(My car has been) broken into

[Sushi]

Hi

I woke up this morning to find my car doors wide open and a few key things missing from my car. This is the second time this has happened in 3 weeks which even though I am no Miss Marple, I find very strange. All I can think of is that either (a) I am rediculously absent minded and is some opportunistic individual who keeps walking down my street (b) someone has some clever device to open golf doors © somoene with access to my keys is opening it for people. I know the last is quite a leep, but have had some other random things going on as well.

Anyone else had anything similar happen that would support (a) or (b)?? I have reported it to the police but am sure I am way down the list of any priorities (and quite rightly so).

S

[computedshorty]

Perhaps a vagrant uses it to sleep over night and leaves the doors open to give it an airing.

Keys just go to a car breakers and you could pick up dozens of disgarded keys.

[Penguin68]

I assume that your car has remote locking - are you putting your keys in your pocket and in some way pressing the key-pad which opens the doors without realising it? - I had a car which had a sensitive (and quite powerful) remote locking device which did that if I wasn't careful.

Do you have children who might be playing with your keys without realising that they may be unlocking the car?

Does anyone else park a Golf nearbye which may have the same unlocking code (the number of combinations is vast, so that is highly unlikely but still within the realms of possibility)?

Do you have an electrical fault which is triggering the remote unlocking? Theoretically modern in-car diagnostics might be able to pinpoint this?

However, the fact that the doors are 'wide-open' and things missing does suggest a human agency - perthaps one quite proud of being able to open the car and thus leaving the doors open to 'boast' about their prowess. The fact that the car is still there suggests that the engine immobiliser is still working, even if the car locks aren't.

[steveo]

Someone lived in my car at the top of Court Lane for weeks. I had no door locks at the time.

I could never catch the blighter and in the end I stopped trying. He moved out one day and then I kind of missed him.

Perhaps he died; his diet seemed to consist entirely of KFC and slushies.

[TJ]

There has been a lot of vehicle crine of late.

Pls search my posts on vehicle crime and you will see all the details for the police:

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,410374,page=1

There is a link to the police where you mMUST report this. If you dont report it, they do nothing about it. Even if they appear to ignore you, the crime is on the books and can form a pattern they will investigate.

http://www.met.police.uk/reporting_crime/

[SteveT]

I would lay money on it being the same person getting in.

[will dex]

Golfs have a record of keys from other golfs opeining other cars. This is probably the issue. It was on watchdog etc about 2 years ago

[GinaG3]

will dex - I was about to say the exact same thing. I dont know how you would get around that though, besides buying a new car that isn't a golf. Pfft

[Aisling]

Yes, my friend went to open his car (golf) when in sainsbury's car park, and only once he was in the car realised he was in the wrong one. It was far too clean to be his. But shocking that he could open another car with his keys.

[siobhanleighhunt]

sushi, what road you in? I'm in st adian's road and my car got broken into the other night

[Sushi]

I am in Landells Rd. Car has now been cehcked by VW to confirm wrong with locking etc. Was a long shot, but the answer is its fine. Means that I now have a car that I cant leave anything in. Trying to pursuade the leasing company to give me a new one but they currently aren't having any of it.

My god son got really upset when he found out his "Crazy Frog" CD single had gone .... every cloud has a silver lining :-)

[poppy]

Our Golf was also broken into on Saturday night, with all the windows left open. Fortunately there was nothing of value in the car but whoever got in had pushed all the seats back and had had a good rifle through the contents of our glovebox (they must have decided that they could live without a Flight of the Conchords CD and a can of Rain-x). We couldn't work out how they'd got in at first either, but on close inspection it looks as though they used a screwdriver on the passenger door lock. But now I'm wondering whether they'd forced it with another key - they did a very neat job. We were surprised that they could get in so easily with just a screwdriver, but the fact that other keys can work is very annoying and alarming.

[sonia]

poppy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Our Golf was also broken into on Saturday night,

> with all the windows left open......on close inspection it looks as though

> they used a screwdriver on the passenger door

> lock.

I think VW/Audi windows can be opened by turning the key in the lock to a certain point. I know because I have accidently done this in the past when locking my old Audi before. I'm assuming that jamming a screwdriver in will also perform the same function.

I'm not sure what can be done on an individual basis - perhaps this 'feature' can be turned off somehow? Surely VW/Audi/other manufacturers should be taking some responsibility though to addressing a security vulnerability that has been an issue for a while and, as these posts show, still exists :(

[jalapeno]

Sorry to hear of your trouble Sushi but I wonder if it was a similar device to the one that was used in an attempt to open doors to our car.

The incident however took place right in front of us a few weeks back. We were walking back to our car which was parked on Forest Hill Road. A particular youth overtook us on the pavement only to approach our car (in the distance) and enjoy a very close inspection of it.

He then repeatedly flicked a "black market key" at our car in an attempt to open the doors but having failed at that was trying to desperately open them manually before finally running away. People passing by did notice but none accosted him.

We too felt totally powerless and baffled as all we did was loiter around hoping he wouldn't escape with it. To make things worse we had our little daughter with us so it was just too much of a risk trying to approach a youth of this nature. We were quite shaken up but what can you do..? I didn't fancy a run down of his hidden antics!

