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Around three weeks ago, a work colleagues motorbike got knocked over our works private car park. We work in a pharmacy, which shares the building and car park with a very busy doctors surgery.
The incident was not reported by the car driver who knocked the bike over. We managed to get the property manager to review the CCTV tapes and a people carrier was observed reversing into the bike. The driver got out and saw the damage done to the bike; they then got into their car and drove off!
The licence plate number was out of focus, so the unfortunately owner can not claim on her insurance until the police have looked at the tapes. In the meantime, her husband had to leave work early and come to the car park to help us repair the motorbike so that she could drive it safely home. At this point the police were informed. My friends husband dealt with the repairs to the bike and due to the severity of the damage he had to fit a number of new parts. The police said they would try to send someone out to collect the CCTV tapes, but to date no-one has come to do this. My friend visited the police station and has even made lengthy phone calls to the police. Each time she gets told the same old story "We will try and send someone when we are not busy"
Since this incident happened she got her bike properly repaired, alarmed (to alert her if any one done drove into it again). Unfortunately this has happened again, although unlike the last time there was considerably less damage.
She decided however, not to even bother reporting the incident to the police as she feels it is completely pointless, particularly as the first issue hasn't been properly sorted out. Furthermore, she now no longer parks her bike in the private car park as she feels it is safer to park on the main road!
I have watched my colleague and friend cry, be angry, confused, hurt and upset throughout her ordeal. All she did was come to work, park legally and safely in a private car park and yet she has suffered both financially and psychologically through no fault of her own.
Now she constantly worries about the safety of her motorbike. Will the driver who knocked it over ever be punished and will she ever see anything of money spent on repairs? Somehow I doubt it and I think that the way her case has been handled by the police is a crime itself. What do you think?
By: RC
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Late one night, I awoke to hear noises coming from my garden. I peered out the bedroom window to discover two men had broken into my shed and were in the process of removing my motorbike. I phoned the police immediately, but was told there was no one available. The best they could do, they said, was send someone round in the morning to take a statement. I hung up.
A couple of minutes later I rang again. “Hello“, I said, “I called you earlier because there were people stealing my bike. Well, you don't have to worry now, because I've shot them.” Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, plus an armed response unit and a helicopter overhead, illuminating the garden with a huge spotlight. They caught the thieves red-handed.
The investigating officer quizzed me: "I thought you said you'd shot them?" To which I replied: “I thought you said there was no one available!”
Its a puzzle that when someone is mugged for a few pounds there are enough cameras around to track a single individual across a city centre but if a car causes damage worth 100s no help is available
I'm fully insured, but still out $400 excess due to the fact I can't find the person who did it. :(
I think it's criminal to do these things, in my case, they knocked it over, then decided to stand her back up to hide the damage, didn't think i'd notice the side mirror sitting 10 metres away, she fell that hard the mirror went flying, so angry.
I agree with the judge/jury solution, now that I know there aren't any cameras in worthwhile places, it's me, a knife and about 16 sets of tyres.
You should look to find safer places to park the bike, I think i'll be parking in the inside lobby, anyone complains, i'll give them the receipt for my repairs, if I can't have protection in a secured parking lot that I pay for, i'll put her where she is protected.
During the time he had his little 125 on the road, my next door neighbour took umbridge at the fact that he parked it behind my car (chained to my tow bar for extra safety). We always made sure it never restricted the available space for him to park his car.
More than once, we found my son's bike lying on it's side. These were always times when his bike was parked alone (i.e before I got home with my car) He always used the centre stand and not the side stand to rest the bike.
My son actually witnessed my next door neighbours friend, push his little Honda over, as he walked past it. We had to replace clutch levers, foot pegs and mirrors quite a few times.
When we confronted them about the damage, they denied having anything to do with it!
Did we call the Police?
Nope . . no point!
As someone pointed out, this is what society is turning into...
If someone opens their car door into yours in a car park, I bet 9 out of 10 will just quiety close their door as if nothing happened, and drive off - even move into a different parking spot!
It makes your blood boil to think someone has damaged my property, something I have paid decent money to own, understood what they have done, then disappeared knowing they probably will get away with it......
What comes around goes around, as the saying goes. :-)
jeeves