Electric bike stolen from inside house

[Lifeisverylongwhenyourelonely]

We live in a large house converted into studio flats. The bike doesn't fit into our studio so we leave it inside in the corridor.
Even that was too risky apparently, anyway last night at some point it was either broken into or it's somebody from one of the 7 other flats, don't really know these people.
No CCTV at the property, it was a bike worth £650, only had it 2 months
Not sure what else can be done really. So angry, I had another bike stolen last year which was locked up, but they broke into the lock.

@sweetbellyhigh

God I don't know why people have to stick the boot in.

Your bike has been nicked, that's the punishment.

I would report to police, enquire with building management, ask neighbours, and actually feel pretty upset.

It's shitty when you can't leave your own possessions outside your own door.

It’s shorty when the communal hall is cluttered with large belonging

Shitty

@OneTC

God I don't know why people have to stick the boot in.

It's because they're arseholes

Yes

@Toanewstart22

So? Doesn't negate the fact having an e-bike stolen sucks. There is room for more than one wrong.

Anyway OP check the links I posted and add your bike there

Also a good idea is to check the immediate area. Maybe they found a better bike and ditched yours in favour of it. Maybe they just changed their mind or circumstances changed (low battery or whatever)

Quite alot of bikes get stolen for convenience and dumped wherever they transported the thief to

It’s shorty when the communal hall is cluttered with large belonging

It's a folding bike that for all you know was tucked in a corner. It's not an ideal place to keep a bike but god knows I've wished before that I could do it (then I could grow my fleet )

OP, I'm sorry your bike is missing.

As others have said, check with your neighbours and management company in case one of them has moved it. Ask if any neighbours in your flat and in the buildings next door might have CCTV or a ring doorbell.

If not, call the police and report the bike stolen. Give them any serial numbers you have. Get a reference number off them if you can, you might need it for an insurance claim.

Check your insurance carefully, but I suspect they may not pay out given where it was stored. You never know though!

In future, if you can't store your bike securely, get a really cheap second hand non-electric one. It's much less painful for an old £50 bike to go walkabout.

Agree with @sweetbellyhigh and @OneTC

OP: I'm upset that an expensive and useful item of mine has been stolen.
MN: your own fault for beinging entitled! Nice. How is that helpful?

She left an expensive item in a communal area which the public do have access to. Also, not allowed to leave anything in the communal area in flats for many reasons. It's just entitled behaviour to decide that you can take over communal areas with your belongings.

Where does it say "the public" have access? I presumed there is one main front door (that OP and only other residents - and obvs landlord have keys/access to) and then inside individual front doors. Not open corridors that anyone could walk in from the street.

Speaking as someone who had bikes stolen from a locked garage, you'll most likely not see it again. You can report to police but they won't do very much. I second a pp who said get strong fittings and fix it onto a wall in your house. Might be worth checking insurance although some charge extra for things like bikes simply because they know so many get stolen so they don't come under stolen items on your regular house insurance.

Sorry this happened, check out local lost and found groups and facebook marketplace. There might be some local cycling groups that will keep an eye out for it and let you know if it turns up for sale anywhere.

In future treat the communal hallway like the Wild West it is and don't expect anything to stay where you put it out there, or like the hallways in a school where things could be taken or confiscated if left unattended.

You said you have a studio but is there anywhere even if really inconvenient that you could store a bike? I'm talking in the bath or shower when not in use, behind the sofa, behind a door, at the end of the bed, under something. Even if you have to move it several times a day at least you'll know it's safe.

@Exhausteddog

No communal area in a flat is secure. Delivery people, maintenance workers, cleaners, guests, people viewing empty flats etc all have access.

It isnt a secure area. Members of the public who do not live there have access.

Bike thieves will go to great lengths. They're notorious.

My advice is to first check with the management company if they removed it. If not, report to police and claim on insurance. I doubt the police will do anything except give you a crime number.

If you buy a new bike, get a really hideous pink granny bike. The uglier the better!

