[Closed] Stolen Bike recovered but what now?

and said it's up to me what I do with the insurance company.

😯

Are the insurance company likely to gain knowledge of its return through the crime number update?

No, they will gain knowledge of it's return from when you contact them.

Or not...

[img] [/img]

The insurance company have paid out. They have a claim on the bike now. Contact them and tell them the score. They may be happy to do a deal to avoid the hassle of recovery and disposal but as its only been missing for three weeks, don't expect miracles.

And I am a cop. 🙂

Your bike is now the insurance company's property. When my stolen bike turned up they were happy to accept an offer for the bike. They'd already paid out a brand new bike so I was pretty happy. Tell them you no longer want it and you may get a good deal.

Inform Ins co. Its their property now, when my stolen bike was recovered I informed them of its recovery, gave crime ref no from police and after a day they called me back and told me to keep it. I assume they contacted police to confirm they did actually recover it.

Bike was pretty shagged on recovery, it was my intention to charge storage if the offered me the chance to buy back, but the just keep it was acceptable 😉

mikeyp, What did they value your bike at and what did you offer them?

From what I'm reading I'm best telling the insurers,
It is after all their property and hope they will except a decent offer, maybe in installments included with my monthly premium?

Definitely tell them. They are likely to accept some fairly low offers as it is a lot of hassle for them to sort.
Installments assuming they've paid out is likely pushing it though!

what value would you put on bike? and take it from there. If they want it back charge em secure storage rates, assuming you have beefed up the storage area.

play by their rules: tell them, make them low (like 20% of original value) offer, if they refuse, charge them silly (£XX a day) for storage

You're really asking this question?

Your bike was nicked, they paid out within 3wks, and you're thinking about stiffing them by 'stealing' your old bike?

Unless they royaly screwed you over on the price they paid out you're building up a whole bunch of negative karma (and breaking the law).

No wonder bike insurance costs are increasing (on behalf of everyone else, thanks by the way...)

Call them up, they won't want it back so will take much less than the actual value, you get your old bike back, a new bike, and you aren't screwing the rest of us with higher policies.

Job done.

[i]No wonder bike insurance costs are increasing (on behalf of everyone else, thanks by the way...)[/i]

Not on my behalf thanks. Bike insurance is increasing cos of the scrotes that steal them.

The insurance company have paid out. They have a claim on the bike now. Contact them and tell them the score. They may be happy to do a deal to avoid the hassle of recovery and disposal but as its only been missing for three weeks, don't expect miracles.

And I am a cop.

are you sure Bregante? thats not what your esteemed colleagues at GMP seem to think in the case of my bike...proper boffins they are!!

Your first mintake was posting this thread. Because now you'd feel guilty if you keep the bike.
I would have said absolutely nothing to anyone. Yep. I really would.

Commendably the owner of a ti Jones on here did the decent thing and contacted his insurer. Its upto you OP but I would, partly because I'd 'worry' what if somewhere someone notifies the insurance company that the crimes number/crime was solved and items recovered/returned? LONGSHOT and slim and none but hey.

Personally I would otherwise I'd be committing another crime of insurance 'fraud' (with little chance of retribution though).

Not on my behalf thanks. Bike insurance is increasing cos of the scrotes that steal them.

Really? So insurance fraud plays no part in the cost of insurance to the consumer? Have you been drinking or do you have no grasp of how insurance works?

To the OP, it's your life and bike, do what you will, but at best it's theft, at worst it's insurance fraud. For a no doubt minimal fee you get your old bike back wiothout defrauding anyone or breaking the law... Tough choice.

Take all useful parts off it & replace with worn out stuff then contact insurance company & ask if they want it back

[i]I would have said absolutely nothing to anyone[/i] if I was going to keep it and be a massive crim against the upstanding and honourable insurance company chaps.

FTFY 😉

Your first mintake was posting this thread. Because now you'd feel guilty if you keep the bike.
I would have said absolutely nothing to anyone. Yep. I really would.

This.

