recent burglary

LauraLeah1684

forgive me if this post seems out of place, but i couldnt find anywhere else where it would be more suited.
on friday our shed was burgled and a large quantity of lead was stolen by a dirty drug addict whilst we were in the house in the middle of the day...after finding this out we contacted the police as the scum bag had left his wolly hat behind. this was taken away by police as evidence.
to cut a long story short, i cant claim on my home insurance because i dont have an exact figure of the weigh of the lead which was stolen?
do scrap yards have certain procedures etc to follow to prevent thieves from cashing in ripping people off and stealing from them?
im now wondering whether the police will phone me to tell me they have a dna match and have nicked the little scum bag. does anyone know whether its likely to go to court, if so will i be able to go?
i reckon from a previous experience of weighing in lead after we removed some a few years back there will have been well over £200 worth.
i want to do all in my power to try somehow to try and re-coupe this money as it was going to pay for a plasterer to finish the walls in our bathroom and to then tile it. without this money we are unable to the work as we have had our old bathroom riped out and made smaller and this has taken us 3 years to save up for it.
i just feel so depressed and violated that this scumbag just decided that he wanted it and was determined to get it without any consideration to the people who work for a living that pay their taxes which keeps him in his scruffy flat and keeps him able to buy his daily fix....sorry rant over.
any advise will be gratefully received!

laura

DVardysShadow

Claiming £200 on house insurance will probably cost you more than £200, so if you have not started to claim, probably best not to bother.

Just rejoice that whatever he made from it is another nail in his coffin.

LauraLeah1684

well totally unable to claim on home insurance because i cannot give them a exact figure on weigh, our excess is only £50, but why should i pay them for the pleasure of getting something back that was mine legally to begin with.
if i ever get my hands on the little scrote ill be repeating the words of Mr.T to him...'you are going to met my friend PAIN!' but on a lighter note, the s.o.c officer said if he had the brass nerve to break into our shed in daylight (2-4pm) whilst we were at home, then this wont have been his first offence, so he will prob have a record, therefore his dna will b on police database, so they will get him. i will press charges and will happily sit in course and clap and wave when he gets in there and laugh and point. may not directly help me with the bathroom, but it certainly will make me feel better and i will have the upper hand as i will have won....what goes around comes around

phill99

You would be very unwise to claim for scrap metal. You have lost the first £50 to your excess. And next year and subsequent years, your premium will reflect that you have had a claim so it will cost you more than £200. It's not worth it.

Don't expect any joy from scrap dealers. They are as bent as the drug heads that steal your lead. If the scrap dealers had any conscience, they wouldn't be willing to accept the bronze and brass from war memorials, but they regularly do that.

And don't expect to get any jot from police. DNA testing and matching is expensive and something they do if they think there is a realistic chance of conviction. Just because he left an item of clothing in you shed isn't proof that he stole your metal. It just proves that he was at the scene of the crime, not someone that perpetrated it. The CPS will want more evidence than that. A good defence barrister will soon shoot that down in court saying that his client lost his hat a few days before while out walking his dog.

So it's highly unlikely to go to court and your highly unlikely to get your lead back, or compensation.

That is just he way it is unfortunately.

For future reference, think about getting a shed alarm. They don't cost much and act a a good deterrent as thy make a very loud noise when someone gets into your shed.

marleyboy

Whilst I would agree he or she is a scumbag, if you know who this scumbag is you might want to let the Police know.

It seems you know enough about him\her to establish that they have a flat, are on drugs and claiming benefits. Other than they steal scrap metal from sheds and are missing a hat, there is nothing to say they dont live in a caravan, a mansion or a tent in the woods.

They could just have easily been illegal immigrants living under a tree. Not all burglars live in flats, are unemployed or taking drugs. But they are scumbags.

callmechar

Someone burgled us last weekend. They only took a wacker plate (vibrating plate/compactor). They took nothing else. It has a serial number, yet who knows where it has gone. These things are heavy so its not like its just your normal petty criminal, there has to have been at least 2 of them and a vehicle. Scum bags thieves, the lot of them

Apreciar

I have an alarm fitted in my shed, less than twenty pounds at Maplins, runs on batteries, would deafen and frighten anyone away.

maninthestreet

It couldn't have been that much lead if someone managed to carry it off on their own whilst you were on the premises.

warmhands.coldheart

maninthestreet wrote: »

It couldn't have been that much lead if someone managed to carry it off on their own whilst you were on the premises.

Would have to agree... Scrap lead prices are about 70p/kg so unless they were a weightlifter or literally backed a van up your drive, I'd suggest you're possibly over egging it a bit. (Unless your talking new lead flashing at cost price which is about £6.70/kg so you'd be talking about 30kg, still not exactly the sort of weight you'd just throw in a backpack)

LauraLeah1684

marleyboy wrote: »

Whilst I would agree he or she is a scumbag, if you know who this scumbag is you might want to let the Police know.

It seems you know enough about him\her to establish that they have a flat, are on drugs and claiming benefits. Other than they steal scrap metal from sheds and are missing a hat, there is nothing to say they dont live in a caravan, a mansion or a tent in the woods.

They could just have easily been illegal immigrants living under a tree. Not all burglars live in flats, are unemployed or taking drugs. But they are scumbags.

the day before this scumbag knocked on our door to ask if he could have the taps off our old bathroom suite. i wasnt keen on the idea but my husband let him have them, he spotted the lead down the side of the shed as it has just been taken out of the bathroom, he has if he could have the lead as payment for clearing the old bathroom etc away. my husband told him no, and he left, we then placed the lead in the back of the shed and locked it. this scumbag came back at 2pm in the afternoon, damaged my property and stole my possessions. im sorry, but how many scruffy drug addicts that go around the streets looking for house etc to steal from hold down their own jobs etc, have a job and contribute to society...?
seems to much of a coincidence that no body knew the piping was there, i hadnt even told family members, we didnt have a plumber do the work, and we are set back and up from the road so there is no chance anyone passing could have saw if if they were walking past. and not to mention, the bikes etc were all left intact.
there was a lot of lead there, i know there was alot, im not saying the scruffy scumbag didnt come back with a few mates to help him, but he got both big piles of it and now i cant sleep properly and in a fortune down, living without a bathroom. and yes, i have told the police all i know, and he was wearing the hat the day before when he knocked and he left with it...the police even came and took his prints of my spade that he used to break into the shed, (so what with the hat dna which s.o.c offiers seem positive about and ive already been told its been sent off to get tested) fingers crossed the little piece of scum will get caught....and i will press charges. its the principal of the matter. i know i wont get my possessions back, so something is better than nothing!

jimpix12

^ So you don't actually know it was the same person then? I am sure once your frustration and anger subsides , you will see how lucky you are that he didn't take your £50k car off the drive, the keys to your house, or your dead mother's ashes etc etc. Time to look at security in your back garden, as others have suggested get a shed alarm, cheap CCTV or even just trellis and gravel.

There are dregs in society always looking to take something at any opportunity, it's best not to take it personally and use it as an excuse to beef up the old security. So if they do come back, you'll be ready for 'em.