Van theft - a cautionary tale

[Ladymuck]

My friend's very nice 2018 VW converted T6 was stolen recently. It was taken from her driveway as she took her shopping in! Men with baraclavas had been waiting and watching her, she had left the keys in the van so they just took it. Someone in a neighbouring village reported suspicious activity in a church car park (they were changing the plates ready for resale) and the police managed to seize the van and return my friend's van ! We live in rural Cheshire and my friend down a single track country lane.

Perhaps I've been too naive but I am shocked at this and the fact they'd obviously been watching her. I'm now also going to be so worried about my new van getting stolen, it never occurred to me they be watching you for an opportunity like that
A lot of vehicles get stolen in this area, no wonder my insurance quotes were so high

 

[BeeBee]

My friend's very nice 2018 VW converted T6 was stolen recently. It was taken from her driveway as she took her shopping in! Men with baraclavas had been waiting and watching her, she had left the keys in the van so they just took it. Someone in a neighbouring village reported suspicious activity in a church car park (they were changing the plates ready for resale) and the police managed to seize the van and return my friends van ! We live in rural Cheshire and my friend down a single track country lane.

Perhaps I've been too naive but I am shocked at this and the fact they'd obviously been watching her. I'm now also going to be so worried about my new van getting stolen, it never occurred to me they be watching you for an opportunity like that
A lot of vehicles get stolen in this area, no wonder my insurance quotes were so high

Steering wheel Stop lock and Wheel lock ... but nothing really stops then if they are professionals.... good insurance !

 

[Ladymuck]

Steering wheel Stop lock and Wheel lock ... but nothing really stops then if they are professionals.... good insurance !

I've got CCTV and thinking of a tracker now as well although I'm not sure..also wondering about the use of a steering wheel lock.. Agree on the insurance side think I'm going have to go for the higher premium one which do old for new.

 

[testpilottimmy]

My friend's very nice 2018 VW converted T6 was stolen recently. It was taken from her driveway as she took her shopping in! Men with baraclavas had been waiting and watching her, she had left the keys in the van so they just took it. Someone in a neighbouring village reported suspicious activity in a church car park (they were changing the plates ready for resale) and the police managed to seize the van and return my friends van ! We live in rural Cheshire and my friend down a single track country lane.

Perhaps I've been too naive but I am shocked at this and the fact they'd obviously been watching her. I'm now also going to be so worried about my new van getting stolen, it never occurred to me they be watching you for an opportunity like that
A lot of vehicles get stolen in this area, no wonder my insurance quotes were so high

Sounds lucky - would the insurance have paid out if the van wasn’t recovered? It’s not a great idea to leave keys in a vehicle ever.

 

[Elmo3]

Just get the best insurance policy you can. They’ll just tell you to remove any security devices if they want your van, possibly at gun or knifepoint.
What happened to the thieves?

 

[ArunAlec]

Steering wheel Stop lock and Wheel lock ... but nothing really stops then if they are professionals.... good insurance !

I think even a good insurer wouldn‘t help if the keys are left in the vehicle.

 

[Ladymuck]

Sounds lucky - would the insurance have paid out if the van wasn’t recovered? It’s not a great idea to leave keys in a vehicle ever.

I doubt they would pay out! I think given where they live she felt safe, a very quiet country lane, virtually no traffic, no one around but they were waiting in the dark in a car with the lights off, it was 8pm in the evening

Just get the best insurance policy you can. They’ll just tell you to remove any security devices if they want your van, possibly at gun or knifepoint.
What happened to the thieves?

I'm not sure of the detail but the theives got away

 

[Elmo3]

I'm not sure of the detail but the theives got away

That’s a shame although unsurprising...

 

[soulstyledevon]

Get some electric gates fitted.
We have them on our house and it’s a good deterrent, especially as none of the neighbours have them.
Also stops people just wandering in and snooping around.

A couple round the corner have a brand new Porsche Taycan & Lamborghini Urus sitting on an open driveway.
I’ve got no idea how they sleep at night. Unless they’re gangsters themselves. Anything’s possible...

 

[B J G]

Saw a similar case where a RR owner got out to close his driveway gate and a thief jumped in and drove off. Owner never saw anyone about even though mid afternoon.

 

[sbmcd]

We're we live we have to take the van out the drive through the gates then park outside when we close and lock the gates, I never leave the key in the ignition when I return to lock the gates. We live in a rural area so the risk would be low but not one I would take as I know the insurance would not pay out if it was taken.

It was great to hear that person got her van back safely.

 

[66tim99]

We're we live we have to take the van out the drive through the gates then park outside when we close and lock the gates, I never leave the key in the ignition when I return to lock the gates. We live in a rural area so the risk would be low but not one I would take as I know the insurance would not pay out if it was taken.

It was great to hear that person got her van back safely.

Rural areas are attractive, often expensive cars with no-one and no cameras around.

 

[subthree]

I've got CCTV and thinking of a tracker now as well although I'm not sure..also wondering about the use of a steering wheel lock.. Agree on the insurance side think I'm going have to go for the higher premium one which do old for new.

Add an Autowatch Ghost to your list. You can't start the engine without entering the pin code. Re-arms 30 seconds after the engine is turned off.