I'd tell them, likely to well out of it and insurance companies don't like being ripped off. Honesty pays overall IMO.

gonzy, apologies as I haven't read all of your post where your bike was recovered but that was a different situation. In your case the eBay seller had a legitimate claim that at the time he purchased it from the shop he had no reason to suspect that it was stolen. Cases such as yours where ownership is disputed are referred to a system called interpleader.

That's why I used the phrase that the insurers "have a claim" rather than the immediate assumption that they own it.

It doesn't help you in your case, but from what I can see the cops got the explanation somewhat arse about face. The ownership dispute is between the eBay seller and the insurance company IMHO.

Called Insurance company, They'll be contacting me within the next 48hrs with an offer.

They did say they don't normally take back bikes, I suspect the £1700 valuation may allow them to make an exemption, although that is a valuation of a new bike and not the value of the actual bike itself.

The way I see it is I pay a premium to protect myself from bike thieves and the Insurer is there to replace the bike when I fall victim,
I now understand that the bike is the property of the insurer (or at least they lay claim to it)
but when I've been reunited with a custom built bike that I've spent many of my hard earned pennies on and gave many hours building and maintaining,
it's very hard to see that bike in my possession, knowing I may have to hand it back (don't have spare £££'s) to a faceless company that in all honesty isn't going to do anything with it.

You have obviously told them about the terrible damage to it?

Well said Peter Poddy, that makes you a thief , as much as the guy who originally stole it. Not a very good example to expect that from you. TBH.

the £1700 is irrelevant, what are s/h values at now, factor in wear n tear, what would you need to replace to make it "good" have a list ready.

Whats been trashed since it left your possession? tyres (skids for kids) does the wheel have a buckle now that needs repaired? brake pads worn out? more scratches on frame etc etc etc add it all up. Plus how many days have you stored [b]their[/b] property?

Remember they dont really want it back as its gonna be a PITA to dispose of for them. It would be much easier if they can off load to you for £££.

Play it down, the fact you dont really need it back. Have a number ready and dont accept their 1st offer.

[i]that makes you a thief , as much as the guy who originally stole it[/i]

😆 so a person who bought a bike, had it stolen and [b]given back to him by the police[/b], is as bad as a bike thief..? Have a word with yourself Mr RealWorld..!

Real world Dez, is that he doesn't own it, his insurance company owns it. And to come from a 'bike mechanic' to say, he would keep something which actually isn't his and not advise his insurance company, woh had paid out for it, is still considered theft. Chew on the facts Dez......

As bad? In one way worse as you should know better. Its insurance fraud but maybe not so severe a term. If you've been paid out its no longer yours. So why take it/keep quiet with someone elses property?

So why take it/keep quiet with someone else's property?

because I built it with love and they don't want it?
❓

If they dont want it and agree to 'sell' it to you and it becomes your property again Tacopowell, then all is good again.
For once I agree with Hora !!

I don't want anyone to consider me a thief, My OP was due to uncertainty and a naivety of the process,
I've done the right thing and I'm hoping that karma will work in my favor.

MrsTaco say's I should cry on the phone, I'd like to go on Judge Judy with the thief and my insurer,
I'd build a worth while case,
Judge Judy would see whats right.

[i]If you've been paid out its no longer yours[/i]

Don't agree with that at all. I've owned my bike, built it up, ridden it, maintained it over the years (yes, some of us do own bikes for years). It'll always be mine unless [b]I[/b] sell it or give it away.
why have the police given it back to him if it's not his?

Don't agree with that at all. I've owned my bike, built it up, ridden it, maintained it over the years (yes, some of us do own bikes for years). It'll always be mine unless I sell it or give it away.
why have the police given it back to him if it's not his?

That's fine. Just give the insurance company back their replacement bike then.

Don't bother telling anyone fxxk all! You paid what was asking to insure it. It got nicked and you were paid out. You went through all the correct channels and miraculously you got it back. Enjoy the new bike mate. The police won't bother with reporting anything to anyone, there to busy for shitty little bicycle crime.

"That's fine. Just give the insurance company back their replacement bike then."

Or their money. Why do some people have morals to suit them?

