I was robbed!

[Grateful11]

I went to get my stuff together this evening to do a clean up for a new customer. I had about everything loaded when I went to get my hand held blower and couldn't find it. I knew I had set it down beside my chainsaws, wait a minute where's the chainsaws? Someone got my cheapy Weedeater blower and my Husky 55, Husky 371XP and my old Stihl 028WB chainsaws. Luckily they skipped my T27 Shin. trimmer. I now know what it feels like to be ripped off and I don't like it. With a $500 deductible I guess something's not going to get replaced. I found the serial #'s for the Husky stuff and I'm going to turn them in to the deputy that's investigating it. I figure they got about $1350 worth in replacement value. Needless to say I'm not a happy camper and I had to reschedule a new customer and don't like to do that. Not a good start for the weekend.
Grateful

[Eric ELM]

I'm sorry to hear this. I knew it would never happen to me, but it did. Mine was locked up too. :(

It can happen to anyone and probably will sooner or later.

[lee b]

I'm sure sorry to hear that. You've lost some of the tools you need to earn a honest living and some crack-head got high for 5 minutes. At least you will be able to replace most of what you lost and maybe they'll find whoever ripped you off. If not maybe he'll overdose and the world will be a better place.

[TJLC]

Like Eric said it can happen even if your stuff is locked up. If someone wants what you have, bad enough, they will find a way to take it. I know this probally does not help, but I truly feel for you. I think my deductable is $250.00. Even at that, is it worth reporting to your ins. company? Hey, don't beat yourself up over this. Hopefully whoever took your stuff, gets caught. Good luck.

[Fantasy Lawns]

that sucks ....sorry to hear that .....lock's only keep honest people honest

[Stinger]

Man I HATE thiefs, if someone really wants something bad enough why can't they just go ahead and ask? 9 times out of 10 people will try to help someone if they really need something. I am sorry to hear this and can unfortinately say I know how it feels. But dont feel like the Lone Ranger, I had a friend that came out from eating lunch only to discover his whole trailer was disconnected from his truck and gone! Remember no matter how bad you've got it someone allways has it worse. I hope the insurance pans out for you, good luck!

[Shack]

I am sorry for your loss. Hope they catch the creep.

[Mid Rivers]

That sucks, with any luck they may cut off a limb with the stolen goods. Watch out though if that happens they will probably bring legal action against you for allowing them to steal the equip.

If they want something bad enough they will get it.

[awm]

I WONT GET STARTED ON THIEVES AGAIN.
Mabe we catch one someday.Sorry bud.

[David Gretzmier]

I have been Robbed 4 times in 6 years. Luckily, State Farm has paid all claims at replacement costs. My rates have not increased, but the anger each time ages me a year or so. We now use super lawn trucks, but they are open while we are at multiple properties. I wonder how long til we are robbed again. The cops just file a report w/ the pawn shops, no one will investigate your case unless you push it. None of our stuff was ever recovered, regardless of engravings of our business name or phone #. Sorry this happened to you. Dave g

[Acute Cut]

Perhaps you are all looking at this in the wrong way. Perhaps it was some young up start trying to put together a good business so that he can be just like yall some day! Ya gotta love those young entrapaneurs. (sp)

JK< Sorry to hear about your loss. I am going to my dealer tomorrow to make sure he has all my #'s just in case. I have been thinking about doing this for a couple of weeks, but now i have motivation.

[sgreanbean]

this is kinda of the subject bought thought id share it any way.
a few years ago i was a forlift mech, i was working at a plant with my forman SMITTY we had our service van inside this plant pulling a head of a komatsu. i was working along and all of a sudden i here this big comotion coming from the van. i get up go over there and theres smitty fighting this guy with a handful of smittys snapon tools! smitty reaches down grabs a ballpean and smacks this guy in the forehead!! oh man it had to hurt! the guy lets go of the tools and stumbles back and passes out! one of the plant foreman comes running over and it hits the fan! cops came took the report and said they would not arrest smitty! but i dont think he cared if they did! he had tools stolen before and i figure he felt he got some payback, he was smiling the whole time!
and im darn sure that idiot wont steal anymore tools!