You can't block communal areas as it's a fire hazard.

Its a real shame that you don’t have secure storage for a bike but yabu to be surprised that such an expensive bike was either stolen or otherwise moved due to being an obstacle in the corridor

You can tell the people who have never spent any time in a wheelchair and got off the lift on their floor to find they cannot actually get to their flat due to the bikes and buggies stories on the corridor. Folded or otherwise, it can make the trip impassable and when you're stuck on a chair, you can be moving all the things.
And every single person says, "oh, but it's just a bike/buggy/whatever." Yeah.. well when one person starts it, other people join in and it makes it impossible for some people to acces their own bloody home.

Just dont do it. There is absolutely no excuse.

Not your fault just live in a world of scummy thieves. Happens a lot round my area, bike thefts or phone snatching.

Have you looked on Facebook marketplace?

I'm more looking for advice about what I can do next

Well, firstly I'd check with the management company who - as PPs have said - may well have removed it for being a fire/trip hazard. Every flat I've ever lived in has had a rule about not leaving items in communal hallways. A friend even had her doormat removed by the management company! Don't be surprised if you have to pay an admin fee to get it back.

If there's no joy there, I'd ask the neighbours. Someone may have a Ring doorbell that will have some footage or one of them may have removed it and put it somewhere else because it shouldn't have been in the corridor/it was in their way.

Other than that, the only thing really is to call the police and register it stolen in the hope that it turns up. I wouldn't bother with your insurance, however, they'll almost certainly require the theft to have involved "violence or force" (and some companies also specify the level of security required for bicycles) and if someone's just walked off with your bike then it's neither and, unfortunately, won't be covered under theft.

Victim blaming at its finest here! People should be able to leave items without them being stolen. The thief is the one in the wrong here, not op.

Anyway op, you ask what you can do next.

Contact the owner of your building to see if they removed it.
Knock on all doors in the building to see if anyone knows anything.
Check with your insurance company regarding whether you can claim on it for the bike.
If you do get another, hang it up on the wall or fold it and slide it under a bed or behind the sofa, or store it in the bath. There is bound to be somewhere!
Look into insurance going forward so it is covered wherever it is stored, unfortunately bikes do get stolen a lot.

Sorry that this happened to you!

We don't know it's been stolen tbh. It may have been moved by one of the neighbours and be safe, it may have been moved outside by one of the neighbours, it may have been borrowed by someone's mate to use to get home. It's obviously not right for someone to have stolen the OP's bike, but it's worth taking steps to check if it is in the vicinity. Also worth checking how secure the access doors to the building are as there appear to be no signs of a break-in.

My friend lives in a very small bedsit, and his folding bike hangs on a special bike hook on the wall inside his flat, so is always well out of the way.
Might be worth considering.

Further to the evacuation/blockage risk of leaving objects in communal areas, there's also the fire risk of leaving something with batteries in a fire escape route which is potentially a lot worse as it could catch fire and block the fire exit route. There've certainly been cases where disabled people have been banned from parking their electric scooters/wheelchairs in stairwells and corridors when tucked in corners etc because of the fire risk from the battery overheating/wiring faults etc.

There's zero evidence of violence or forced entry so sadly little can be done.
I've tried all the local selling pages etc. and have reported to the police, just been given a crime number, I doubt anything will happen.

It's a large house converted into 8 studio flats, I was silly to leave it in the hallway, our studio is too small but still I shouldn't have.

However the fact that someone broke into the property is unacceptable and they are the ones at fault.

I've spoken with the landlord who confirmed it hasn't been moved.

I am kicking myself but I can't turn back time.. I have a back up non electric bike for now, I will have a look in the future for maybe a 2nd hand electric bike but only when we live in a building with secure building access and secure bike storage, believe me I'm devastated and kicking myself.

The amount of bike theft is unbelievable, I know of people who've had bikes stolen even with approved locks or secured in their own garage for instance. They will always find a way and that's what concerns me about getting another one, they're expert at this.