well, it finally happened last night. the local police chief called to tell me that he was at my house this morning and that my rear window of my van was smashed and the door was open.
they seem to only want tools in cases. funny thing……..me too. it’s weird the stuff they leave behind, including a brand new tool in a case. except that one was still in the cardboard box ! Fooled !
a quick count looks like about a $2000 loss. how much white powder can you get for that ?
gotta tell mom that they got last year’s christmas present. my beloved bosch 14v impact. it’s just a tool, right ? could have been worse.
the convenience of leaving it all in the van on the street is gone. now we carry it all in the house.
ok, you guys, you got me. now leave me alone. i feel sorry for you and your families. it’s hard, but i forgive you.
carpenter in transition
Replies
Dear Tim,
I am very, very, sorry for your loss.
Heck, I sell tools for a living and we always give the guys that neeed to re-tool up a break, if they have had a theft problem.
Take care,
Wish the best for you,
darcy
thanks,
hey i was just in Sonoma for my first vacation in a year and a half. i now understand why people from PA go to CA and never come back !
while we were there it rained 11 inches in PA and about 8 drops in CA
wonderful wine wonderful wine....
carpenter in transition
Darcy, not to hijack, but thanks for your concern for theft-ridden contractors! I wish there were more like you!Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
Yes, I kid not.Also, on Vet's Day we gave breaks to those that have served. Bless them all.Well duh, a'course we take care of our customers...weeee'er a reeel tool stoooore! lol
Gee thanks, hun.We do our best to support ya all.I am trying to find the list of Tool Co's that have contributed to the Katrina/Rita funds. Belive me, their contributions have beeen awesome!I'll post it when I can find it on the web. (I read the info in a tool-trade magazine.)nite all,
Oh, man, that sucks. It happened to me, too, so I commiserate. It pees me off as they'll only get maybe $30 bucks for all your livelihood. Someone later said I should have the crummiest truck (it is) without my name emblazoned on the side (that is).... Next van will have magnetic signs (and maybe electrified).
All the best...
To those who know - this may be obvious. To those who don't - I hope I've helped.
Edited 11/18/2005 1:47 am by piko
2 thousand dollars worth ?
At pennies on the ten dollar bill, they'll get enough to last them until tomorrow morning.
The first couple of times it was actually pretty easy to forgive them. At least after a bit of grumbling.
The next few times it was harder to forgive.
After about the seventh time, it became personal.
Now, I still forgive them, after some time. But I wanna kill them when it happens. Still, I settle down after a bit, and forgive and forget.
Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Best to check with Jim Blodgett
maybe your tools are with my sheetmetal brake?
LOL
Stephen
Hey! I was nowhere NEAR Easton last night! Seriously!
Like Luka said, they get pennies on the ten dollar and even if they got the full $2000, it wouldn't last long. (I can't really imagine an addict saying, "well, I'm going to buy ten rocks, use one each day for the week, use the remaining money for food, save some for my daughter's college fund,...") As far as stealing from the working man, they'd steal from their own mother (and do). Some sell their children to be sexually abused. Up here the big thing is "renting" your car or van to a drug dealer to pay off a debt. He then uses it on a crime, usually ends up destroying it and that's that. Police can't do anything because it wasn't stolen, it was handed over voluntarily. Insurance won't cover the loss. Yeah, drugs are certainly a victimless crime! (I used to believe that.)
I'm thinking about trying out some of the motion triggered digital game trail camera's around my job site, bass pro shops has them for 200 and up, cheap alternative to some of the other stuff that's out there ..
a $2000 loss. how much white powder can you get for that ?
Probably only about $20 or $40 worth, for the complete tragedy of it.
could have been worse
This was worse, but happy ending. I had a 14' gooseneck hydrolic dump trailer stolen / replacement $9,000.00, and was preparing to purchase another.
Insurance company found a loop hole, telling me there was no evidence that the hitch lock had been broken and the trailier taken without permission. They suspected me of fraud...................victimized twice (thief and insurance company).
I passed by a shop about three months later and it was sitting around back.
I called to police and they called in a Texas Department of Public Saftey Vehicle Theft Recovery Specialist to settle the matter. She did not want to give it to me, telling me the thief had ground off all identification, and there were 20 other similar trailers missing in the Houston area.
I immediately called two of my employees who knew the trailer and all of its distinguishing improvements, dents and stains. She walked the trailer, listening to their off site discription on the phone and was convinced that it was mine.
The man in possession told her that he had bought from a friend of a friend of a friend etc. for cash, with no receipt and he could not remember the guys name. He said the guy he knew who knew the seller has died in a traffic accident. Right.
So......what did you say to your insurance co after that?
A good reaming, canceling of not just that, but any and all policies w/ them, and maybe even a court date would certainly seem appropiate.
After getting completely cleaned out two years ago, I now carry a full tool policy. Recently I had about $650 worth of tools walk out of my garage. I called the insurance company and was told,"you really dont want to claim that do you?" "Ya know, if you have no claims for x years you may get a discount"
Ironicly, if I didnt have the tool insurance I could've bought the tools back w/o it hurting so much.
The thieves are one thing, but the guys who buy cut-rate used tools are just as guilty. Public floggings I tell ya...
Andy Engel
Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig.
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value. --Robert M. Pirsig
None of this matters in geological time.
You're absolutely right!!
We must keep telling the newbies that those cheap tools they get in the parking lots from the crackheads are the ones that they'll be complaining about being stolen when they have a few years of their hard earned money into their tool stock.