 

[Ladymuck]

We're we live we have to take the van out the drive through the gates then park outside when we close and lock the gates, I never leave the key in the ignition when I return to lock the gates. We live in a rural area so the risk would be low but not one I would take as I know the insurance would not pay out if it was taken.

It was great to hear that person got her van back safely.

Don't be fooled thinking you are safe because you live in a rural area, this was in a rural area and the thieves were hiding in the dark ...

 

[Lightning]

Don't be fooled thinking you are safe because you live in a rural area, this was in a rural area and the thieves were hiding in the dark ...

That is disconcerting. It’s such a valuable and sought after item it must be very appealing to robbers at the moment.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

We all slip up but the lesson here is obviously to never leave your vehicle with the keys inside. Mind you, if these low life scumbags were watching with balaclavas on it’s odds on that they were stealing to order and might have resorted to mugging the owner for the keys!

I think it’s worth investing in a few deterrents for when the van is parked up. Autowatch Ghost is highly recommended by many on here.

There are also some inexpensive options worth considering:

A steering wheel lock is cheap and visible;

A tracker is worthwhile and there are some inexpensive options i.e. Vodafone Curve;

Front and rear dashcams with Parking Mode and cloud connectivity for live view, remote storage and playback (you have the evidence even if they trash the cameras);

VIN Chip is a cheap security measure providing 2x RFID chips that you hide in the van + plus coded tamperproof window stickers for every window. The van is registered on a database that the police have access to and they can scan a moving van. (Changing the number plates won’t help the villains).

 

[Ladymuck]

Get some electric gates fitted.
We have them on our house and it’s a good deterrent, especially as none of the neighbours have them.
Also stops people just wandering in and snooping around.

A couple round the corner have a brand new Porsche Taycan & Lamborghini Urus sitting on an open driveway.
I’ve got no idea how they sleep at night. Unless their gangsters themselves. Anything’s possible...

Cripes.. must be gangsta

 

[subthree]

I've got CCTV and thinking of a tracker now as well although I'm not sure..also wondering about the use of a steering wheel lock.. Agree on the insurance side think I'm going have to go for the higher premium one which do old for new.

We had our Ghost fitted a couple of weeks ago. Even the fitter, who also fits trackers, said trackers are (generally) a waste of time as the scumbags just block them straight away. Don't shoot the messenger, just relaying what I was told!

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

We had our Ghost fitted a couple of weeks ago. Even the fitter, who also fits trackers, said trackers are (generally) a waste of time as the scumbags just block them straight away. Don't shoot the messenger, just relaying what I was told!

How much did your ghost installation cost?

 

[subthree]

How much did your ghost installation cost?

£449, seems to be a fixed price. 450 notes versus £60+k seemed like a no brainer to me. Spent £600 on seat covers so seems daft not to buy this!

I wasn't interested in how much my insurance premium might reduce, in fact I haven't told my insurance company, it just seems like a really good bit of kit to me.

Really happy with the service from this guy;

03330129028

03330129028

www.elitefleetinstallations.co.uk

 

[Ladymuck]

We had our Ghost fitted a couple of weeks ago. Even the fitter, who also fits trackers, said trackers are (generally) a waste of time as the scumbags just block them straight away. Don't shoot the messenger, just relaying what I was told!

Now you see I'm just going round and round in circles with security. I'd gone off the idea of a tracker for the reason you gave but if my friend had a tracker surely she would have located the van sooner rather than the 'luck' she had that someone spotted suspicious activity in a church car park??
Again with ghost keys I'm going round in circles and currently put off with the idea of waking up to someone in my room demanding the key code

 

[Hamish S]

Now you see I'm just going round and round in circles with security. I'd gone off the idea of a tracker for the reason you gave but if my friend had a tracker surely she would have located the van sooner rather than the 'luck' she had that someone spotted suspicious activity in a church car park??
Again with ghost keys I'm going round in circles and currently put off with the idea of waking up to someone in my room demanding the key code

You are assuming they know it needs a code. My view is sorry lads the van is broken and won't start!!!

 

[Amarillo]

Now you see I'm just going round and round in circles with security. I'd gone off the idea of a tracker for the reason you gave but if my friend had a tracker surely she would have located the van sooner rather than the 'luck' she had that someone spotted suspicious activity in a church car park??
Again with ghost keys I'm going round in circles and currently put off with the idea of waking up to someone in my room demanding the key code

We park Amarillo on an open driveway in S. London (Lewisham/Greenwich border). We don’t take any special precautions, but do have CCTV. No problems to date.

When we park somewhere we don’t know well we simply rotate the driver’s seat. The hope being that a wannabe California thief will glance through the window, spot the swivelled seat, and move to an easier target.

Home is more vulnerable as it could be targeted by a professional thief.

 

[Algor]

You are assuming they know it needs a code. My view is sorry lads the van is broken and won't start!!!

You are assuming that career criminals who steal vehicles to order for a living are thick and that they don't know an immobiliser when they see one. Seriously if it ever gets past the point of stopping an opportunist thief, then just let it go, it can be replaced. The amount of people that lose their lives for something that an insurance company will replace sickens me to my stomach to be honest. There is evil in this world and best intensions doesn't beat 3 men in balaclava's.

 

[Chris_BLG_Ocean]

I’m lucky I live behind a 12ft fence with 24hr armed guard I would love to see someone try and steel my van from my ‘home’ (when it finally arrives)


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