Poor misunderstood youths.

[csearle]

Three youths at 1515 today cut right through the cable loom of my motorbike near the handlebar whilst it was parked at Tunbridge Wells station. They also wrenched the handlebar against its lock shearing off the locking mechanism and preventing the key from functioning any more. First guess at repair cost is about £1500.

Bike now stranded.

Bring back the death penalty.

[pje16]

You have my sympathy
How infuriating
Death is too good for them
the birch and the like wouldn't go amiss and set an example to other scum

[88V8]

Three youths at 1515 today cut right through the cable loom of my motorbike near the handlebar whilst it was parked at Tunbridge Wells station.

Bummer... so no more leaving it at the station....

Mindless vandalism nothing new I'm afraid.
Telephone boxes in the 'good old days'.

Perhaps they were well-intentioned members of Just Stop Oil.

V8

[Spet0789]

Surely they were trying to steal it, not just vandalise it.

I think there needs to be a more restorative element to justice. Let them pick litter at an implied minimum wage (so for 150 hours in this case) to bring home to them the impact of their 1 minute of criminality.

Of course the police would have to care first.

[bungeejumper]

Nothing new, unfortunately. More than 40 years ago, I had a brand new car which somebody used as a trampoline one dark night. Sneaker prints and dents all up the bonnet, and the roof completely stoved in. "Oh, kids, eh?" said the policewoman. "Mindless vandalism." I pointed out to her that the pub at the end of the road was the only one in Bath where people who'd been banned by all the city centre pubs could still get served. And she said (quote): "Well, they've got to go somewhere haven't they?"

I could have thought of a few more places I'd have liked them to go. Sincere commiserations, Chris.

BJ

[didds]

Of course the police would have to care first.

the Police would have to prioritise it above other crime first is the reality.
Which really means the Home office would have to provide more resources/funds/officers.
Which means the exchequer would need to provide more funds to the Home Office.

Speak to your MP.

[Sussexlad]

'Boys will be boys', always was the phrase and consequently there was punishment to show them when they crossed the line ! I've been intrigued for some time, what is that punishment to be, in these days of do no harm I don't believe sending them home cuts it.
I've always been convinced that without appropriate punishment , the only one who loses out is the adult. e.g. Teachers who didn't hurt you with the strap were looked upon with contempt. If appropriate, punishment is accepted in good grace as perfectly justified !
So what to do in these days, when any stress is interpreted as mental illness?

Sussexlad.

[monabri]

Three youths at 1515 today cut right through the cable loom of my motorbike near the handlebar whilst it was parked at Tunbridge Wells station. They also wrenched the handlebar against its lock shearing off the locking mechanism and preventing the key from functioning any more. First guess at repair cost is about £1500.

Bike now starnded.

Bring back the death penalty.

Or maybe you could cut through their "cable loom" with bolt cutters? Seems reasonable to me. Will this be a likely insurance job? Is there no CCTV at the station that could be used to identify the little b&5t&rds?

[csearle]

Three youths at 1515 today cut right through the cable loom of my motorbike near the handlebar whilst it was parked at Tunbridge Wells station. They also wrenched the handlebar against its lock shearing off the locking mechanism and preventing the key from functioning any more. First guess at repair cost is about £1500.

Bike now starnded.

Bring back the death penalty.

Or maybe you could cut through their "cable loom" with bolt cutters? Seems reasonable to me. Will this be a likely insurance job? Is there no CCTV at the station that could be used to identify the little b&5t&rds?

There is CCTV there. I am waiting for a crime number from British Transport Police before informing my insurers.

My past experience of insurers, who IMO basically operate a racket, is that they increase your premium even if no claim is ever made. No claims protection prevents your no claims bonus discount years from being lowered but they increase your premium nevertheless because, clearly, some kind of incident has occurred. If you don't report it they punish you for not informing them. The upshot is that they screw you whether they have to pay up a claim or not.

Meanwhile the perpetrators. if ever identified, will not pay a penny (they won't have any, because they are unlikely to be members of society's savers).

Update: looks like the locking mechanism parts are the only mechanical items that will need replacing and the fiddly reconnection of the myriad wires should be within my capabilities to repair.

Chris

[Lootman]

My past experience of insurers, who IMO basically operate a racket, is that they increase your premium even if no claim is ever made. No claims protection prevents your no claims bonus discount years from being lowered but they increase your premium nevertheless because, clearly, some kind of incident has occurred. If you don't report it they punish you for not informing them. The upshot is that they screw you whether they have to pay up a claim or not.

Yes, I never report anything to motor insurers. That has probably saved me more in premia than the value of any claims I have foregone.

My insurer thinks I have not an accident or loss of any type in over 40 years and I can live with that. It is in any event only minor stuff but that can still sting you.

