Petrol Thefts

[ClareC]

How do they steal the fuel? Is it vehicles with unlocked petrol caps?

[DJKillaQueen]

You don't need to unlock the petrol cap...I won't say in a public forum how it's done but it's very easy to do I'm afraid.

[TJ]

Keep reporting please. A pain though it is, please please report it.

Eventually those useless boys in blue will be forced to do something even if it is pontificate about what falls under 'reasonable allocation of police resources'.

For those regularly targeted, keep a ?3 can of petrol to hand but use it up within 3 months as petrol goes off (yes it does!)

[BQC]

They've nicked fuel so many times from my scooter the fuel pipe now leaks. ?30 for a new pipe today ... :(

[ladywotlunches]

Sorry to cross post, but it appears the thieves are back in action after spending all their cash at Xmas. Scooter drained last night. Anyone else? Off to report it now.

[untamedstylist]

even if u empty ur fuel tank they will still cut the pipe in an attempt to steal it and still ulhave to replace it so not much point going to the effort just to save ur fuel, because even if they dont steal it but still cut ur pipe ull loose it when u put the fuel back in anyway....

im not very up on stealing petrol from bikes but im pretty sure its the lowest of the low thing to do u have to be REALLY desperate to steal a couple of quids worth at a time....

as for cars, its generally OLD cars that get there fuel pipes cut to steal fuel as there is very easy access normally by the rear wheel arch on the petrolcap side..... to resolve this u could weld a piece of metal over the acess point....

most new cars have this done already......

i know this because i had friends that worked in scrap yards and i used to go in for free fuel..... lol

i cant say there is really a soloution other than getting the police patrolling more but that would require every theft to be reported to get them to take action....

sorry for ur losses....

[snowman]

Petrol gone this morning from my scooter....groan, new year but same old s***....crime reported to the police as usual etc etc.

Now waiting for the usual useless call when they give me advice such as park it in the front garden or the garage (which I have told them countless times I do not have...) etc etc

So so fed up with this...:'(

[ladywotlunches]

Does anyone have any experience of alarmed locks for scooters?

[snowman]

My scooter is alarmed but it doesn't seem to make any difference...

The police have just visited to get a few more details on the theft. I pointed out this thread (they were not aware of it) to explain that this is not a localised incident but a more widespread issue. They asked me to remind people that these thefts, no matter how small the amount of petrol stolen, should always be reported to the police. If you are a victim of this type of theft please report it as it only takes a couple of minutes!

[snowman]

Petrol gone again last night :'(...reported to the police. If you have been a victim of a similar crime last night (it always seem to happen to several people at the same time) please report it as it only takes 5 minutes. The number to call is 0300 123 1212.

[TJ]

what i find odd, is that i checked that crime data base the police just launched and none of the 3 thefts I reported or any of the 20 or so thefts that forumites emailed me about were listed. They clearly do not even register them as crimes or thefts.

I think it is simply ignored.

[snowman]

I noticed the same thing (vehicular crime is supposed to be indicated on those maps). I understand that it is not the type of crime to go top of the priority list for the police, but to ignore it completely as they seem to do is quite annoying...

[TabithaKate]

I also had petrol stolen from my scooter last night - the 5th time it has happened. I spoke to the guys at the garage I use and they said it happens all of the time and there isn't any way of locking access to the pipe.

I agree that cctv is the only way forward - whip around?? :D

[Asha22]

Wow - purely by chance saw this!!! Can't believe the cheek!

My boyfriend's Vesper gets drained nearly everytime he fills it! We are on Underhill Road. Found out the same happens to our neighbour! Now they've cut the pipe and the bike won't start....grrrrr!

Getting him to call the number above to report...

Can't wait for the solution...although not sure what it will be!

[The Minkey]

Cdwilson, if it were me and it were happening that regularly, I'd set up a camera to record it happening. I wonder how the thief realises he's just filled up? Does your bf use the same garage to fill up and is it very local to you? Feel for him, he must be so peed off.

[snowman]

Here we go again...petrol gone last night, off to report it now

[pinkhalf]

Out of interest, what models of Vespa are getting drained? I have a GTS and a PX as yet unmolested... they are covered when not in use. The ET and LX are easy to steal from and I have friends with those who do get their petrol pinched. It may be a bit drastic but you might find it better to switch to another model.

One friend in Hackney chains her scooter hard against the house so they cannot reach around to steal the petrol, and had planted a series prickly plants to dissuade hands from reach around there.

The other thing that makes it difficult to do is when you chain scooters together. If you do this with your neighbours scoots, this makes it harder to get underneath to take the petrol or the scooters.

[samrigg]

Hi Everyone

They have stolen my petrol so many times it's not funny. This week it was two nights running!!! I have been reporting it to the police but they say that there is nothing much they can do... and in fact they said they weren't aware that it was happening to other people!!

Anyway, I have brought myself a large funnel and a jerry can and am going to beat them at their own game by emptying my petrol out of my tank myself every night. I have also attached a note to my moped saying that no petrol is left in the tank over night. I know it is a faff but it only takes two minutes and I'm hoping that if they find my bike is devoid of goodies on enough occasions that they will stop paying me a visit.

Samx

[Marmora Man]

My car was targeted last night - filler cap ripped off. Might have been disappointed as it's a diesel. 4 week wait for new filler cap due to need to match colour.

B******s

[ladywotlunches]

After a fair bit of a break (as it appears from the lack of posts seems to be general?), petrol gone from the scooter again last night. Anyone else?

[Willard]

This is just f**king unbelievable. Didn't realise this was happening. Just reading this thread is raising my blood pressure and getting me pissed off. Can you hook your scooter up to the mains?

[benmorg]

http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/News/newsresults/General-news/2011/March/mar1811petroltheft2/

[snowman]

After over a year of silence the petrol thieves are back...sigh...tank empty this morning on my scooter. Bastards.

Out of curiosity has anybody else been targeted last night as I remember that in the past several bikes/scooters would be targeted on the same night?

What's the non-emergency number to report the theft to the police? Thanks

[lilolil]

Non emergency number is : 101

[Green Goose]

Ok, try this.....

Given that rubber is a good insulator ( eg your scooter's tyres), I suggest you put the scooter stand on a thick rubber insulator and hook the scooter up to the mains 220v.

That will stop them,

Just don't forget off switch off before you go out in the morning!

It's just an example, but you could do lots of similar things whereby the scrotes who touche your vehicle make a connection to earth which then triggers an event - eg discharge of a capacitor to give a really sharp shock. Or it could trigger a small audio alarm.

There's lots of ways of skinning the proverbial....

Good luck & don't take any prisoners, just get your retribution in first!