Not having a great time of at the moment. Recently started this business after doing it part time last summer. Picked up a few nice residential blocks maintanance only to have all the contracts terminated without warning after one visit. Poor quslity of work they said which was bollocks. New manager in the office has someone else more like. We only managed one visit to each site! Contract said 30 days notice, so seeking legal advice.
Aaaanyway....so last night my Stihl strimmer and a hedge cutter/chain pruner combination thing (cheap ebay one but good for occasional use) was stolen from an unmarked locked panel van. Left my Hayter Harrier.
Question: Those of you that have unmarked panel vans (ie no windows) do you empty the van every night? I didn't think I'd need to go that far. We live in a nice area so I thought. I'll have to unload/reload every day now which is an arse.
Someone has suggested a van vault, but one big enough for a strimmer will be huge and take up half the van.
thoughts/comments please?
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I park on my drive every night, & I take out the valuables, ie strimmers mowers hedgecutters.
Just had my van sign written today, so will definitely make sure there's none of the above in it overnight, though I am insured for tool loss from the van.
Rob
always take the Stihl stuff out but leave the mower in..... only takes a minute. If you're putting the stuff in a garage, if you can't back the van up against the door, best to put some extra security on the garage. These bolts are great and fit each side of the door, near the bottom..... called Enfield bolts and they look pretty unbeatable! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ENFIELD-UP-AND-OVER-GARAGE-DOOR-LOCK-BOLT...
Total pain in the arse some nights, but every night my van is emptied of all power tools, and backed up as close as possible to a set of padlocked double gates. My shed has reinforced bolted hinges, and three reinforced bolted padlocks, the shed is also alarmed.
I know they could still get in if they wanted to, but it would take them a damn site longer than if they were left in my van overnight!
so they have used you to get first cut down ? or was it done regularly before?
live and learn -lucky it was not a new combi system.
anything orange and nickable i remove from jeep every night. even if at 12-1am - & see who's about !
back up to protect garage door too. ill post a photo later.
no sign writing apart from rear wheel small stickers..
Mine was broken in to in a crowded Tesco car park, middle of the day, so there's no way of totally protecting yourself all the time. Overnight is different, though: it's dark, no-one about, all too easy to break in. Take the expensive stuff out is the only option unless you're parked up somewhere safe.
Not wanting to sound paranoid, but they know where you live now so definitely don't leave the new replacements in the van! Does it have an alarm? Worth fitting one if not, although it made no difference on mine it's going to wake the street at night....
I don't think sign writing or windows makes a lot of difference. If they see a van they can have a go at, they will, regardless of what they think might be inside.
Rough day, try not to dwell on it though. You have to treat it as bad luck, and move on.
I can't get the van on my drive as I live at the bottom of a small cul de sac and it's a long wheel base Boxer and can't get the swing in/out so it's left on the corner of the orad a few doors up. Quiet area. I have a garage I rent a few streets down, so I'll be emptying every night and re loading in the morning.
Re the contracts, it had been 'maintained' before, but badly whi#ch was how we got the contracts. But the property manager changed in the office and I reckon he's got his mate in. We were due to visit twice a month in the summer months, but got all three contracts terminated on the same day after only getting to each site once. So how do I invoice? Annual contract amount divided by 22?
We were not given any notice, so legal proceedings have now started to see if we can be compensated for loss of earnings over that month we should have had notice.
Sorry to hear this David. I have armourshell deadlocks fitted, never been put to the test fortunately but they look beefy enough to do the job/put people off. Remove kit at night... it is a right arse after a hard day but less of one than trying to replace kit in a hurry when you lose it.
Geoff Norfolk said:
David Parker said:
How secure is the garage? Trying not to be the voice of doom, but I think you need to know things are safely tucked away. If the van's out on the road in plain sight, then it's going to attract attention.
Is there not a place in your house for the tools? I had to keep everything in the house when we knocked my garage down, so for about 4 months I had the strimmer, hedgecutter, LR trimmer, chainsaw, blower, the whole lot in the dining room. If it's only the strimmer and combi, might be worth considering.
Could you build a secure shed? At least it's near the house, and could be alarmed.
Sorry to hear about your lost tools. I unload almost everything at night. That way if someone does break in I'm happy knowing they where disappointed to find it empty.
Russel,
I have these bolts on my garage door (different brand but almost identical). They seem solid but a crow bar would still get through. It just adds a bit more time and noise to the process which in turn hopefully puts them off or alerts someone.
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