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Found my stolen bike for sale

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Fiona84
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Joined: 01 Feb 2016
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PostPosted: 18:02 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Found my stolen bike for sale Reply with quote

My partner's (mountain) bike was stolen, and I've just spotted it for sale online. Obviously I've reported it to the police, not sure what they will do if anything. We're absolutely certain it is the same bike, it is quite unusual already, and has custom components including some which are only sold locally to us. It's ended up 50 miles away.
Has anyone else had experience of this kind of situation? Did they get their property back?
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Pjay
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PostPosted: 18:05 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

It depends if he purchased the bike legally from a police auction.
If he has, then it's his, oddly.

Operation bumblebee site sell them all the time.

https://www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk/XcAPViewItem.asp?ID=168363

There are also places like Frank Bowen Auctions that sell bike for the police.

https://www.frankgbowen.co.uk
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 18:12 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

We did report the theft when it happened about a month ago, so the police were already aware. It is a very unusual frame, this is the first I have seen one for sale, and I've been keeping a close eye on all the usual selling platforms, and lo and behold it IS his bike.
Surely the police cross reference seized property with their reported thefts?
His insurance has paid for a replacement bike, I'm just hoping the police do something about it. And I'm actually surprised they've put it up for sale without changing the components. I recognised it immediately.
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Pjay
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PostPosted: 18:16 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fiona84 wrote:
Surely the police cross reference seized property with their reported thefts?


I've seen bikes in Police auctions with tags on them from Bike Register.
It seems the police care not. They just get them in, store them and then sell them. They make plenty of money this way, so they have little interest on getting the bikes back to their owners.
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Bozzy
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PostPosted: 19:04 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd "Buy" it, arrange a time and place to collect and then turn up for it with a few heavies. I'd then advise the person selling it that the bike is in fact mine and that it would either be leaving them the easy way or the hard way.
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waffles
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PostPosted: 19:28 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

If insurance have already paid out it is no longer your husbands bike. Report to insurance co. too as they may be interested in reclaiming their property back.
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 21:34 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

The police haven't done anything about it yet, I called them early this morning as soon as I spotted the advert, and my partner rang them this afternoon, to be told that 'hopefully' someone in X police force would look into it.
It will be very disappointing if they don't follow up on it. I've given them all the details and the seller's phone number, it couldn't be much easier.
I just hope some other innocent person doesn't lose money through this. It could be the seller bought it from someone else and is unaware that it is stolen, but they are selling it for a relatively low price, which sounds suspicious in itself. And from their advert they don't seem like the kind of person who would buy a high end mountain bike.
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NJD
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PostPosted: 21:46 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Go view, inspect and if yours walk away with. If not then act like you're not interested and say you'll get back to them.

Longer you wait the more chance of someone else buying and you've lost track of it.

You're the only one with your best interest at heart. No one else is going to care about your property as much as you. IMO "hopefully" says plod means basically can't be bothered because more important things to do.
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Ste
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PostPosted: 21:55 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Report it to your insurance company.

Or call the seller up and arrange to view it. If it's the one that was stolen then it's actually the insurance companies property since they've paid out for it so who knows what would happen if you tried to leave with the bike.

The police might be more interested if you were to phone and tell them that you and your boyfriend have arranged to view what you think is the bike your boyfriend had stolen. You're going to look at it after this phone call at 123 Donkey Boner Road, Clown Sex Town, Shittyshire.
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Pjay
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PostPosted: 21:57 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd be inclined to use the insurance money to buy it back Smile
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 22:34 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pjay wrote:
I'd be inclined to use the insurance money to buy it back Smile


He's already bought another bike, although he has got enough left over to buy it from the payout, but I don't think he's bothered, he prefers the new bike. It just seems daft of the police not to follow it up when I have given them a clear lead.
It is definetly the same bike, we are both 100% certain of it, and my partner has plenty of photographs of it, he had to send a lot to the insurance company.
The bike is worth several thousand pounds, which makes it harder to understand the police's lack of response.
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Fin
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PostPosted: 22:51 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Let's see a pic of it? My bro will probably end up buying it otherwise, he buys a lot of bikes bellow market value and sells them at what they should be.
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Pjay
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PostPosted: 23:04 - 31 Aug 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fiona84 wrote:
The bike is worth several thousand pounds, which makes it harder to understand the police's lack of response.


