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TWO California's STOLEN within the past 3 weeks !

Sorry to hear this Vanessa, that is two Cali's stolen within the last couple of weeks! The other one was stolen from Burton upon Trent (not a million miles away.)I hope you get it back , I have also shared this on Facebook and Twitter.

Please keep us updated.


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i'm very sorry to hear that. Could you post a picture? Don't know whether it have some particular thing which can attract our atention I we see it on the street
 
Vanessa moore said:
If anyone spots it please phone 07967978796 .

We are devastated.
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Oh Vanessa,
I am so sorry, thats awful news. I sincerely hope you get it back soon, undamaged. Have you a photo and does your Cali have any distiguishing features?
If you can bear to tell us, how did they manage it? Your account might help to prevent further Cali thefts. Unfortunately this seems to becoming a regular issue.
 
Very sad thing to hear , fingerd crossed it will pop up in a few days .....
 
Welcome to the forum (sorry to hear about the loss of your van) I am sure everyoneone will keep eyes open looking for it. I see it was taken from home were the keys stolen from the house
 
Dreadful news. Commiserations.

It may help others perhaps if you detail the situation.
Was it on the street outside? In the driveway? In a garage? Were you at home at the time? Did they break into the house and take the keys?

S.
 
Sorry to hear this, quite a few T5's have gone missing as well in the Leic area, could be a gang stealing to order, hope this is not a pattern
 
Really gutted for you, I'll look out for your Registration on all my travels, did it have anything distinguishing on it/in it?
Mine is also a 2014 bog standard grey colour.
 
How awful. Sounds like Cali's are on toe rags Xmas lists big time! Hope you have some good news soon.
Zebedee
 
Thanks for the commiserations. The burglar tried to get in through various windows at the side of our house having mounted a tall gate and fence. He got in through a french window in the kitchen by forcing it open - I think- which is at the front of the house. The burglar alarm went off and he took the keys from the table and scarpered. My neighbour saw the cali leaving the drive at speed in the direction of Desford. Nothing was taken from the house. It's dark grey metalic. Will attempt to post a picture when I master the technicalities.
 
So sad to hear it. I have at home, next to the main door, a safe in which Inalways save my cars keys.

I do because my house is rented and you never knows how many keys of the house are loitering out there. Now I'm more convinced.
 
Vanessa moore said:
Thanks for the commiserations. The burglar tried to get in through various windows at the side of our house having mounted a tall gate and fence. He got in through a french window in the kitchen by forcing it open - I think- which is at the front of the house. The burglar alarm went off and he took the keys from the table and scarpered. My neighbour saw the cali leaving the drive at speed in the direction of Desford. Nothing was taken from the house. It's dark grey metalic. Will attempt to post a picture when I master the technicalities.
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Thanks for the info Vanessa and good luck with getting your Cali back ASAP. If it wasn't the target and more of an escape vehicle you have a chance.
I don't have a Cali yet but when I do it is going to get a separate cut off somewhere. For everyone who has one I can see that it is particularly vulnerable to this kind of theft. Many may well have the Cali as a second or primarily a vehicle for recreation and it will therefore spend time at home alone with the keys. Time to start hiding the keys if your not already me thinks.
 
IMG-20140913-00022.jpeg heres a picture of our lovely California, the bike rack was not on it a the time it got stolen :rage
 
If nothing else was taken then to me it sounds like the Cali was the target.
The Cali stolen recently at Burton on Trent was also a house break in with the keys used to steal the vehicle.
The lesson seems to be security of the keys, so make sure the keys are really well secured within the house.
 
I am convinced the cali was targeted. I saw video today from a neighbours CCTV camera. A car drove in to our drive, then reversed out, about 3 minutes later it returned, drove in again and out again, followed by our Cali! The car must have dropped off someone who firstly tried to smash the burglar alarm, leaped the gate, tried the windows and returned to the front where he forced entry. All so fast. I agree security of keys is so important.
 
Really sorry to hear about this.

Security of keys...

If you hide them, like under your pillow, do people not worry you could end up with someone demanding them from you?
 
One last thought Vanessa is if you have any distinguishing features. Dents or anything unique
Vanessa moore said:
I am convinced the cali was targeted. I saw video today from a neighbours CCTV camera. A car drove in to our drive, then reversed out, about 3 minutes later it returned, drove in again and out again, followed by our Cali! The car must have dropped off someone who firstly tried to smash the burglar alarm, leaped the gate, tried the windows and returned to the front where he forced entry. All so fast. I agree security of keys is so important.
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Yep there is no doubt it was targeted under those circumstances.
 
Gutting, so sorry to hear the news. I hope they get caught.

There are a few things I think that can help reduce the risk of being targetted, at least online.

If you take pictures of your van using a phone , ensure GPS tagging is turned off. If it's on and you post a photo online say on a forum or website, you are posting up GPS co-ords of its location. If the pics are at home, they only need look at the meta data and they can find it.

Remove or obscure the reg plate in your photos too, a guy got caught stealing a MH recently in my area, he was according to the local rag from Manchester and it turned out he had access to DVLA data, can only assume as a trader.
 
Sorry to hear about this awful theft. I cannot imagine the sense of loss that you must be feeling Vanessa. In answer to Treecity, my thoughts are the thieves do not want to be seen or recognised so they go for relatively easy targets where they do not have to hang around long. By hiding your keys you are adding another layer of complication which may put them off. Fortunately hijacking or theft of keys from an owner are not too common in the UK and hopefully it will it stay that way.
 
question ...on behalf of my mum (vanessa).... any one have any experience with gps trackers. any recommendations?? i found one on amazon for them and it doesn't have a monthly fee, it charges you when you request the location of your vehicle, it got good reviews. im thinking this is a good idea to put on the cali or any other nice cars at least as one way to try to get the vehicle back if stolen....obviously it not being stolen in the first place is best but its one extra thing she could use....it sounds like they know what they want and they will hunt those keys down any way possible!!
 
I read about another California being stolen in the Midlands this week, that is now three California's been stolen in less than a month.

Possibly ending up in Poland where they seem to have way too many Cali's stripped down for spares

Possibly same gang doing all these?
Stealing to order?
How are they locating the Cali's as it is not as if you can just wonder down the road and find one?
 
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