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Original poster

Car's been stolen- I know where it is!

282 replies

SalomeNotThatOne · 31/03/2022 16:28

Just wondered if anyone had been through this?

My car's been nicked. I have a tracker in it and located it at an address about half an hour away. I drove round and it's there!

Tried to start it but I wouldn't recognise my electronic key.

Reported it to 101 but they have said that there is nothing the police can do- I need to get my insurer to collect it and fix whatever has been changed. Currently on hold to the insurer.

Just wondered if anyone had been through this?

OP posts:
Changechangychange · 31/03/2022 19:32

@SalomeNotThatOne

Thanks, everyone. The insurance person I'm speaking to was also surprised they didn't want the car for forensics. Still on hold!
Our local police are quite open about not investigating car crime - they say they have “other priorities”. They also don’t investigate burglaries. Budget cuts, plus clearup rates were basically zero looking at the figures, so why even bother.
PingPages · 31/03/2022 19:39

Write to your MP, they will forward it to someone senior in the area and at least hopefully someone will get told off, if no actual action take!

TheRealistBub · 31/03/2022 19:43

Bollocks to that. Tell them that you will be going into the house with a big knife to reclaim your car if they will not help. I bet they will bloody well turn up then.

DiscontentedWoman · 31/03/2022 19:43

FML what do they investigate??? Blimey 😞

Pregnagainagain · 31/03/2022 19:45

I’d change my car now

LexieB · 31/03/2022 19:50

The electronic key has a manual key in it. you pull it out. Can you unlock it and start it with this

CrazyTimes123 · 31/03/2022 19:52

Definitely following!!!!

Serious question OP - do you want it stolen ?

LexieB · 31/03/2022 19:52

It’s in there for if batteries fail I think in key fob thingy. I would go with someone and try and unlock car

tigerlilymochalatte · 31/03/2022 19:54

This is one post I wish the Daily Mail would run!

Thoosa · 31/03/2022 19:58

@LexieB

The electronic key has a manual key in it. you pull it out. Can you unlock it and start it with this
Not always an option.

The battery in my fob went recently so I went out to manually unlock the door to retrieve the spare batteries from the glove box.

I must have looked ridiculous because I physically jumped back from the car at what I found. Like Basil Fawlty when he finds his dining room door gone.

Turned out there are no physical locks on my car. Although there is a manual key hidden in the fob. Nothing at all to insert the key into.

That reminds me to rib the dealership about it when I’m there next.

Thoosa · 31/03/2022 20:00

I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Original poster
SalomeNotThatOne · 31/03/2022 20:00

Serious question OP - do you want it stolen ?

No, not at all- it's a massive pain and I have an £800 excess on my insurance.

OP posts:
SeasonFinale · 31/03/2022 20:01

When mine was stolen my husband's phone was stolen at the same time (house burglary) and the forensics guy went to where the phone was and found the car nearby. However they wouldn't go the property because they didn't have reasonable suspicion. I said knock on the door and ring the number and if the phone went off inside then they would. Buy at least they got the car back.

Honeyroar · 31/03/2022 20:05

It’s not just the MET. My friend had his horse trailer stolen. Saw it parked up, reported it. Police didn’t get round to going for four days, by which time it had been moved again.

WhyBeMeanLikeThat · 31/03/2022 20:05

I think it's awful that the police aren't helping but I don't agree with most of the posters on this thread that think it's because the police don't care or can't be bothered. As far as I can tell the people who are the most frustrated by the problems caused by the cutbacks to the police service are the police themselves.

People are also very quick to forget that it's not the police themselves who decide who to prosecute. Watch any of those TV police programs that deal with car crime and listen to what punishments offenders get. It's really depressing.

....and before any starts on about corrupt police etc I am aware that there bad police about.

ancientgran · 31/03/2022 20:08

@LexieB

It’s in there for if batteries fail I think in key fob thingy. I would go with someone and try and unlock car
When the transponder (don't know what it is) gave up in my key fob I could unlock the car but I couldn't switch the alarm off which started going immediately and I couldn't start the car. I'm not sure what use the key was meant to be although I did at least have physical locks.
DrWhoNowww · 31/03/2022 20:09

My moms car got stolen, no tracker though (although will now be buying an AirTag thanks OP)

It turned up three weeks later as we got a parking notice for it…for the car park next door to the police station.

We went to the car park, found it, called the police who did actually come out to it for forensics.

They then posted on Twitter congratulating themselves on another crime solved Hmm, they didn’t get quite the reaction they hoped for when I pointed out they could have looked out of HQ windows at any point in the preceding 3 weeks to solve the crime.

anexhaustedmum · 31/03/2022 20:12

This happened to me beginning of the year! Mine didn't have a tracker on but a friend spotted it parked behind some flats as I put a post on Facebook.. I rang the police and told them, they told me to go and collect it and let me insurance know 😂 luckily my key worked and there wasn't any significant damage. Never heard a thing from the police again.. we even had quite clear CCTV footage of them stealing it but they weren't interested!

Notanotherwindow · 31/03/2022 20:14

When someone broke into our house, I had to tell the police I was going to kill him before they came out. We had him cornered in our kitchen by a very large, very protective dog. Phoned police and were told to hold him there until they arrived but could be up to 4 hours!

In the end I told them that the dog was getting more and more aggressive with him and that if he made a move towards me I was going to stab him.

They arrived in 10 minutes after that and yes the dog did bite him.

BettyOBarley · 31/03/2022 20:21

Our car got stolen a few years ago. The police found it, told us where it was, left it there and then buggered off before we got there (we were 5 mins away!) so by the time we got there the thieves had taken off in it again! It turned up half hour later on fire in a field Angry so can well believe the police not being overly helpful.

AA\rac sounds a good plan.

curlymom · 31/03/2022 20:22

I literally don’t know what to say. I can’t believe the police! What do they actually do?

Changechangychange · 31/03/2022 20:26

@DiscontentedWoman

FML what do they investigate??? Blimey 😞
Drug crime. AKA strip-searching black children with no adults present “because they smell of weed”.
daimbarsatemydogsbone · 31/03/2022 20:30

Turned out there are no physical locks on my car. Although there is a manual key hidden in the fob. Nothing at all to insert the key into.

On some cars (mine is one) you have to remove a part of the external door handle to expose the door lock - on mine (and the only external key slot is on the front passenger side) you have to put the physical key in slot under the door handle and that releases the back of the door handle which you can pull off to expose the lock.

LuluBlakey1 · 31/03/2022 20:34

The Met! Say no more. They hate women. They don't like to be bothered with anything they regard as trivial. Their definition of a crime won't include car theft.

Thoosa · 31/03/2022 20:37

@daimbarsatemydogsbone

Turned out there are no physical locks on my car. Although there is a manual key hidden in the fob. Nothing at all to insert the key into.

On some cars (mine is one) you have to remove a part of the external door handle to expose the door lock - on mine (and the only external key slot is on the front passenger side) you have to put the physical key in slot under the door handle and that releases the back of the door handle which you can pull off to expose the lock.

To be strictly accurate there was one on the boot, but it’s a seven seater, has a dog guard and I have impaired mobility.

Definitely not one on any actual doors. I was circling the thing tugging at handles like a confused cavewoman.

Maybe that’s unusual. I dunno. I was just confounded.