Tip/gift to builder

Bendy_House

Section62 said:

Doozergirl said:

I'm calling you cynical! 

The OP watched it happen.  The builder hasn't asked the OP for anything at all, so what gain is there for him?   There will be excesses on insurance even if he has covered himself for tools - there is no requirement to - and it takes time.  The builder will lose more than £400 in lost labour before anyone pays anything out, if they pay out.  

Thanks.

In a hypothetical case, the builder won't have lost anything if his mates had given him the tools back before the end of the day....

...it would be an unusual way to con a kind-hearted person out of some money.... but these days the ingenuity of fraudsters and scammers works at a different level to what it did in the past.  The OP watched something happen, but is it what it seemed?

I'm not saying the OP is being conned, just that they need to set the emotion/trauma to one side for a moment and ask themselves if everything feels 'right'.

This is standard advice from the banks etc when anyone is about to hand over a significant amount of money (especially to strangers) on the basis of a hard-luck story.

The kindest people are the easiest victims of fraudsters.

That would be some risky hassle for a con; what if the 'robbery' was caught on camera, or a neighbour reported it with enough time for the cops to catch the perps?! Egg on face.

And how many builders would think for a nanosecond that their customer might cough up a large tip if they happen to be robbed whilst working at their house? Doesn't seem plausible to me.

tristanm81

Yeah all fair points raised! I’m generally pretty cynical, but lots of factors here mean that there’s nothing to suggest it could be planned in any way. Far too much trouble to go to on the off chance that the customer might be generous. 

I saw the thief grabbing the actual tools! All his Dewalt kit so that stuff costs a fair bit. I even managed to take a photo of the car before they sped off. I know there is lots of phone theft in my area, but never witnessed something like this. 

I think he knows he messed up not having insurance for the tools. Sadly this sort of thing is really common from what I’ve read.
Thanks for all the kind words! If he can feel a little less gutted after this week then it’s easily worth it. 

Section62

Bendy_House said:

That would be some risky hassle for a con; what if the 'robbery' was caught on camera, or a neighbour reported it with enough time for the cops to catch the perps?! Egg on face.

It was reported to the police.  What was the response?  QED.

(and if the Flying Squad did turn up mid-'robbery', then "it was just a practical joke on our mate")

Bendy_House said:

And how many builders would think for a nanosecond that their customer might cough up a large tip if they happen to be robbed whilst working at their house? Doesn't seem plausible to me.

I wonder how many of those call centre workers calling from "Microsoft" (or "BT" or whatever) think for a nanosecond that their "customer" is about to willingly download and install Teamviewer and then allow them full access to their bank account?  It never ceases to amaze me that people do that, it too doesn't seem plausible, yet the fact the calls still keep on coming must mean the scammers get lucky often enough to make it profitable.

Anyway, I've said that I'm not saying this is what has happened, just that the OP needs to consider the possibility.  They have, so all's good.  And without insurance, the risk of the builder inadvertently committing insurance fraud is not a problem either.

P.s. I lost £100 when out walking today.  Don't suppose you could lend me £50 until the end of the week, Bendy?

Section62

tristanm81 said:

I think he knows he messed up not having insurance for the tools. Sadly this sort of thing is really common from what I’ve read.

It is common for tools to be stolen from vans, which is why most builders in the area I work simply wouldn't leave that value of tools in a van in a situation where it might attract the attention of thieves.

The point @Another_Level made is also relevant - the value of stolen tools is a small fraction of what their replacement cost is, not to mention the hassle factor involved in replacing them.

We used to just leave all kinds of kit in the back of a tipper, now everything is locked up, if possible behind two locks.

So £400 could get him one of these - it would make sense to do that, before re-equipping with expensive kit, because having been done once, the theives could be keeping an eye out to get their hands on the newer (and more valuable) replacements.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/van-vault-s10840-xl-storage-box-1190-x-645-x-635mm/541fx

Bendy_House

Section62 said:

Bendy_House said:

That would be some risky hassle for a con; what if the 'robbery' was caught on camera, or a neighbour reported it with enough time for the cops to catch the perps?! Egg on face.

It was reported to the police.  What was the response?  QED.

(and if the Flying Squad did turn up mid-'robbery', then "it was just a practical joke on our mate")

Bendy_House said:

And how many builders would think for a nanosecond that their customer might cough up a large tip if they happen to be robbed whilst working at their house? Doesn't seem plausible to me.

I wonder how many of those call centre workers calling from "Microsoft" (or "BT" or whatever) think for a nanosecond that their "customer" is about to willingly download and install Teamviewer and then allow them full access to their bank account?  It never ceases to amaze me that people do that, it too doesn't seem plausible, yet the fact the calls still keep on coming must mean the scammers get lucky often enough to make it profitable.

Anyway, I've said that I'm not saying this is what has happened, just that the OP needs to consider the possibility.  They have, so all's good.  And without insurance, the risk of the builder inadvertently committing insurance fraud is not a problem either.

P.s. I lost £100 when out walking today.  Don't suppose you could lend me £50 until the end of the week, Bendy?

Only if you give me a copy of Teamviewer.