A sad, sad day!

My work van was broken into yesterday while at a jobsite. The thief managed to get all of my hand tools (except for the ones I was using at the time), Dewalt cordless hammer drill, my wallet with very little cash, 8gb iPod and (most importantly) my only 3 flashlights (SF M6, L4 with newly installed X-bin emitter and brand new Novatac 120P). I was inside the carwash replacing a conveyor hydraulic motor. I had to work in the conveyor pit which is very small & dirty, so before I started I emptied my pockets, took off my belt which holstered my L4 and locked everything up in my van, right in front of my toolbox. Ironically, I also had my M6 in the van because a co-worker didn't believe I had a flashlight capable heating an object 10 feet away (made a believer out of him that morning). I went to my van to get a rag to soak up some oil I spilled, and found a hole in the door where the lock cylinder used to be. I opened the door to find an empty van. My jaw dropped and all I could think about was my lights. After a couple of minutes I realized everything else was also gone (including my wallet). The thief was caught on video which you can see here: http://jhanko.home.comcast.net/~jhanko/van.wmv
The bad news is the resolution was too low on the DVR to get his plate number. I don't think it would have helped anyway, as you can see in the video he put new plates on before he broke in. The plates he drove in with were probably fakes also. I can't beleive that someone would do this. I am completely lost without my lights. The money I was saving up to buy a Titan has to be used to replace my tools. My employer is being an jerk and doesn't want to file an insurance claim as it will raise thier rates. That really makes me feel like a valued employee...
Sorry for the depressing post, but I need to vent and no one (especially my wife) understands what this stuff meant to me... I can't stop thinking about it...

Huge bummer sir, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Funny how "employers" are when you are making them money with your tools but when you need help they scream" I don't wanna raise my rates ". I hope the guy is caught, I does happen occasionally.

That stinks. Some people are really lousy, one quick question though, did you file a police report? You should do that first ( a truckload of tools might just attract the attention of a LEO if a report is filed with a description of the vehicle ) It also will help with any subsequent insurance claims filed out by you or your employer in case he 'changes his mind".

LightInTheWallet said:

That stinks. Some people are really lousy, one quick question though, did you file a police report? You should do that first ( a truckload of tools might just attract the attention of a LEO if a report is filed with a description of the vehicle ) It also will help with any subsequent insurance claims filed out by you or your employer in case he 'changes his mind".

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Yes, a police report was filed immediately. The officer was given a copy of the video. He said he couldn't do much without a plate number and told me the stuff was probably already in the city (Chicago) and pawned. I got a general feeling that he just didn't care at all...

I really feel for you, my car got broken into a couple of weeks ago and I lost my A2 along with a Fenix L2T, leatherman, Benchmade Mini-Grip, phone, etc etc.

Words fail me when I try to describe how I feel about people who do this.

Sorry JH, that really stinks. What a world we live in....:shakehead

Man, I hope that there is some way that your items are recovered. At least the video captured the van description pretty well. Best of luck getting that sorted out.

Wow man, that sucks. I hate that hard working people (like you) get scammed by some lazy thief.

Bad luck.

I feel for you! I hope that you are able to claim it on insurance...

I feel for ya...that sucks.
I do a lot of hand based work so tools are important. When I think of incidents like this, it's more than just the hardware taken. It will be ok...insurance will cover the bulk and hopefully thensome. You'll get some new shiny stuff as replacements.

Thanks for the kind words. As I said, there will be no insurance claim. My employer owns the vehicle and is the only one who can file a claim. They do not want to file and there's nothing I can do about it. The stolen flashlights bother me the most, but some of the tools were Snap On's that I had for 25 years and had sentimental value...

JHanko said:

Yes, a police report was filed immediately. The officer was given a copy of the video. He said he couldn't do much without a plate number and told me the stuff was probably already in the city (Chicago) and pawned. I got a general feeling that he just didn't care at all...

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Just file the insurance claim. You lost a HUGE amount of money, and you have the RIGHT to recover it under the insurance.

Boss doesn't like it? Fix the )(*&^&@# van. Screw him. Get at least some of the cost of your many, many expensive stolen items.

What he told you is ILLEGAL under my state law. Call your state's Attorney General's office and check, if you are worried about hurting the @sshat feeling you work for by filing a legitimate claim.

This sort of clain DOES NOT RAISE RATES unless negligence is involved. (Van not locked, etc)

Your boss is a full time cranial anal inversion case who needs to wake up. With a baseball bat. The idiot.

I'm very sorry for your considerable losses (especially your flashlights!) But you have the right to file an insurance claim. DO IT!!!!

If you had ANY personal property in the van, and you were on the job, your employer should REPLACE it - if he doesn't want to file an insurance claim, fine, but it shows a TOTAL disregard for his/her employees. You can't let them (employer) get away with this!! What kind of company is it?

Regardless, I'm sorry about your loss. :candle:

john

For the future: Take out a tool rider on your homeowners/renters insurance policy. Doesn't cost that much - and then YOU can make the claim

goldenlight said:

Just file the insurance claim. You lost a HUGE amount of money, and you have the RIGHT to recover it under the insurance.

Boss doesn't like it? Fix the )(*&^&@# van. Screw him. Get at least some of the cost of your many, many expensive stolen items.

What he told you is ILLEGAL under my state law. Call your state's Attorney General's office and check, if you are worried about hurting the @sshat feeling you work for by filing a legitimate claim.

This sort of clain DOES NOT RAISE RATES unless negligence is involved. (Van not locked, etc)

Your boss is a full time cranial anal inversion case who needs to wake up. With a baseball bat. The idiot.

I'm very sorry for your considerable losses (especially your flashlights!) But you have the right to file an insurance claim. DO IT!!!!

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Amen brother, especially the idiot boss part.

Sucks. Really sucks. Your boss sucks too.

Sorry to hear about this shite turn of events. Says alot about a boss when he wont file a claim over property stolen while you were clocked in.

Any small town news sources like a small newspaper that you can tell your story to? If they can post a picture or two from the video (regardless of not seeing plates or his face that well) you never know what may turn up. Sometimes the smaller papers are looking for anything to add to the blandness of everyday stuff that happens.

Also check the dumpsters in a few block radius, he most likely took what he thought was good and dumped the rest immediately. My sister just had her car broken into along with 2 other cars in the same park parking lot, and they found 2 of the 3 purses taken a few blocks away mostly empty, but some things were left behind.

The boss p's me off even more.

This all sounds just like SA.

The thief sure took his time. Why does he keep on coming into the building? He seemed to tape over his licence plate right there. Then he drives off without having opened the door of your van...? I don't get it.
The video resolution is bad. Pretty much a waste of time. Can't even get the reg number at that distance.

Pawn shops...shouldn't be allowed to exist. So they take ID's and the police check their registers, but the whole thing just goes on. They're like legal thief shops.

sorry to hear about your lose JH, that sucks bro (grrr) I feel for you man. I'd be looking for another place to work for, now that you know what kind of boss you have, why wait for him to screw you more! like goldenlight said I'd call the state's attorny and get the ball rolling yourself.

JHanko said:

Thanks for the kind words. As I said, there will be no insurance claim. My employer owns the vehicle and is the only one who can file a claim. They do not want to file and there's nothing I can do about it. The stolen flashlights bother me the most, but some of the tools were Snap On's that I had for 25 years and had sentimental value...

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Your employer's actions speaks louder than words ever could. Employers who do not value their employees are miserable people indeed.

A person who steals a working man's tools is as low as it gets.

I've learned to diminish anger at almost anything -- but not that.