[Greenkeepers]

Sorry to hear about your run of luck.... That also sucks that you have a $500 deductible.

Hope they catch him, he must not know the value of equipment to leave the shindy and take the weed eater.

[captdevo]

Sorry to here!! It's bound to happen sooner or later.
Where are you located Grateful??

[Freetime]

We had this happen a few years ago and it pissed me off so bad I wanted to shoot every crack head S.O.B. I have ever seen walking the street. Sorry to hear they got you but a little insurance is better than none at all, also a big dog may help. Most dogs will at least make noise to let you know someone/thing is there. You could bait them out with a video camera and some junk you don’t want any longer or picked up at garage sale, just set it outside like (oops I forgot) put the video on it and maybe get lucky.

From the sound of it you were being watched or cased (they knew your system) by who ever, they tried it once they will try again.

Yes sir it just pisses you off to know a $350.00 weed-eater got sold for $10.00 worth of smack.


Watch your backs summer time is here and crack heads are on the street!!

[CCLC]

Things like this do happen and it is sad when it does. I have had a hand blower dissappear and my favorite variable speed lawn boy walked away from a truck parked in my driveway while I was home. Some people have all the nerve, but life does go on. When we fall, we get up and work that much harder and do better than we did before. It also gives us a little extra motivation to catch the jerk who did it.

[Mowin4cash]

And people wonder why I carry a holstered .45 in plain view while I'm out working.

[bob]

Check out the local pawn shops and the newspapers for your equipment.

[Grassman]

I have a 116# pitbull mix named Samson who sleeps in the garage with my equip. If he don't get them, I will. Call the cops, HELL NO! The jerk will save me on dog food. I hate theives! Russ

[awm]

I have an extra old chain saw case.I think ill
get some cow do or mabe 3 day old road kill and
put it in the case an leave it on my tool ben on truck.
Might be fun to watch the show.BETTER YET ,I NEED SOMETHING TO PUT IN THERE WITH IT THAT WILL SLING IT ALL OVER THEM WHEN THEY OPEN CASE. YEP IM GONNA DO IT.
got to be careful that it dont backfire on me. ugg
BY THE WAY I ENVY A GUY NAMED SMITTY.LATER ON

[Richard Martin]

Just this week a local LCO parked his rig in a shopping center while he went to a copy shop. When he came back out he found that someone had taken 2 Exmarks and a Toro.

Someone must have been following him waiting for an opportunity.

I lock my mowers together with "The Club" cable locks.

[jrodgers]

I went into the supermarket and left my rig in the parking lot to return a movie and on my way out the checkout I noticed a guy near my trailer and then as I watched he started taking my weed wackers. He got two of them and then saw me coming and got in the truck and took off. Just got a partial plate but they still didnt catch him( there was actually two). Oh this was 11am in a crowded parking lot. About two weeks later I saw the truck somewhere else and called the cops. They took down the full plate of the guy and said that they would turn it over to a detective. So a week or so later I get a call and the detective said the guy was denying any knowledge of it, but if I came down and positivly ID the guy we could do something about it. Well knowing it was my word agianst theirs I went in there to id them, but what I did is I didnt id both of them only one of them( knew it was both of them) I identified the bigger stronger looking one as opposeed to the wimpier one and it worked like a charm. The little guy thinking that he didnt want the bigger guy taking the wrap for it confessed to it thus implicating both of them(If I said it was both of them it would have been my word against theirs) Well my weedwackrs mysteriously appeared the next day at the police station and they were up on theft charges. Turns out it was the workers in the owners truck. IDIOTS!!!!!

[Grateful11]

>Where are you located Grateful??

I'm in Salisbury, NC. I turned in the serial #'s today, maybe it will do some good but I doubt it. I may check out the local flea market tomorrow just for the heck of it. My dads going to a fleamarket Tues. that's known to be a place to get rid of this kind of hot stuff. I did pick up a used Stihl 046 magnum this morning at a local Stihl dealer. It looked like new and was less than half the price of a new one. It is alittle more saw than I need but it will be good for the big stuff. Maybe I'll run across a good small saw soon. Some good news, I got to that clean-up job this morning and picked up her neighbor for a mowing account.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words.
Grateful

[75]

It's not limited to lawn care equipment either. Thieves will take anything they think they can get away with. I just finished bolting a new winch on my truck, once I make sure everything is working properly I am going to cover the bolt heads up with welded caps (made from channel) so it's going to be really tough to steal.

