Car stolen from outside house

[VisionsofJohanna]

Wondering if this has happened to anyone else.
Left for work this morning and car was safely parked outside house (London suburb, residents permit parking on steer). Car last used on Saturday for long-ish drive to family bbq. All locked up, DH ran out at some point yesterday to get a nappy bag we’d left in the boot (only mentioning in case he didn’t lock it).

Arriving home this eve and car not outside. Think nothing of it, assume DH or sister (lives locally and is insured) have moved it.

Speak to my sister about an hour ago and mentioned it. Hasn’t moved it. DH ditto. So its vanished. Looked on council website and it hasn’t been impounded. Nobody picked up 101 so have reported it stolen online. Can’t ring insurers at 10pm.

Is there anything else I can do? Is it even likely that its been stolen?! How can it even have been with an electronic key? Anyone else had this happen to them?

Should read on *street

Are you sure they haven't broken into your house and stolen the key?
This is happening a lot around here where they break into the house, take the keys and steal the cars. Happened to my work colleague's next door neighbour a couple of nights ago.

Could the key have been cloned when dh popped out to get the nappy bag. That's a common way of stealing cars these days. Someone in a nearby car or hiding in the bushes capturing the signal as he locked the car. They then use a laptop or copy remote to steal the car.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/keyless-car-relay-theft-advice-14496158

What type of key is it OP, see article above

Thanks for the replies. It’s a keyless locking/unlocking system but does need a key to start it - not sure if that counts.

@GiggleMcDimples relatively certain no theft from house as my DH was home for part of the day, as were DS and his nanny.

This is awful. I'd probably be inclined to phone police and report as stolen as car thieves usually steal cars to use for other crimes etc and generally do so at night. It may ping an ANPR somewhere.

Where do you keep your keys? Are they accessible from the front door via letter box?

@SkydivingKittyCat thank you, I reported it to the police website and have a crime number now. Keys are in my handbag in bedroom. I am completely baffled. Nobody heard an alarm and there’s no glass on the street

@VisionsofJohanna any news?

The keyless entry cars are the easiest to steal. They either have clone device to unlock the car or they break the window and they can start the car with a device that car garages use, through a port which is normally near the steering wheel, most commonly happens with Fords. It means they don't need the keys at all.

@SkydivingKittyCat the police have closed my case (?!), approx 5 hours after receiving the report, on the basis they won’t find the perpetrators. Seems a bit defeatist but there you go.

Insurers being very good, just a mountain of paperwork to get through now. Thanks to all for the thoughts, tips and advice. One of the most bizarre and random things ever to happen to me.

So pleased I bothered to buy and fit DS’s new car seat just 4 days ago... Sod’s law.

I guess it'll have a stolen marker on it and it may or may not turn up somewhere at some point. It sounds like quite a high end car and I think a lot of them are stolen to order and shipped abroad to sell so it may be the last you hear of it unfortunately.

Real pain about the car seat. Hopefully the insurance company will do a like for like replacement. I chose my insurance company on that basis (car seat probably worth more than my car!) after discovering some of them have a max limits (eg £100 or whatever) for replacement seats. Hope there wasn't anything else too important in there. Just thinking about what's in my car but fortunately I think I'd have to pay someone to take my heap of junk away!

@SkydivingKittyCat haha
Fortunately nothing else in there. Onwards and upwards I guess. Thanks so much for the reply

Hope you get everything sorted without too much trouble. My car was broken into once (had lived in our new house in a town with....a reputation (!) for all of 3 days). Stole my passport (36 hours before we went on holiday) and diary (over £100 of beautiful leather Filofax) amongst other stuff. Absolute nightmare. Fortunately they were caught and them having my driving license, passport and satnav (last location, my house!) and they were pretty much banged to rights.

My diary had been launched in the canal. Saw pages floating along every now and again for weeks 😭