The police are not really that bothered with solving crimes. Their work is based on stats of successful prosecutions. They know full well that they would only be doing paperwork for no prosecution and no work done that gets them little stars on their records.

They would turn up at the guys house, tell him the information they have about the bike being stolen and how they need to check out the bike and how he came to be in possession of it. The seller then explains how he bought the bike at a car boot sale the other week from a rather nice looking man and woman who even had their kids there. "How bad is that officer? Teaching the youngsters how to sell stolen goods! It's disgraceful. Would you like a description of them?". At this point, the policeman would take the confirmed stolen bike, explaining to the seller that he may well be questioned again, regarding the bike (he wont), back to the station. After a mountain of paperwork, the policeman then has the ballache of dealing with the insurance company, who legally own the bike, but only ever call when he is busy buying a roll from Gregs, or stopping Gareth from throwing stones at trains, from the park, onto the trainlines. If after a month of two-ing and fro-ing, they get their planets aligned, the copper goes to find the bike and loads it into a van, never to see it again.

Hardly seems worth the ensuing bollocks.
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 07:32 - 02 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

The police force where it has been found say they won't even go and look at it without a frame number, which we don't have. We do have extensive descriptions of the bike and photographs of it and its non standard components (several of which are visible in the seller's photos), even down to marks and scratches on the frame. We can prove beyond a shadow of doubt that this is his bike, I already know it is from the seller's photos.
My partner is going to put a complaint in to the police.
The local police have been better, but the officer dealing with it can't do anything until Saturday, by which point the bike will be long gone.
I know, as you say it's probably too much trouble for them, but its really frustrating knowing it is there and they aren't doing anything about it. They don't know it technically belongs to the insurance now, so that shouldn't make a difference. The insurance took some time paying out because they were waiting for the police to reply to their request for a crime number, and they never did.
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 07:37 - 02 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

The advert has now gone, so it's probably been sold now and gone forever Sad
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Fiona84
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PostPosted: 07:40 - 18 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's reappeared on a different site, twice now. Less recognisable since they took certain distinctive components off it and were selling them as separate lots, so clearly it is the same bike, and the new seller has even described scratches on it which my partner caused when he crashed into a tree stump downhilling.
The police won't do anything about it, apparently they sent someone to see the first seller but only after it had been sold on.
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Ste
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PostPosted: 09:18 - 18 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ste wrote:
Report it to your insurance company.

Have you done that yet?
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Wafer_Thin_Ham
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PostPosted: 09:29 - 18 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

If this bike is so rare and worth so much why didn't you smart water or datatag it (or any other way of marking push bikes)?

At least it would be easy to prove it's yours.......
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thepuma
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PostPosted: 10:05 - 18 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't waste your energy and time on it..let it go. Shit happens.

You've been paid out for it by the Insurance company...he's happier with his new bike with cash to spare so I really don't know why you're wasting you're precious time over it.

Yeah it sucks, but shit happens. You've come out better off so just forget it and move on.
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ScaredyCat
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PostPosted: 10:39 - 18 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why are you even getting involved. It's not your partner's bike it's the insurance company's.

Do what Ste said. tell the insurance company, if you want to do something. Otherwise, just get over it.
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Fin
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PostPosted: 19:42 - 25 Sep 2016    Post subject: Reply with quote

You should have posted the link, if it was near me I'd go and say that it was a stolen bike and that I'm taking it.

I once spoke to a man who had his bike stolen and put online for sale but they covered it electrical tape so it wasn't identifiable. The guy could tell from the frame and geometry so went to look at it, peeled off some of the tape, was sure it was his so beat the shit out of the guy and then took things from his house to cover the costs.

I believe him because the bike he had when speaking to me was decent but he disguised it to look shit. He was also fairly big and black.


Actually I had someone quite recently come into work with a bit fucked bike that was stolen and he saw it in the same city and a policeman near so went to the thief and bike to get it back and the thief pretended he didn't know whose bike it was as he wasn't seen on it by the policeman. The guy turned out to be an illegal immigrant and the police turned him in to wherever they go.


Surely the bike was >1k would be worth the drive to wherever it was with a few big mates and sports equipment and take the bike back.
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