Somebody has been in my car. Stolen items.

jay213

I go to my car and see everything has been thrown around inside.  Stuff on the seats, from the glove box and side doors.  The seats were pulled down and items taken from the boot.  I think I mainly had car tools and oils in the boot in carry dividers that were taken.  I don't see any sign of forced entry and I have both keys.  I'm not sure if I could have left the car unlocked a few days ago when I last went shopping.  My car usually locks after a certain amount of time, so I'm surprised that didn't happen or the alarm didn't go off.

If I report it to the police will they do anything?  I was going to go shopping should I avoid using the car.  So I far I don't believe there is any point to get insurance involved.  What are your thought's on what I should do regarding reporting it to the police and using it.

AdrianC

The chances of the police doing anything more than issuing a crime number are negligible. If you can't document exactly what was stolen, then there's really not a lot of point.

KimJongUn88

The Police won't do anything.  

Clean the interior as best you can and use anti bacterial spray or wipes before you use it again. 

452

There's no point in avoiding using it as they won't attend and check for fingerprints. 

olgadapolga

The police won't do anything. The first time it happened to me, I reported it online and got a reply within a few hours stating that they would take no further action with it.

The second time it happened, I just put everything back (only one completely useless item had been taken) and was going to get on with my day when a police officer appeared and told me that a neighbour had seen someone in my car, reported it to the police and they'd caught the person. 

As they'd caught the person involved, I had to give a statement and the person was charged with several other offences as well as theft from my car. The person involved was given a suspended sentence (despite already  being on a suspended sentence - I think that the person had serious health issues as well as drug dependency). I got my worthless item back. All in all, a pretty pointless exercise as the person concerned is frequently in court for theft so doesn't appear to care about the people who get hurt (there were at least three on that occasion) and will just continue.

I have learned to remove everything from my car and to check and double- check that my car is locked! At least my car wasn't damaged in the process.

I felt quite sorry for the person concerned as they clearly need help which probably won't be forthcoming, so the crime cycle perpetuates.

cymruchris

There are times when cars don't auto lock themselves depending on the sequence of events - if there's nothing particularly valuable missing, then the police won't do anything. It's not a nice experience to go through, but the best way forward would be to tidy everything up, put it all back to normal, and carry on as before - making sure you lock the car each time you leave it. 

jay213

I think I have an idea of how they did it, there is no forced entry that I can see but I noticed my fuel cap was open.  I have not opened this for weeks as I've not really been driving and I have plenty of fuel.  I think the car won't auto lock and the alarm won't go off with the fuel cap open.  I think somebody saw me not lock the car when I was taking my shopping inside and pressed the fuel cap "open" so that they could come back later and I haven't been in my car for 2-3 days.

There's a HMO next door with a couple of drug users/drinkers in there I wouldn't put it past one of them but then again if could have been anybody.  I think I might need to get some CCTV.

facade

Most cars (except keyless entry) don't auto lock when you get out of them, or they would lock the keys inside. They re-lock after a minute or so if you unlock with the remote but don't open a door (in case you press the button in your pocket when you sit down in the house).

neilmcl

^This is the right answer. The most likely thing is you simply didn't lock your car when you last used it.

Scrapit

If the fuel caps open maybe the resident skag head had siphoned some or at least tried?

facade

Maybe opening the fuel flap trips the locking somehow?  On my old Suzuki, I found the fuel flap open a couple of times when I came to get in in the morning. I'd have noticed if it was open when I got out as I have to walk past it in the middle of the car.

I just assumed someone had tried to steal petrol, or contaminate my fuel somehow, but I wonder if they flip the spring on the latch with a card, and on a Better More Modern car that is enough to open all the doors?