I do wonder though how he was planning to get away in broad day light - it has an alarm & an immobolizer but then again there's an art to any craft!

[Rogue Apostrophe]

jalapeno, you can't be too surprised that no-one accosted him, as you yourself didn't want to interrupt his tampering with your car. passers-by have families too, it's just not worth intervening, the most you could have done is called the police there and then. always worth reporting these incidents!

[Sue]

Rogue Apostrophe, love your name :))

Get down to those ED florists immediately (actually that's more the spelling than the greengrocer's apostrophe) :))

Agree, very hard to intervene, I don't hand litter back to the people who dropped it any more, let alone accost someone trying to steal my car, but yes, call the police ....

[jalapeno]

That wasn't quite what I implied by that line Rogue Apostrophe, he wasn't the type anyone would want to approach!! We did but for a second we both froze seeing what was happening in front of us!

[observermum]

There was a spate of these incidents a few years ago in my area - different makes of car - first cars being opened and rifled- then doors being damaged - then various parts being stolen. Eventually we had security fitted by Karklinic in Brockley Road.

[Guernsey Lil]

Hi everyone,

I'm new as an active user of this forum but I've been silently following it for months, it's so useful!

Anyway I just wanted to say, I am also on St Aidan's Road and I am pretty sure someone got into our car this week. The only evidence was the window being open about an inch. I thought it might have been me being careless after I used it last weekend but after walking down the road I noticed two other cars with the same thing...nothing appears to have been taken, not that there's anything worth taking, but it is worrying that there seems to be a theme with VW's (mine is a Polo). I'll check out that link posted above to report it.

[Rogue Apostrophe]

yep i would never intervene in such an occasion. i can't really see why that was mentioned above as it's obvious no-one in their right mind would bother interfering with a car break-in unless it was their own car. just not worth taking the risk of someone pulling a knife on you or something similar.

Sue Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Rogue Apostrophe, love your name :))

>

> Get down to those ED florists immediately

> (actually that's more the spelling than the

> greengrocer's apostrophe) :))

>

> Agree, very hard to intervene, I don't hand litter

> back to the people who dropped it any more, let

> alone accost someone trying to steal my car, but

> yes, call the police ....

[TJ]

Personally, If i caught someone breaking into my car, I would happily smash their front teeth out with a large metal rod. If i could hit their balls out their asshole too I think it would be a good job done well.

[shedjacs]

Hi, just got forwarded this post, I have an old VW golf which has been broken into twice off Lordship Lane. Once a few months ago and again last week. Both times, I couldn't see how they got in as no windows were broken, it's a 1997 model, the police said it was easy to break into. The first time, all the seats were pushed down to get into the boot (nothing in there but smelly wellies and engine oil),the glove compartment rifled through, and 20p and a trolley token taken from the coin tray! The second time, I found all the windows had been left right down and the doors all unlocked, nothing missing, but inside of car all wet from heavy rain that night and glove compartment open.

I have definitely locked car both times with my key (the only key I have) and checked all the doors and boot as am so paranoid I check twice I've locked the door to my flat everytime I leave. I have an immobiliser and a gearstick lock to deter anyone, not much else can do to stop it happening again. Also not sure how they managed to get the electric windows down without having a key to the ignition so all a mystery...

[jg2112]

This morning my wife woke me to tell me someone broke into my car (VW Golf 4 TDI-2003 model). I was surprised as the alarm didnt go off, however my wife noticed that a toilet roll and items we keep in the glove box was thrown on the front seat. Went down to investigate and noticed the car alarm is on but someone was defo in there. I opened it and my satnav is gone. Strangely no windows broken, also the car was locked, as we returned home just before 1am this morning with our other car. Strangely though, I noticed a beer bottle being placed in front of my passenger door (facing the road) and I still said to my wife how people can just leave their litter. This morning the bottle is gone. I remember back in South Africa criminals used to plant coke cans or sprayed a red x on your front wall, indicating that is the next target. They used to have runners identifiying possible targets and then another crew to actually break in. Could this be happening here? I live in Beckton.

[scottess]

Hi, there seems to be a pattern emerging! Our little KA was broken into a couple of weeks ago. Someone bent the door right out with a crowbar. Nothing was taken even though our satnav was hidden in the car - pretty pointless really so wondering whether someone is doing this just for fun!

We are on Frogley Road just off Lordship lane.

[agathoise]

This happened to us about three weeks ago -- I went to unlock the car, but it wasn't locked. I was fairly sure that it had been locked and that keys were in a secure place. All interior compartments (glove compartments, storage bits on dashboard, etc. were wide open, and something had been moved onto the driver's seat, which suggests that whoever rifled through the car sat in the passenger seat. CDs had been strewn about, but not taken (I guess "The Best of Agatha Christie's Poirot" doesn't sell well down the local pub ;-)) ... in fact the only thing that had been taken (as far as we can tell) was my elder daughter's change purse which contained no more than three pounds in change. Everything had been pulled out of the compartments, which suggests someone rummaged through in a hurry. My husband reckons it was kids, but I'm not sure how they would have got in. My eldest child summed it up nicely by saying "I can't believe anyone would risk going to jail for the rubbish in your car Mum!"

Maybe rifling through bags of (unused) nappies and baby clothes taught them a lesson!

Agathoise