Theft of Works Van

[martin.]

Yesterday(22nd) while working at a train station in Atherton some very kind person decided to take it upon himself to steal my van, I was working 50 yards from it and as I walked back to it saw it drive off down the road.

Don't worry, I hear you say, you're insured, well, you would think so wouldn't you. Network rail don't provide us with our own tools because they are job specific so you have to provide your own and being a joiner my collection of tools have grown over the years and are specialised tools, but not to the railway so they count as personal items and yes, at network rail you aren't insured for personal items, so without the tools I can't do my job, my livelyhood has been stolen and every tool I own has gone.

So you do a job for your company in a company vehicle and on comapany property and you get ****** all. There is nothing written down anywhere that states we have to have our own insurance, not in contracts or handbooks or rule books.

The hire tools I have are covered but nothing else, I have had my tools 20 years and some of them were given to me by my dad from when he was an apprentice.

You always learn from your mistakes, and there won't be a next time because I will only carry what I need from now on.

The van i'm not bothered about, it's my paperwork and my diaries that have every job i've done in the last 18 months written down in it, job numbers, places i've been, why i've been there, all my maps and A-Z books, things you build up over time to make your van your office, flask, cup, cool bag, woolly hat.

I feel totally violated and empty, a stolen livelyhood and an empty heart. There's probably no point complaining about it, no-body can do anything about it, I won't get anything back and even if they are caught nothing will happen, it's life, I suppose i'll just have to accept it.

Martin.

 

[Parksy]

I'm so sorry to hear this Martin. I had a car stolen once with my tools etc inside and although the car was returned with damaged locks and ignition I never saw my tools again, even my work boots and body warmer were stolen. I worked for myself at the time so I had to repace everything.

The lowlife scum who do this sort of thing would never know what to do with hand tools so they'll probably be sold at a car boot sale to fund their drug habit.

It's sickening when you know that in the unlikely event of them being caught nothing will happen to these neandethals so lets hope that they get leprosy

 

[DeliDave]

I know how you feel had

 

[martin.]

Just been in touch with our insurance company to see if I could claim off our house insurance as it says in the policy "theft from a motor vehicle", aha I hear you say, well done, nope, the insurance company says "used for business" so not covered, work say they are personal, insurance say business.

How does that saying go on telly "no win no fee" where's the phone.

 

[parker1158]

Martin you have my commiserations; I know how it feels as I once had my tool box with tools stolen from a garage I used to work at. When I worked out the replacement cost for insurance purposes it came to just shy of

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

It the future they might invent a smart anti-theft device that can determine if the person is trying to break in. Wouldn't it be nice if you could then set the anti-theft device to electrocute those cretins and when you arrived back at your van there was just a pile of ash on the pavement. For the first time in their lives these morons would then have some use to society - as fertiliser.

 

[Icemaker]

martin, as a train driver using that route i know the scum that live in that area or rather not in atherton but in hagfold the next station 1/4 of a mile away, i would imagine your van ended up in hagfold got emptied then probably taken to the usuall place of burning on the old slag heaps.

Im surprised nobody adviced you of the crime problems in that area its a haven of lowlife which is why all the on track machines stored at atherton signal box have been put so close to the signaller so he can keep an eye on them, i imagine you got to the work site via the council estate and then up the stone road to the line at the west end of the signal box ? if you did i would think at least half the residents would have been eying up your van.

I would try with network rail again, before i became a train driver i was a refrigeration / air-conditioning engineer and i too had all my own tools, when my van got stolen the company replaced every single item which amounted to many thousands of pounds as all my tools where snap on, there insurance did insist on seing all the rerceipts which was not a problem as i had kept them due to the snap on warranty but i got every thing back at no cost to me.

good luck martin and please warn all your collegues on this line that its not safe, they will even nick your lunch if you put it down.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Makes note in TomTom satnav, "always avoid Hag Fold". :O)

 

[martin.]

Icemaker,

Did you see a couple of guys the other week replacing the fence at Hagfold station, if you did, it was me, then had the joyous job of going back last week to do another section.

Funny enough it was Hagfold station I was working at when they stole it, and we've got to go back to do the fence on platform 1, I don't think so......

Lord Braykewynde, although I like the sound of your idea for an anti theft device, the best one I saw was on a James Bond film where someone tried to steal the white Lotus Esprit, there was a close up of the window with a sticker on it saying "Warning, anti theft device fitted", with that the bloke hit the glass with his gun to smash the window and the car blew up, Brilliant.

Martin.

 

[martin.]

I actually put this message on here to see if it would jog anyones memory, Hagfold estate has an awful lot of caravanners, just though they might do the decent thing.

Martin.

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

Quote martin............... "Hagfold estate has an awful lot of caravanners".

Anyone in the Wigan area who is missing their caravan go check out Hag Fold estate :O)

 

[martin.]

Icemaker,

We actually walked the slag heaps to see if we could see it there the day after but to no avail.

I know a few people who live up there and had a lot of friends looking for it, a long wheel base high top transit with a ladder on the side is a hard vehicle to hide.

I just want my hand tools and sat nav back, they're my livelyhood, they can have the rest.

Martin.