I don't want anyone to consider me a thief, My OP was due to uncertainty and a naivety of the process,
I've done the right thing and I'm hoping that karma will work in my favor.

MrsTaco say's I should cry on the phone, I'd like to go on Judge Judy with the thief and my insurer,
I'd build a worth while case,
Judge Judy would see whats right.

What would be "right" in your eyes then?

I'm confused at what you are actually wanting out of this now.

Your bike was stolen, you were compensated for its loss (presumably that's why you had it insured). The police have recovered the bike that now belongs to your insurers. You seem to be wanting the bike and the payout now?
Best you get is the option to buy it off them at a reduced rate or if that rate is too high charge them a storage rate for their property. If the amount they want is too high tell them to collect their property ASAP. Or you hand back the £1700 monitory payout you received if you love the bike that much, I'm sure the insurance co would much rather have the hard cash back than a pile of various metals and rubber.

Be grown up about this and you'll probably be surprised by the outcome

I'm confused

Clearly.

I've a bike, I built this bike with my own hands, with love,
Events have lead for this bike to be no longer my bike,
A faceless company will offer me a price I'm unlikely able to afford,
Forcing me to hand back a bike I know they don't want and in all likelihood won't do anything with.

Regardless of the insurance system, it's hard to see this bike disappear from my life because I've done the morally right thing.

You simply can't put a price on love.

Be grown up about this

You are cruel.

Is this the same faceless company that paid out £1700.

What have done with the insurance payout?

No you've done the right thing legally as well as morally

Granny gets mugged for £70 pension = Crime

A bikeshop gets broken into = a crime

Your small employer gets robbed = a crime but the insurance company will pay out.

A big company pays out thousands to you = They can afford to not have that money returned to them.

I see something that isn't mine that I keep as theft= a crime.

I'm done.

[i] Just give the insurance company back their replacement bike then[/i]

It's not their bike, neither bike is theirs. Insurance companies don't want bikes. They are all about money and the OP will continue to pay them money for the rest of his miserable (no offence, like) life.

MrsTaco say's I should cry on the phone, I'd like to go on Judge Judy with the thief and my insurer,
I'd build a worth while case,
Judge Judy would see whats right.

Judge judy is big on good character.
And some one who does not inform the insures and keeps both bikes would be lacking.
I would do the right thing but that is because I am not lacking.

It is your look out, but if you ever get screwed over by an insurance company in the future you will only be getting what you deserve.

There are many scummy shysters in this world, the question is do you want to be one of them.

A faceless company will offer me a price I'm unlikely able to afford,

tell the insurance company...you may actually be surprised by their offer.
usually they ask for 10% but with a bit of haggling you can get the fee to come down. its true they dont want to be lumbered with a bike they are going to struggle to shift...they want cash...they may have paid out £1700 on the original claim but that would have been covered by the premiums you have paid them over X number of years...so really they're not arsed about how much they get for a recovered bike which in their eyes is effectively salvage.

FWIW my bike was valued at £3.5k which is what they paid me out on the claim...when it got recovered they wanted 10% which would have been £350 but i managed to haggle them down to £100...however the police applied their stupid interpleader onto the bike and all i've got to show for my efforts is a £100 refund from the insurance company.

What's this interpleader about?

What's this interpleader about?

bike got stolen from me and then sold to cash generators who then sold it on. in the meantime i got paid out by the insurer...
now that the bike has been recovered the insurer has a claim to it, cash converters are trying to lay a claim to it as they say they did not know it was stolen when they bought it and the lad who bought it has a claim on it as he didn't know it was stolen either

load of bollocks if you ask me, as soon as it was paid out it became the insurers property...

the scumbag who stole it didn't have deed of title therefore no permission to sell something that didn't belong to him...especially as he didn't provide proof of ownership when selling to cash generators.
cash generators also broke their own buying policy by still buying the bike without proof of ownership being presented.
but now the insurer doesn't want to know any more as they've been scared off by the police...

so its just me against the po-po's in trying to prove that they're Jacques Cousteau impersonators and now they also owe me a fiver!

If cash converters want to not be seen as your local high street fencing company you would think they would've been happy to return the bike to you.