What I'd give to walk up on someone digging into my trailer!!
-Erik
that was the first thing that came to mind.... i'm with you on that." we judge ourselves by our motives, and others by their actions........."
Insurance, like women...you can't live without them and it is sometimes difficlut to live with them.
We ought to do like they do in the mid east to thieves...cut their hand off.
My dump trailer was in better shape when I got it back. They had welded ramp brackets on the rear (something I had thought of doing for loading the tractor) and fixed the lights.
Trailer lights...if someone could invent a system that is as reliable as automotive rear lights, he could make a forutne.
Tim-
There is only one course of action to take now,
You must become... The Punisher!
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'Nemo me impune lacesset'
No one will provoke me with impunity
The doper transient(between sentences) took me for about 2G's + just before christmas a couple years ago. Check the pawn shops, and check the next county, they police probably don't check accross counties. Thats where I found them. I now have a pit bull alarm system. No more theft. The act of violating my privacy and property was harder to take than the loss of tools, some of which had been my fathers. Oh! When they tracked him down he said some one else stole them and gave them to him and he just pawned them. He was already in jail on a nonpayment of support conviction. Insurance was good. this is therapy for me,PTSD?
Larry
I really like the idea of tying a string to the trigger of my shotgun and the door of my truck !!! But that would probable violate some ones civil rights.
Saw something for your gun safe room. A mace/pepper spray system. Less mess easy clean up
There are several commercial systems available. The one which, IMHO, shows the most promise is a mechanism which when triggered produces large clouds of capsicum laced smoke thick enough to obscure the interior of a building. The combination of not being able to see and the irritation of the mucus membranes makes carrying off goods a distant priority. Especially when there is an alarm going off and police, presumably, on the way.Once activated the smoke lingers for a considerable time but dissipates leaving no residue or mess. Forced ventilation speeds the process. The system can be rigged to cover any volume by using more canisters and the canisters can be stacked to increase the duration of the protection after activation and/or provide for more than one activation.Of course it it only part of a complete answer but combined with a strong perimeter, access control, indelible marking of the tools to discourage pawning while increasing risk and insurance it adds up to a pretty good package.
<indelible marking of the tools to discourage pawning> I'm getting good at this and besides I'm on a roll,but another stupid question, When you mark a tool, what do you put on it?Drivers license # ..Social securtiy #....address......Company name??
I think driver's license number would be best. Do NOT put your social security number on anything anyone can see! Very important that "unauthorized" people not have that number as it is part of your identity and they can really mess you over if it gets into the wrong hands!
Do NOT put your social security number on anything anyone can see!Well, I had deleted the part about personnel identification numbersand identity theft but I agree about the s.s.#. I was using it as an example.
I've given up on marking the tools themselves; instead, I save the owner's manual and staple the barcode off the box to it. I also write the Model and SN on the front page of the manual. This way I have proof of purchase if the tools is recovered.
Next I enter the name/make/model #, the estimated value (with tax), the quantity owned, and all applicable SN's into an Excel spreadsheet. I update and print this inventory list about every two months.
This way, if my tools are stolen, I can send a copy of the list to the authorities, etc. If the tools are recovered, I can prove they're mine. If not, I have documentation for my ins. co.Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
Great reply,that sounds like a good plan.
Hey I take it back--I went out this AM with Sharpies and wrote my initials and DL # on every power tool.
It's more to make sure all my stuff makes it back from MS than keeping thieves away. (Not that any BT'ers are thieves LOL.)Jason Pharez Construction
Framing & Exterior Remodeling
I did the same thing. I went on a similar trip once and when I got home I had a different hammer than the one I came with, so it's a good idea to identify stuff! Things can look alike when you're in a hurry grabbing stuff to leave.
check with your local policethere is something called Operation ID, for marking property and registering your number with policeand they give you stickers to put on your windows.
bobl Volo, non valeo
Baloney detecter
I use a engraver on all my tools and then go over with a sharpie.
use to just use the sharpie,but have noticed over time it wears off.
Now to erase my name the tool has to be ground off. Once had a crackhead beat me for a truck load of tools finally caught up with him. Got most of it back, as his dad went down with him to get the tools. Lost value that I didn't recieve was about $500.00, after court he was to make up the difference, ya right.
Three years later sheriff calls and has a check for me for $500.00
The other time 10,000.00 worth, I had replacement costs for tools with insurance co., but still had to fight tooth and nail for the SOBs to pay, turned into a big negotiation as value and depreciation. Needless to say it was a major pain in arse.Problem is you think your covered to replace a tool that cost a additional 20% more then when you bought it. I really hate these scum(ins.) but I still carry a inland marine policy, but I now know how to play the game ie: claim more than you lose
A couple years ago my apartment was knocked off. The cops told me I was lucky since apparently it was classic crackhead. They just swoop in, look for small things like jewelry they can stuff in their pockets and leave in a minute or two. In my case, the overlooked guns, cash and laptop but took three watches, quite valuable that, Murphy's Law, were all gifts from friends no longer alive.
Further Murphy's Law, I had only recently cleaned house and tossed the original boxes that had the Sr numbers and had let my insurance lapse.. 20 years without incident in a very secure building, why did I need it, right? The kicker is after watching Ebay for a couple years I did absolutely spot the most important watch, no two ways about it. Very rare, identical scratch to the one mine had and the seller mentioned her hubby had bought it while living in New Haven! But... I had no serial number so I watched it get sold and poof... gone. Anyway, nothing makes you sicker than knowing some crackhead scum has taken something dear to you...
PaulB