I found my stolen bike but I am unsure what to do about it??

bluebus200

So a year ago my specialized tricross was stolen from strain station. It was quite old but I had personalized it and basically really like it. So a bit sad......

Then cycling through town just now I spotted it locked to a railing!! I could tell it was mine from obvious dents in the frame, a race Face head stem that I put on and a few quirky things like oversized washers holding the v brakes on. So I put my own lock on the bike,called the police and waited for the whoever thought they owned it. The police were really unhelpful and said just sort it out between you and the other....the guy came out the pub and looked at the lock, so I went over and explained that it was my bike. At first he was incredulous but I pointed out all the distinguishing things. He accepted it was mine and was really reasonable about it. I believe he was genuine as he was willing to come to the police station with me. As it goes I let him take the bike and took his number and address (he rang me from his mobile so it is for sure his number)...

Anyway assuming he is genuine, which I believe he is. What do I do? He paid for the bike in good faith and has since spent £200+ on extras..... It is for sure my bike but it was purchased 10 years ago and I have no idea where the receipt for the purchase would be let alone the serial number...

Part of me feels inclined to just let it go but then part of me thinks I had to replace it and spend ££ on personalising a new one...

So what would you do? Do you think it's worth involving the police? Opinions welcomed...

webboo

Did he pay what it was worth or did he get a bargain. If it went for a song he probably knew it was knicked.

bluebus200

£75 for a 10 year-old tricross

slowbike

Rather assume you didn't have insurance on it - so you're out of pocket. As is he ...

£200 of extras - what's he done? replaced cranks and cables?

Yes I think it should be reported to the police - not him - the person he bought off - although that person probably didn't nick it either.

What to do with the bike - do you want/need it back? What do you think it was worth (prior to it being nicked)? Come to some agreement between you - on who gets to keep the bike and who pays the other some recompense? If it's not that much - just have a few beers down the pub - you may even get yourself a new mate....

RedClip

Can't you find out where the guy bought the bike from, and pay them a visit and use extreme violence persuade them of the error of their ways?

bluebus200

I seriously doubt whoever he bought it of were the thieves... As it goes one of the thieves got caught b at the time.... Which was a year ago now...

slowmart

In legal terms the bike is yours and it’s buyer beware. Of course that doesn’t stop you offering a few quid as a gesture of goodwill.

It goes without saying that £200 of parts don’t hold their value but a proportion would I hope be gratefully received.

The thing is you seem to have an emotional attachment to the bike, so monetary value is subjective.

Great detective skills BTW.

bluebus200

So a quick update.... After much discussion with the police it appears that unless I can produce the original receipt with three serial number then I have no right to the take the bike back! I said that the guy who bought it should also have to prove that it was his but by they essentially just shrugged their shoulders... So the lesson is if you find your stolen bike, lock it and refuse to unlock it!

graeme_s-2

I guess although the other guy can't provide paperwork to prove he owns it either, he is currently in possession of it, so it's presumed it legally belongs to him unless you can prove otherwise.

fenix

Presumably you can remember where you bought it from ? The shop should keep a record ? Did you register it with Specialized perhaps ?

bluebus200

I contacted the shop....they have just had all their till system changed!

timothyw

To some extent this is a cautionary tale to hold onto your receipts/proofs of purchase.

To be fair though, the new 'owner' has spent £200 on it, plus whatever it cost him, so feels a bit 50-50 to me in any case - perhaps you could take him to small claims court to find an equitable settlement (in which either he compensates you or you compensate him and get your bike back....)

You have to appreciate from the POV of the police it's all very well being able to point out distinguishing features, anyone who had taken some time to scrutinise the bike beforehand could have done the same though.

Do you have some old pictures of the bike perhaps, with you in them?

fenix

This is why I like online shopping - email invoices are easy to store and find.

Good luck with it.

thecycleclinic

When mine was nicked it was found in a school within 48hrs (facebook appeal). The police were informed and it was recovered by the police. I did not have to prove I owned it with receipts. The description I gave when it was stolen matched what was recovered so they gave it back.

Sometimes the police can help.

Charlie_Croker

bluebus200 said:

I contacted the shop....they have just had all their till system changed!

As a business you are legally obliged to keep purchase/sales records for 6 years. Electronic storage takes up very little space. Many businesses don’t have an annual clear out and the older records are often in a dusty room somewhere. This probably doesn’t help you buying it 10 years ago though.
I find it incredibly hard to believe that the police expect you to still have the original receipt (presumably in your large storage area with all your other receipts) after all this time. Sounds more like laziness on their part to me. Have you sort legal advice? CAB could perhaps help

Dorset_Boy

oxoman said:

Similar issue to the OP, the new owner of the bike had legitimately purchased it via 3rd party on ebay who had in turn purchased via police disposal auction. Bike was reported stolen in one county registered as stolen along with serial numbers and modifications, sadly it was found in another county following a raid on premises and disposed of once case over and supposedly looking at missing bike reports in their area. Sadly no cross county border cooperation even though only a few miles between place of theft and place of police raid. Mine was 1 of about 40 or so bikes found at the time. I was lucky insurance covered it.

If the insurance has paid out, you are no longer the legal owner, the insurance company is.

Charlie_Croker

Dorset_Boy said:

If the insurance has paid out, you are no longer the legal owner, the insurance company is.

As far as I can tell the OP has not made an insurance claim. Having said that, if the OP had made a claim, I'm sure the insurance company would be only too grateful to receive information which would lead to the recovery of their property. You can bet they’d peruse it with all due vigour

bluebus200

No no insurance. No claim... The bike shop the bike came from had only just ditched their old records.. So bad luck for me really. Only really sentimental value really, well that and the point that the guy who bought it for a £800 bike for £75... And that's without the upgrades..

fenix

Was that the new price though? £75 for second hand old bike seems reasons.

webboo

As Fenix says it’s not an £ 800 bike it’s a 10 year old £800 bike. 75 quid seems about right, you need to get over this. It’s not like someone has stolen your dog, cat, child, girlfriend or boyfriend.

DeVlaeminck

It's a tricky situation - I think I'd have probably done the same thing - asked the police what could be done and then think that for what it's worth it's not worth pursuing once the obvious avenues of proving ownership were exhausted. If he did accept it was yours then I might have tried to convince him that he really should give it me back minus any genuine upgrades but it's not worth getting into a confrontation over if they were reluctant life's too short.