Maybe with a photo in the local newspaper of you and the stores manager with one hand on the bike with your other in a firm handshake as said bike is handed over.

said bike is in the custody of the local police who wont give it back to me or anyone else for that matter until the interpleader is resolved.

however i doubt cash generators want to rid themselves of the bike as they will lose out on the money they paid...even though they made money in reselling it, as the lad they sold it to is now suing them to get his money back.

i dont think the newspaper idea would be a good one for me as the thief is still at large and if he spot the article (assuming he can actually read), i dont want him knowing i've got it back as he knows where i live and may come back for attempt number 2.

Just keep your gob shut. Police know it was a genuine theft so just enjoy both bikes and be happy.

The buyer has a case against cash generator, and surely cash generator have a case against who sold it to them, as surely they take details proof of id and make you sign something saying that what they are buying is your to sell. And have no claim on the stolen/recovered property.

Because otherwise there would be no reason for them not to buy stolen property.

Exactly chip - I thought the law was really clear in that you don't have any entitlement to the goods whatsoever if you buy a stolen item.

Just keep your gob shut. Police know it was a genuine theft so just enjoy both bikes and be happy.

The buyer has a case against cash generator, and surely cash generator have a case against who sold it to them, as surely they take details proof of id and make you sign something saying that what they are buying is your to sell. And have no claim on the stolen/recovered property.

when you sell to them you are required to provide proof of ownership, proof of ID, sign the waiver saying its yours to sell and its legit and then let them take your picture
in my case the seller apparently used a fake ID and didnt provide any proof of ownership...signing the waiver was enough for the shop staff

Offer to pay the insurance company the value that you can sell the nice shiny replacement for...

Then you get the 'built with love' bike that you want.

The insurance get the money it is probably worth (the second hand resale value of a £1700 bike)

Some third party gets a nearly new bike at a good price...

🙂 everyone happy!

I thought the law was really clear in that you don't have any entitlement to the goods whatsoever if you buy a stolen item.

but the shop and the police are claiming that they didnt know it was stolen so therefore they bought it in good faith and have a legal right to claim ownership to it

what really galled me was when the police told me that once i had been paid out by the insurers that the thief had legally sold the bike to cash generators as i was no longer the owner!!

Well that sounds rubbish to me but IANAL.... Seems to me that some CC stores are quite happy to buy these things as a good profit can be made and won't worry to much about proof of ownership. They should be penalised for buying the item so maybe they'll think again the next time they get offered a bike with a dubious history.

tacopowell - Member

Clearly.

I've a bike, I built this bike with my own hands, with love,
Events have lead for this bike to be no longer my bike,
A faceless company will offer me a price I'm unlikely able to afford,
Forcing me to hand back a bike I know they don't want and in all likelihood won't do anything with.

Regardless of the insurance system, it's hard to see this bike disappear from my life because I've done the morally right thing.

You simply can't put a price on love.

Clearly, you've got 2 choices then.

1) Pay them back the £1700 they gave you for a new bike (or the value of the bike if they gave you one), and keep your old bike.
2) Pay them back a couple of hundred for the old bike.

£1700 or a nominal ammount, your choice.

Have you looked at the Ts & Cs of the insurance policy, and of the settlement documents you got? You'd have been paid £1700 in settlement for your loss - which transfers the ownership of the original bike - if recovered - to the insurer.

Regardless of whether or not it 'seems' right, that's the contract you signed.

As has been asked above already, what did you do with the £1700? If you've yet to spend it, surely you can use a small fraction of it to buy the original bike back from the insurer, leaving you with a nice chunk of cash. Say (for the sake of argument) the insurer asks for £500 for the original bike. You'll have got your bike back, plus £1200. That's not bad, is it? Suddenly that insurer doesn't sound terribly evil. Say it was uninsured - you'd just have got your bike back.

As has already been pointed out, if you've already replaced the bike with a shiny new one, then you could almost certainly sell the new one to more than cover the buy-back fee on your old one. In which case you would have your old bike back and probably a bit of extra cash too, so then you could stop whining about how much you love the bike and how you have no money.