[Dod101]

For £1500 I would not report it to my insurers although, depending on the excess, it would be getting close. The other side of the cynical attitude towards insurers is that my sister recently got an entire carpet replaced by her insurers for a spill of some red wine in an obscure corner of it. Quite nonsensical but it is easier and cheaper for the insurers to pay up than to send someone out to check out the claim.

I would not have considered that.

Dod

[Dod101]

My past experience of insurers, who IMO basically operate a racket, is that they increase your premium even if no claim is ever made. No claims protection prevents your no claims bonus discount years from being lowered but they increase your premium nevertheless because, clearly, some kind of incident has occurred. If you don't report it they punish you for not informing them. The upshot is that they screw you whether they have to pay up a claim or not.

Yes, I never report anything to motor insurers. That has probably saved me more in premia than the value of any claims I have foregone.

My insurer thinks I have not an accident or loss of any type in over 40 years and I can live with that. It is in any event only minor stuff but that can still sting you.

So I assume that you buy RTA only insurance? That is for third party personal injury. Usually restricted by insurers for those who have seriously transgressed the law such as being well over the drink drive limit. Otherwise you are wasting a lot of money.

Dod

[Lootman]

Yes, I never report anything to motor insurers. That has probably saved me more in premia than the value of any claims I have foregone.

My insurer thinks I have not an accident or loss of any type in over 40 years and I can live with that. It is in any event only minor stuff but that can still sting you.

So I assume that you buy RTA only insurance? That is for third party personal injury. Usually restricted by insurers for those who have seriously transgressed the law such as being well over the drink drive limit. Otherwise you are wasting a lot of money.

You may be correct. My wife carries our main policy and that is impeccable.

But any claims on my policy would have been trivial in any event and so I think I was better off keeping quiet. No drunk driving or anything remotely like that.

[monabri]

A genuine claim...why not claim?

( as opposed to the owners of a flat above ours! They did SFA in maintenance and had 2 water pipe leaks in the ceiling above our flat. It completely ruined 2 rooms in our flat. We had to claim on our insurance, the damage was £6k on the insurance report. The owners of the flat upstairs claimed for all new kitchen units....apparently water defies gravity in the West Midlands and travels upwards. The insurance company didn't twig that the pipes were under the flats kitchen floor.. our ceiling! They got the insurance claim, installed the new kitchen and then sold the flat).

[csearle]

A genuine claim...why not claim?

Because if I claim they will, at best, settle up the part repaired by my mate Matt (bona fide Motorcycle repair guy) but not my electrical repairs. In return my premiums (premia [thanks Lootman for new word to me]) will increase to recover more from me than I claimed. C.

[Lootman]

A genuine claim...why not claim?

Because if I claim they will, at best settle up the part repaired by my mate Matt (bona fide Motorcycle repair guy ) but not my electrical repairs. In return my premiums (premia [thanks Lootman for new word to me]) will increase to recover more from me than I claimed. C.

Yeah, household claims do not seem to screw you over in respect of future "premia" in the same way that vehicle claims do.

[Spet0789]

So I assume that you buy RTA only insurance? That is for third party personal injury. Usually restricted by insurers for those who have seriously transgressed the law such as being well over the drink drive limit. Otherwise you are wasting a lot of money.

You may be correct. My wife carries our main policy and that is impeccable.

But any claims on my policy would have been trivial in any event and so I think I was better off keeping quiet. No drunk driving or anything remotely like that.

You’ve made confessions like this before. A piece of advice. If you do ever have to make a claim, you will have a choice between telling the truth about your accident history and voiding your insurance or perpetuating your lie and committing fraud.

I know it sucks, but with insurers it has to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Otherwise you may as well not bother paying the premia.

[Lootman]

If you do ever have to make a claim, you will have a choice between telling the truth about your accident history and voiding your insurance or perpetuating your lie and committing fraud.

I know it sucks, but with insurers it has to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Otherwise you may as well not bother paying the premia.

Can you describe exactly how my insurer can miraculously divine how in 1978 I accidentally scraped my door against my garage wall?

Or how in 1996 I knocked off my wing mirror in an alleyway?

[Spet0789]

If you do ever have to make a claim, you will have a choice between telling the truth about your accident history and voiding your insurance or perpetuating your lie and committing fraud.

I know it sucks, but with insurers it has to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Otherwise you may as well not bother paying the premia.

Can you describe exactly how my insurer can miraculously divine how in 1978 I accidentally scraped my door against my garage wall?

Or how in 1996 I knocked off my wing mirror in an alleyway?

Come on, neither is a motoring accident. No one claims for things like that. What next, claiming for spilling coffee on the seats? You spoke of not reporting accidents.

[scotview]

We were down in London this weekend and went to a nice restaurant in China Town. On the table behind us there were three young men in their late twenties, early thirties. Whilst enjoying their nice meal and beers their (loud) conversation centred on their Universal Credit Payments and "add-ons" they had been able to prise out of the system. One comment was that one of them had increased his weekly income by £25 because he was now an "old git" (quote).

They looked like fit young guys well capable of a hard days graft.