 

[Icemaker]

Hi martin, i got diverted on my way back from blackpool yesterday via wigan northwestern and crows nest and funnily enough as i came down the atherton branch i did have a good look around to see if i could spot your van anywhere but nothing was visible. to be honest if its not on the slagheaps then its probably now in the posetion of one of our less than savoury caravanning friends who allso frequent the area quite often(the travellers who give genuine travellers a bad name).

I try to avoid going down the line as much as possible as we have so much vandelism round the area, i alone have had 4 windscreens smashed by brick throwing morons in the past few years and every single day an incident is reported. i did see some staff laying new platform boards at hagg fold but i didnt see any one doing the fence, sorry.

hope you find the van or at least the tools, take care and don't let the scumbags get you down theres no point making yourself any more miserable i learnt that 10 year ago when i was self employed and ended up very close to a nervous breakdown due to worry and stress, keep smilling start to replace the tools, take it as a lesson learnt, take the van out for the weekend and have a few beers, there things are starting to look up again.

 

[martin.]

Well, I got a letter today from the police dated 22nd, the day the van vanished, basically it said we have explored all avenues with no result so it's now a closed matter.

10.30 this morning gets a phone call from fleet support, we've found your van, parked up outside someones house last thursday night(22nd) in Farnworth.

No tools, screws, nails, locks, wood, paint and all the things you need for my job, funny enough though my cheque book, bank details, credit card details, works account numbers for suppliers, were all still there, clever but dumb.

Martin.

 

[john_374325148]

Martin, i do no how you feel, i,v had my car broke into, and some time back had my shed broke into, and had all my fishing kit stolen, my fishing kit had a value of two and half thousand pound, and like you some of it passed down, which you car,nt replace.I had right trouble with the insurance commpany, they sent a check for a grand total of 300 quid, they stated it was,nt new for old, i was totlaly gutted.

Low life scum bags who do this, wont stringging up in a public place, for all to see, and flogged, then like other countrys do, every time you get caught stealing, chop a finger off, ..

I wonder if they would think twice about commiting such crimes...?

This country is far to soft, they encourage people to commite crimes, as they no they get away with it 9 times out of ten, and if caught , the do good,ers slap them on the wrist and send them on a sunny holiday, makes my blood boil.

 

[KnL]

Martin,

Do Network Rail vans not have engine immobilisers fitted ?

If so how did they get it away without the keys, and if not I would try complaining to the Company that they haven't looked after your interests as an employee by providing you with suitably secured transport and should bear some of your financial loss.

It might be worth a try and I'm in agreement with John's sentiments, except that I wouldn't stop at fingers.

 

[martin.]

Yes the vans are immobilised and double locked so it's a big mystery how it vanished so quick, people keep telling me there are master keys knocking about but why smash the window.

I'm also with you on Johns sentiments, lose all your fingers and you won't be doing it again, i've got a sharp axe at home, lol.

Work are currently in the process of replacing my tools aswell, as I can't do anything without them.

Police have done fingerprints of the van but aren't taking it any further as there are too many prints on it, mine, the recovery driver and the thieves.

It's funny really because when I phoned the police to tell them we had found the van the lady I spoke to became not angry, but frustrated that i'd found it because it meant, as she put it "oh, right then, well I suppose we'll have to re-open the case then", oooooh i'm sorry, is that not your job then, do my taxes not pay for policing.

Ah well, got it back anyway, just waiting for a fuel card now.

Martin.

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Martin

I've been following your thread for the last two weeks and do feel for you. It happened to me some years ago and I got a bollocking for leaving my company lap top and mobile phone in the car while I went to the toilet at a motorway services.

The phone was in the glove box and the lap top in the boot, hiiden.

I think there 3 types of thieves.

1. The idiot joyrider

2. The smash and grabbers who want anything to sell for their next fix

3. The "professional" thief who wants your vehicle for spares or export.

All my cars are fully alarmed with immobilisers and screeching sirens that would scare off a jumbo jet. Does it work? Don't know because I haven't been a victim again TG.

I am pleased your employers are replacing the stolen tools and hopefully this traumatic incident will be behind you.

Is there any way you could secure most of your tools in a steel case of some sort?

On our Maxda MX-5 we remove one of the relays that controls the fuel injection system. No amount of hot wiring would ever get it going.

Enjoy your caravan trip.

Chers

Alan

 

[smiley]

Hi Martin

Well, don't tell the tax man, he'll take away your allowances.

 

[Icemaker]

Hi martin, the thieving scum bags nicked the signalling cable on that line again this week the 5th time this year.

It caused caos again for the commuters who where left with no trains for 4 hours once again.

On top of that we had one of our relay boxes at miles platting junction set on fire again which resulted in a total power loss on the east side of manchester victoria at peak time on monday, no trains where able to run at all to the east of the country untill 22.00 hours. unfortunately the railways by theire very nature are quite insecure and easy targets for the low life we have to live amongst.

 

[martin.]

Ice, I was at crow nest box the other day and the signaller there was telling me the kids from Ince walked down the track to the bridge at atherton and set fire to a load of pallets under the bridge, walked back and set fire to the platform aswell.

I was measuring up to do a refurb at crow nest box and Atherton box, somehow I don't think i'm gonna do the work though, been up there once to often now.

Martin.