Anyone ever been burgled/mugged/conned?

[Justice]

On topic I had my Mercedes Sprinter nicked with all my tools inside. Heart breaking.
The OB weren’t interested and one piped up it’s probably half way to Africa by now..very helpful

 

[Bodian]

Left my push-bike unlocked in Southwick Square whilst I did the shopping. Came back - someone had nicked the handpump off the frame. I was pretty cheesed off that they obviously thought that was worth more than the bike.....

 

[Si Gull]

Only mugged once, by a group of Arsenal 'fans' on the train home after the 0-4 defeat, August 1979. Gave them a tenner to get rid of them, and avoid a beating, tossers.

Burgled whilst at work in 1994. Lost almost everything of any value, including many irreplaceable sentimental items. Police and insurance company initially decided we'd staged it as we'd only just moved in and had a big mortgage, tossers. Turned out the police blamed it on a 'known' local gang.....no one ever charged, of course, and no property recovered.

 

[pasty]

Weirdest thing we’ve had nicked was the rear windscreen of Mrs P’s BMW 320i.

Not smashed or anything, just very cleanly and professionally removed in its entirety and nothing stolen from within the car.

We had a hell of a time trying claim insurance as the insurer kept saying we did not have window damage cover included, and our argument was it wasn’t damaged it was stolen. They paid out eventually but it took a long time to explain.

 

[kojak]

Burgled twice and car broken into once
All in Eastbourne

 

[Change at Barnham]

I "lost" my wallet in Prague a few years ago.

At the time, I hadn't a clue how it had disappeared.

Several weeks later, I was at a meeting in Hove Town Hall, talking to a Hove councillor who had also been to Prague earlier in the year. I said that I'd had great time, apart from losing my wallet.

She then told a story about her husband losing his wallet to a pickpocket who was working from a wheelchair.

And then I suddenly remembered nearly crashing into a young lad in a wheelchair as I walked across the Old Town Square.

And I'd been so apologetic at the time!

Around 12 years ago, I got off the train at Brighton station, was around 12:30am. Train to Hove was cancelled so I decided to walk. I was quite pissed.
Walked up Guildford Road and was heading towards Seven Dials - some bloke crossed the road and walked towards me, he was drinking a bottle of beer,he first asked me for a cigarette, I said I just finished my last one, he then wanted to use my phone, I said I battery was dead, he then got aggressive and struck me on the head, I then lost it and kicked him right across his knee as hard as I could he fell to the floor I then stamped on his knee with all my weight, he was down, screaming and I legged it.whilst running I thought I was sweating a lot so wiped my head and then realised he must have struck me with the bottle and I was bleeding badly
I still have no idea who the bloke was or if he could ever walk again- to be honest I don’t care.

The poor bloke is now in a wheelchair having to work as a pickpocket in Old Town Square, Prague.

 

[chickens]

Way back in the late eighties in the tunnel under Preston Park station, a younger, more innocent chickens stepped off the train listening to his Walkman, oblivious to two guys following him.

Once in the tunnel, one guy spins me round and punches me in the gut winding me, while the other snatches the headphones from my head and reaches inside my jacket to grab the Walkman itself. They both then walk off quickly before I’ve even got enough breath back to insult them.

A quick and efficient mugging. 9/10 - would get mugged again.

 

[Sorrel]

I had quite a good banking scam tried on me recently. I got a phone call that said they came from my bank saying there had been unusual activity on my account.

This is a scam, I thought, and as they talked to me I went and looked at my online banking app. On it there was unusual activity, from an hour earlier, with failed transactions I knew nothing about. The caller said we've noticed this activity - describing it - and there it was on my account. I did wonder, for about 30 seconds, if this was a genuine call.

It wasn't. What the attempted scammers had done was get access to an old cancelled card of mine, which presumably also had my phone number in that database file. They then did tried some transactions on the old card, then waited a short time and phoned me up and told me about them. The idea was to get my trust in them - and then I would expect to try and make me take actions involving me giving them money.