Oh, [url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/insurance-pay-out-what-would-you-do-with-2100 ]and was it £1700, or £2100[/url]? Obviously, getting the Dialled back would be great, but did you get the Canyon and another bike, or just the Canyon?

This happened to a colleague of mine, he told his insurers and they said keep it.

It usually works out better telling the truth at the start.

[i]Finally, DezB, I think your logic is as skewed as your moral compass.[/i]

I haven't said what [i]I[/i] would do...

This happened to me. I told the insurance company and they just said keep the bike. They faxed over a letter so the Police would hand the bike over to me. In all honesty they really aren't bothered. What Are they going to do with a bike for them it is all small change.

Just got home, Insurer hasn't followed up my inquiry that they said they would within the 24hrs from this time yesterday (poor customer service!)

I've replaced the stolen bike with the £1700 payout,
Its a completely different type of mtb so I'd be keen to keep both.

Just to clarify,
I HAVE contacted the Insurers to let them know of the recovered stolen bike!

Hopefully I can get some sort of resolve from them by tomorrow!

[quote=tacopowell ]tacopowell - Member - Quote
[b]Called Insurance company, They'll be contacting me within the next 48hrs with an offer.[/b]

They did say they don't normally take back bikes, I suspect the £1700 valuation may allow them to make an exemption, although that is a valuation of a new bike and not the value of the actual bike itself.

The way I see it is I pay a premium to protect myself from bike thieves and the Insurer is there to replace the bike when I fall victim,
I now understand that the bike is the property of the insurer (or at least they lay claim to it)
but when I've been reunited with a custom built bike that I've spent many of my hard earned pennies on and gave many hours building and maintaining,
it's very hard to see that bike in my possession, knowing I may have to hand it back (don't have spare £££'s) to a faceless company that in all honesty isn't going to do anything with it.

POSTED 1 DAY AGO # REPORT-POST

You said 48hrs yesterday?

You said 48hrs yesterday?

So I did, I meant 24hrs,
Non the less they hadn't any records of yesterdays call!

I've replaced the stolen bike with the £1700 payout,
Its a completely different type of mtb so I'd be keen to keep both

I'd like a free bike too. You may well end up getting almost that, and still you're complaining about having to wait a bit for a phone call?

And?

And?

£65 later and it's mine again,

A great and somewhat surreal result even with the increased premium but the reality is that i'd simply prefer not have my bikes stolen in the first place.

I'll no longer be keeping it in the shed, instead keeping it up my bum hole for added security. 😉

£65 😯 you were robbed, again! 😉

I got to keep mine for £0 then again it had been missing for a year and pretty much shagged.

Good result tho. best to be honest and upfront and feel better within yourself.

best to be honest and upfront and feel better within yourself.

That's great news, although I think it'll be worth even less than £65 once it's been up your bum hole. 😀

Great result.

Well done OP. You did the right thing and you've had a result with everything above board.
It's a horrible feeling when your pride and joy gets nicked and I hope the positive outcome has made up for all your upset.
The thing that really bothers me is that many of the posters on this thread would happily rip off their own insurer and feel justified.

many of the posters on this thread would happily rip off their own insurer and feel justified

Well, to counter that (and not to defend any criminal activity you understand....but

many of the insures posters in this thread use HAVE happily ripped off said posters and feel quite justified charging their over-inflated premiums

😉

many of the insures posters in this thread use HAVE happily ripped off said posters and feel quite justified charging their over-inflated premiums

That may or may not be true, but the answer to being screwed over is not to screw someone else over. In that schema, everyone pays more for everything, money goes round in circles and the only people who actually profit are criminals and lawyers.

I'm glad the OP got his bike back, and let's face it, £65 is peanuts. He can also avoid the stress of continually looking out for a stolen bike which is worth way more than a cheap bike.

Hmmmm
I need to get friendly with an insurance company bike reseller! £65!

Good news OP!

He can also avoid the stress of continually looking out for a stolen bike which is worth way more than a cheap bike.

I'm going through this at the moment. Every time I start looking, it makes me feel sick.