Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hi,


Just to warn any bike owners, someone broke into our shared hallway over the weekend, while we were away and made off with my mountain bike (MARIN, black and metallic olive brown, Pioneer Trail, full size, knobbly tyres, very good nick), no idea if this was random or someone had been watching. Unfortunately, I had been a little complacent and not really questioned my landlord about the inadequate front door lock, so I'm afraid I was a little to blame, but still...


...gutted...


Bruce

Hi Brulysses,

Really sorry to hear you've lost your bike.

Hope this doesn't discourage you from cyclnig or getting a replacement bike.

You might like to consider getting a floor or wall anchor to lock your bike to in the shared hallway.

Even I've been able to install one. It cost me ?15 and came with a special drill bit. You can get really fancy anchors all stainless steel for more.

Hi,


Thanks for the support, much appreciated. I reported it yesterday and the duty officer and detective sergeant were very helpful...they seemed to agree that I could have been watched, as they obviously seemed to know I had a bike, but they also pointed out that while the front door was frosted, our mail box has no hood, so an inquisitive little sh*t could just open it and look through to see what's in the hall. Anyway, lessons learned, like the idea of the anchor (thanks James)and time to get the landlord to put some serious locks on doors.


Cheers


Bruce

Sorry to hear that Bruce. I noticed our front door yesterday looks like it has been tampered with by a would be thief - it looks like someone has tried to pry open the door with a crow bar as there's cracks in the paint and wood where the frame meets the door. scary stuff!
Oh no I am sorry to hear about your bike. Do you have insurance? You may be able to claim it on your home/contents insurance? If you do replace your bike you could maybe think about bike insurance. I didn't really know that there are specialist bike insurance companies until I was buying a new bike and the guys recommended it to me. It may be worth looking into. They did say though that it is important to buy a lock with a price approx. 10% of the cost of your bike as insurance companies won't pay out if it is a cheap lock. I know a little late but may be something to think about. Hope this is of help!
Hi Bruce, sorry to hear about your bike. I must admit I've given up trying to insure bikes. I had a bike stolen from the shared entrance to the flats and it wasn't insured under either my contents policy or my specific bike insurance as it was locked with a cable lock, not a D-lock. We aren't allowed to install a wall or floor anchor as the entrance is part of the fire escape route (despite there being space under the stairs which is well out of the way) and Dlock was too small to reach any solid object. I also wasn't covered when another bike was stolen early one morning - the policy excluded thefts between 11pm and 7am. I now use a gold rated D-lock on the frame and have Pinhead locks on both wheels. Which didn't stop someone nicking the saddle last year!

Thanks again for the comments and advice, most welcome! Still not sure about the insurance, but feeling less so after Camberlou's post, insurance company not paying out, whoda thunk it...I had a D lock on my bike but it wasn't secured to anything, and it was stolen in the morning, so I'm probably f*****. However I do think it behooves us just to be a little more alert to strange people behaving oddly in our respective 'hoods, and not to be afraid to call the police or even a neighbour if our suspicions are raised, particularly if they're hovering around a house. Unfortunately, while I agree with UncleGlen's sentiments, I just want to say that it is currently completely illegal to deliberately booby-trap your property!


Be safe


Bruce

Near Bellenden...we did have a little group of Choumert residents get together after the riots, and met a few times but it seems to have died back...I might see if we can get together again and sort something out, I seem to remember one of the guys was a policeman.
I think the people who started off the Choumert Road meetings after the August Riots got tied up with work & other commitments, and some people couldn't make it on a specific day each month, so it seems to have lapsed. However, if a sufficient number of people were interested in setting up a Neighbourhood Watch, it might be a good idea to discuss. Not sure exactly what a Neighbourhood Watch entails in way of time & commitment. Does anyone know about the set up, & do we liaise with local police?

Some of us are still meeting up on Choumert occasionally....there is a group on Facebook that you can join (https://www.facebook.com/groups/244912855548760/) but numbers definitely have dwindled since last August.


I would also be interested in the neighbourhood watch idea...


We were about to put a bike box out the front but maybe its not such a good idea. Anyone had any problems with those?

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Tommy has been servicing our boiler for a number of years now and has also carried out repairs for us.  His service is brilliant; he’s reliable, really knowledgeable and a lovely guy.  Very highly recommended!
    • I have been using Andy for many years for decorating and general handyman duties. He always does a great job, is very friendly and his prices are competitive. Highly recommend.
    • Money has to be raised in order to slow the almost terminal decline of public services bought on through years of neglect under the last government. There is no way to raise taxes that does not have some negative impacts / trade offs. But if we want public services and infrastructure that work then raise taxes we must.  Personally I'm glad that she is has gone some way to narrowing the inheritance loop hole which was being used by rich individuals (who are not farmers) to avoid tax. She's slightly rebalanced the burden away from the young, putting it more on wealthier pensioners (who let's face it, have been disproportionately protected for many, many years). And the NICs increase, whilst undoubtedly inflationary, won't be directly passed on (some will, some will likely be absorbed by companies); it's better than raising it on employees, which would have done more to depress growth. Overall, I think she's sailed a prudent course through very choppy waters. The electorate needs to get serious... you can't have European style services and US levels of tax. Borrowing for tax cuts, Truss style, it is is not. Of course the elephant in the room (growing ever larger now Trump is in office and threatening tariffs) is our relationship with the EU. If we want better growth, we need a closer relationship with our nearest and largest trading block. We will at some point have to review tax on transport more radically (as we see greater up take of electric vehicles). The most economically rational system would be one of dynamic road pricing. But politically, very difficult to do
    • Labour was right not to increase fuel duty - it's not just motorists it affects, but goods transport. Fuel goes up, inflation goes up. Inflation will go up now anyway, and growth will stagnate, because businesses will pass the employee NIC hikes onto customers.  I think farms should be exempt from the 20% IHT. I don't know any rich famers, only ones who work their fingers to the bone. But it's in their blood and taking that, often multi-generation, legacy out of the family is heart-breaking. Many work to such low yields, and yet they'll often still bring a lamb to the vet, even if the fees are more than the lamb's life (or death) is worth. Food security should be made a top priority in this country. And, even tho the tax is only for farms over £1m, that's probably not much when you add it all up. I think every incentive should be given to young people who want to take up the mantle. 
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...