They didn't get my trust, so nothing happened, but it was a good scam. The transactions combined with the call made me at first think it might be genuine. If it happens again I will change my phone number, but so far it hasn't.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Car was attacked - wing mirror, side window and keyed - near the Lion and Lobster. It was a shit Fiesta with nothing valuable in it. Ironically, for the bounce of this thread, on New Year’s eve. Meant we missed my mate’s party in the Surrey countryside.

When we lived in Taipei there were break ins round our area all the time. As a result our apartment had double doors and three locks. Came back quite* pissed from our local one night to find someone had tried and failed to get in. Landlady of the pub called a locksmith friend and did the translating. He got paid, she got flowers and we got reimbursed on expenses so not exactly a tragedy.

*very

 

[Questions]

I was conned 35 years ago by Mrs Q.
She’s not once obeyed me.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

On topic I had my Mercedes Sprinter nicked with all my tools inside. Heart breaking.
The OB weren’t interested and one piped up it’s probably half way to Africa by now..very helpful

FFS! was this recent / where abouts?
I've just fitted a sensor in the back of mine that rings my phone everytime the doors are opened, bit intermittent and bit annoying..

 

[happypig]

I witnessed a robbery at White Hart Lane last year…

About 5 years ago I got conned by Gold Car hire on our last day in Rhodes. I refused to take out their excess car insurance at the beginning of the holiday and they claimed about £300 for a scratch on the underside of the front bumper when I returned the car. My car execess insurance paid out without a quibble but it left a really sour taste after an enjoyable holiday and I would never go back to Rhodes again now.

Avis tried to scam me in Rhodes; I returned the car, a Suzuki Jimny, with no fuel (I knew I'd have to pay over the odds but I was in a rush) and let them fill it.
When they billed me, they tried to charge me for 45 litres but the Jimny has quite a small 40 litre tank. I knew this cos I used to own one.
After a few emails to their head office they waived the entire charge. I don't know why they thought I was a researcher for Top Gear.

Once on the way home from the pub I was stopped by two pissheads in Ditchling Road by Buxtons; one of them waved a bottle and said "get over the park you black bastard" (I'm not, nor have I ever been, black). He then tried to smash the bottle on the wall but it shattered in his hand and he dropped it. I took an almighty swing and gave him a good right hook straight on the lughole, knocking him over into his accomplice. I legged it up the hill leaving them shouting at me.
It wasn';t until I got home that it occurred to me how much worse it could have turned out.

 

[Weststander]

Avis tried to scam me in Rhodes; I returned the car, a Suzuki Jimny, with no fuel (I knew I'd have to pay over the odds but I was in a rush) and let them fill it.
When they billed me, they tried to charge me for 45 litres but the Jimny has quite a small 40 litre tank. I knew this cos I used to own one.
After a few emails to their head office they waived the entire charge. I don't know why they thought I was a researcher for Top Gear.

Once on the way home from the pub I was stopped by two pissheads in Ditchling Road by Buxtons; one of them waved a bottle and said "get over the park you black bastard" (I'm not, nor have I ever been, black). He then tried to smash the bottle on the wall but it shattered in his hand and he dropped it. I took an almighty swing and gave him a good right hook straight on the lughole, knocking him over into his accomplice. I legged it up the hill leaving them shouting at me.
It wasn';t until I got home that it occurred to me how much worse it could have turned out.

I thought Suzuki only sold the Jimmy in Scotland.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I had quite a good banking scam tried on me recently. I got a phone call that said they came from my bank saying there had been unusual activity on my account.

This is a scam, I thought, and as they talked to me I went and looked at my online banking app. On it there was unusual activity, from an hour earlier, with failed transactions I knew nothing about. The caller said we've noticed this activity - describing it - and there it was on my account. I did wonder, for about 30 seconds, if this was a genuine call.

It wasn't. What the attempted scammers had done was get access to an old cancelled card of mine, which presumably also had my phone number in that database file. They then did tried some transactions on the old card, then waited a short time and phoned me up and told me about them. The idea was to get my trust in them - and then I would expect to try and make me take actions involving me giving them money.