Thieves are also the reason the company welding truck I drive stays inside at night.

[Grateful11]

>Thieves will take anything they think they can get away with.

You're right about that. The deputy told us that a VCR will get them 2 crack rocks about 1/8" in dia. for a 15 minute high. It's amazing, when I was growing up I got a natural high just being outside rambling through the woods and playing in the creek and pond near my old homeplace. Heck, I got a high mowing when I was a kid. I think I was about 10 when I started mowing with a Sears Custom 7hp 6 speed. I thought I was in heaven when my dad bought a 12hp Suburban with a 48" deck. That old Sears 12 is still being used by my brother inlaw I think. Well I'm rambling.

[greenflag]

Sorry to hear that! I lease my equipment. The leasing company offered a policy with no deductible for any loss over $100.00 for $9.00 additional per month. That was a no brainer there. What is less than $100.00? a gas can! Better luck and happy mowing.

Garry

[Garry]

I have a large sign that reads DANGER, INFECTIOUS FUNGAL SAMPLES ON BOARD. When they see my company name on the truck, I'm sure it gets them thinking. I don't even lock my doors.

[site]

Here's a quot from some old guy I worked with 10 years ago. I can't remember his name, but what he said stuck. If your gonna steal don't steal a man's tools. If you steal his tools your stealing his livelyhood. If you wan't to see someone pissed off try stealing his livelyhood.

[Grateful11]

Just found out they hit a friend of mine down the road about a mile that does Lawn Care full-time. They got about $1050 worth of stuff off of his trailer and truck. They hit him about the same day they hit me. I'm keeping my eye out for a early gray Dodge Dakota. It was spotted by my wife about the day this happened coming out of her Dads driveway at the farm. She remembers that it had some things sticking out of the bed. She really didn't think much of it at the time because she and her father run a Dairy farm and there's always someone coming around. But when she went up there to let the cows out she saw that someone had pulled same things out of her fathers garage and left them sitting. I think they didn't find what they wanted and left as she drove by earlier. We live next door but a little out of site. I couldn't believe the number of burglarys in the paper today that took place about the same time as mine.
I haven't heard a thing from my insurance adjuster yet.

[Grateful11]

I got a check from my insurance company today. They subtracted my $500 deductible and took 10% off of everything for depreciation. They said go and replace the stuff and if it cost more than the amount they gave my that they would make up the difference. But I have to replace with the same stuff. Since I have already replaced the big saw with a different model and the blower with a Stihl SH 85, I'll have to settle for what I got. I think with some shopping around I'll be able to come OK.

[sgreanbean]

check this out!
yesterday was our first day out here (clean ups)
im across the lawn and this punk lookin teenagers are
walkin towards mt truck. they dont see my cousin chad neelin down tying his boot bye the truck. kid 1 reaches in and grabs my hand held sthil blower! chad hears sombody and stands up. by the way he has a prunin saw in his hand!kid 2 yells run so they do! chad goes after them and catches kid 1
i call the cops, kid1 gets arrested! turns out he is a runaway and parents are freakin out. cops want to if its aright to givr my number to the kids parents, i said ok. they call and thank me over and over! is this a good deed? lol, what a way to start the season! oh kid 2 got away

[Grateful11]

That's freaking unbelievable! What the h#*l is wrong with people these days? They don't seem to care about anything anymore. I just got back from the mall this evening with the wife and kids and I can't believe what some parents seem to be doing with their 12-15 year olds. They seem to be just dropping them at the mall and then going about their merry way. I guess when the kids in up in trouble they just can't figure out why. Duh!
My wife is paranpoid now about using stuff in our own yard. She's we're probably advertising for thieves to see what we have. I told her I'm sorry but I'm not hiding stuff while I'm working in my own yard. By the way I got around to mowing my own yard today just before a thunderboomer came up. No trimming though I won't be caught out with a metal rod in my hands while it's lightning.