to see the bike double check it is yours then push it home or get a mate with a van. if the garage refuse or try to stop you ring police and show proof its your bike

if it was you who unknowingly bought a stolen bike and fixed it up the response from the police would be "tough shit"

try and get it sorted as soon as possible though because if the garage are kicking up now i can imagine parts being stripped off it before you get it back
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[katana]

Yeah if it is near London I'll do it as your agent.

It is your bike, go and collect. If they want to supply you the parts removed they can but the bike is yours. Be quick in case the bike disappears again.

[katana]

[binge]

[Suntan Sid]

[Raffles]

You have stated that you didn't pursue a claim for your loss and that the bike's insurance cover has now expired. Did you notify your insurance company of your loss at the time that it occured? If you did then you may still be entitled to legal representation Re your current situation.
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[waffles]

If I had unknowingly bought a stolen bike, spent money on fixing it up then had the police knocking on my door saying it was nicked I would be out of pocket and shit outta luck.

It doesn't matter that the dealership spent money fixing it up for you, the bike still belongs to you and you have no authorised any work to be undertaken on it. Do you know which dealership it is? Speak to them and let them know that you want your property back and that they need to pursue the person they bought it from to get their money back.
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Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[BakesBeans]

You need to act on this asap.

The dealer will also know the legal position (the bike is yours), and will be taking the parts off the bike if you even hint that you will not pay for them. Don't ring them, turn up, that way they have no time to remove valuable parts from the bike.

The response from the Police is quite shocking. Look at the key words "possible" etc, it's just an email to hint that you should consider paying for the parts; yet how many times do people lose out after they have bought a stolen item by mistake!


I remember watching a police program where they went into a [touring] caravan site, and checked all the caravans to see if they were stolen. Several families were left stranded after the vans were taken from them straight away. Ok, the copper had sympathy on camera - but I never heard that classic line as in your email.
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Current: Kawasaki ZX636
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[evoboy]

https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?p=3425253#3425253

Police helped me.
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[Supermoto_Fan]

Grab your helmet and get down to the dealership
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[j.silvs]

Fuck calling the police, get down the dealers first thing and demand you want your bike back, show log book or any other proof and tell them to do one.

If they say no then call the police and don't leave!!

This shit pisses me off, police should be investigating the dealers for handling stolen goods but they prob have a reciept of purchase signed jack fucking sparrow! Let's all fucking go there

[YBR Ric]

The theft of your vehicle has now become a civil dispute, hence the police telling you to seek legal advice as they can no longer assist. Their action is limited into investigating who sold the vehicle to the garage and the possible prosecution of that person - unless that person themselves bought it in good faith!

Hopefully they will have advised the garage that the vehicle may be the subject of a dispute and should not attempt to sell it.
Should you attempt to forcibly remove it from their premises you leave yourself open to arrest if they believe a breach of the peace is imminent and need to prevent it.

Do/did you have RAC AA breakdown for the vehicle? They usually offer access to free legal service/advice for members. Failing that, help from your insurance company if they were advised at the time of the loss, or a freeby session with citizens advice/solicitor.

[recman]

I'd love to be there for this one fella, it would be well worth the trip down the M1.