They didn't get my trust, so nothing happened, but it was a good scam. The transactions combined with the call made me at first think it might be genuine. If it happens again I will change my phone number, but so far it hasn't.

That is worrying. How did you realise that it was a scam?

 

[Bodian]

I was conned 35 years ago by Mrs Q.
She’s not once obeyed me.

Ah - but does she love and cherish you? If so - two out of three ain't bad....

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

I also had the car radio knicked from my Ford Escort Mark III in the late 80s when playing squash at Stanley Deason.

A few years later , one quiet Sunday evening outside my flat in Kemp Town, four police cars with dogs surrounded the same car. It turned out it was a quiet police night and they spotted a known thief in my car. The dog nabbed him. The annoying thing was there was no radio in the car and he was after a spare accelerator pedal . Annoyingly, I still had to get a breakdown van to take the car 400m to the garage for the repairs.

 

[timbha]

I also had the car radio knicked from my Ford Escort Mark III in the late 80s when playing squash at Stanley Deason.

A few years later , one quiet Sunday evening outside my flat in Kemp Town, four police cars with dogs surrounded the same car. It turned out it was a quiet police night and they spotted a known thief in my car. The dog nabbed him. The annoying thing was there was no radio in the car and he was after a spare accelerator pedal . Annoyingly, I still had to get a breakdown van to take the car 400m to the garage for the repairs.

You are clearly a high net worth individual. No surprise then if your personal details are regularly traded among the upper echelons of the criminal fraternity

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Got scammed in Marrakech despite reading up on all the scams before I went out there. I was alone and a bit lost and someone offered to get me back somewhere but instead they took me into the deepest darkest sook to a tiny stall with once in a lifetime tat (made in China) and made me buy a tagine. It wasn't by knife point or particularly threatening but I just wanted to get out of there.


Also got mugged and a bit roughed up leaving Notting Hill carnival but all they got was a 3210 that I used to take to festivals etc.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Burgled once, in a villa we were staying at in Los Montesinos.

According to the Guarda we should have ripped out the hire car stickers on the windscreen and rear as this was the red rag to the burglars

They drilled he back locks and think we must have disturbed them coming back as although they took laptops, tablets, camera etc there was €300 euros on one the beds untouched? The lookout even had the audacity to drink a few of the beers in fridge and crate.

Called local police who then called Guarda, who didn’t seem at all interested. They naturally took the crate of beer as evidence for “forensics”

Spent the evening cancelling all cards and attended the Guarda offices the next day to itemise what had been stolen (there was 10 of us) about 30 mins in the boss both visually and via the interpreter made it very clear that he had had enough and wouldn’t be filling in any more forms and that it was basically tough shit if our insurers wouldn’t pay out without a full police report.

Someone in the group noticed the evidence that they had obtained last night next to the main man’s desk which was depleted by about 10 bottles. It was suggested we would ask his superiors for the audit trail that these 10 bottles had been send off to the lab for processing.

He had a sudden change of heart and stamped the police report and left the addendum for the itemised loss blank but signed to be completed by us later. We did claim for the case of beer.

On reflection it was hard to conclusively say whether they simply couldn’t be bothered or somehow involved in the racket as quite a few occurred whilst we were out there.

Not a nice feeling and not helped at all really in a time of need

 

[zefarelly]

Burgled sometime in 2000 . . . Crow barred the door open, took Cash, watches passport etc . . . They Dropped my passport in the house next door, must have been kids as they nicked trainers and a games console from there. . . . If theyd had a brain they'd have loaded guitars into the car in the garage and driven off with a £10k + haul.

a load of lock ups broken into here 15 years ago, again, kids looking for a joy ride I reckon, they didn't take anything.

had plenty of scooters vandalised and or stolen, between 1989 and 1999. Police have never been interested . . . . Gave them a few choice words once and got a warning over one . . . Spent the day wandering round town and eventually found it, in a hedge, pretty much unhurt . . . I still have it.

The Police are frankly useless, little wonder they get their budgets slashed, they never do anything Except retire in their 40's on fat pensions.