So, I received a call from the Police today (TF Related)

[Zippo]

Was at work, about 3pm when I picked up a call on my work cellphone from an unknown (private) number.
As soon as I heard this is <unknown> from the New Zealand Police, I asked what I had done. Thankfully nothing.

The person told me that someone had broken into my storage unit and they need me to go in at some point and see if anything was missing.
Had a bit of a conversation about what was stored in there - action figures and a bit of Lego.

Part of me thought that it could be have a bit of a practical joke, but I guess I will find out when I head in on Saturday (since I have to anyways)

[SharkyMcShark]

Don't forget to report your missing MISB Fort Max, MISB Overlord, RiD Black Fire Convoy, and AFA 90 Optimus Prime.

[SharkyMcShark]

Seriously though, that sucks.

You'd like to think that unless the thief was TF savvy he wouldn't have taken anything (or much) once he realised what it was.

[rampagesss]

Dam sucks to hear :(, hopefully nothing major was taken

would be funny if you went there with the police and you had stock-piled hundreds of megatrons and shockwaves :p

[GoktimusPrime]

Seriously though, that sucks.
Indeed it does. I've had TFs stolen before from being burgled... :( :(


You'd like to think that unless the thief was TF savvy he wouldn't have taken anything (or much) once he realised what it was.

In my experience a thief with no TF knowledge will target any toy that is in box - because to them that appears to be the most liquifiable. I was told by police that most thieves are junkies looking to make quick cash so they can buy more drugs and get their next fix. So all they care about is finding stuff that they can sell easily and quickly.

So because of this loose toys don't appeal to thieves, but any toy that is in box. Sealed or loose - they don't discriminate... remember that the thief is just rapidly swiping anything that looks valuable, they're not going to check if the toy is sealed or loose or what the condition is etc. Boxed toys look like STOCK, and thus to them equates instant $$$.

When I got burgled, all my Transformers that were stolen were in box. Nothing out of box was taken.

Examples of things stolen:
+ Original G1 Optimus Prime in reissue box - worn and incomplete (this was my childhood toy)
+ Original G1 Megatron in reissue box - extremely worn
+ Original G1 Galvatron in reissue box - slight wear, incomplete
+ Original G1 Ultra Magnus in reissue box - restored and complete
+ BTA Alert - Loose mint in box
+ BTA Broadblast - MISB (I hadn't gotten around to opening it yet! :()

Examples of things not stolen:
+ All my MOSC toys. Of course, they're wall mounted which may have been a deterrant as the thief would have needed to climb up to get them. I guess carded toys appear less valuable than big boxed toys.
+ All of my exclusive toys -- BotCon exclusives, JafCon exclusives, e-Hobby exclusives, Lucky Draw Prize etc etc., none of this was touched despite the fact that they're probably the most valuable pieces in my collection. My guess is that because they're all displayed _loose_ which makes them look like any other regular toy to someone who doesn't know any better.

The thief just treated my loose toys as if they were absolutely worthless. I found most of my Binaltechs strewn all over the floor (the burglar must've chucked them in order to swipe my PS2 and DVD/VHS player which were on the same shelves at the time) -- and my BT Prowl was damaged as a result. But ultimately it was this thinking that saved my loose toys from being stolen.

About 11 or 12 years ago I got burgled in this small house where I had Transformers all over the place (bedrooms, kitchen, toilet, lounge room, corridors etc.) At the time I didn't keep anything in package and not a single Transformer was taken.

So in my experience sealed toys are more attractive targets for thieves whereas opened toys don't appear on their radar.


would be funny if you went there with the police and you had stock-piled hundreds of megatrons and shockwaves
Is Shockwave classified as prohibited in NZ?? It shouldn't be because it doesn't resemble a real gun -- it's a scifi/fantasy gun. Cos both Classics and Henkei Megatron are non-prohibited in Australia since they aren't modelled on real guns.

[SharkyMcShark]

Considering the above I'm glad that all a thief would find of interest in my Transformers room is two TF07 Dreadwinds and GF Backpack.

[kup]

My most valuable toys are also loose. The stuff that is sealed isn't really all that valuable except for a couple of pieces and even so, they are not prohibitively expensive.

So if I am targeted by a burglar and the mentality is to steal sealed toys, it would not be an irreparable loss.

[GoktimusPrime]

Not all value is monetary though. I was immensely upset at what the burglar had stolen... those original G1 TFs were toys from my childhood and I have precious memories of growing up playing with them.

While it would be expensive, I could replace a stolen exclusive toy. But I can never replace my childhood toys. e.g. I got another original G1 Optimus Prime since the theft, but it's just not the same because it's not my Optimus Prime. :( :( Having said that some of my exclusive toys have sentimental value too... like if my Lucky Draw silver chrome Bluestreak. I can't replace that... sure, I could _buy_ another one, but I could never replace the fact that I won that toy in a random draw competition from Takara.

[Deonasis]

That sucks Zippo. I hope they just busted the lock and saw nothing of value to their eyes. Damn I'd be mad, but I bottle it up well. Best of luck for tomorrow.

[optimus1]

Hope nothing bad has happened Zippo, I hope it was just an alert saying they have broken in, but got caught out before anything was taken/damaged.

[k.wong23]

Bad luck mate hopefully the damage isnt too bad.

[liegeprime]

Oh dear, that just sucks bad :(:(:(

[Zippo]

Ok, so I just took a quick look into the storage shed and yes sadly I do have to report that several things have been stolen.
They broke into the front left of my storage shed, which is where I was storing things I was selling as well as a couple of random piles of crap as well as some unbuilt Lego.

All the Lego has gone, as well as several boxes containing Star Wars sale items and other misc toys, along with a replacement cellphone I had for when my current died (same model from 2006). They have also taken some Titaniums and threw a couple of toys around the shed.

However the lost toys dont actually bother me .. its the opened boxes for Armada Unicron and Galaxy Force Primus that I had in the same spot that have been crushed as well as the method that the robbers used to try and get in to some other boxes. They have ripped holes in the sides of the boxes and crushed a heap of other boxes - its those boxes that I am sad about.

The main bulk of my collection is safe in the back part of the storage unit (as well as the Lego I had stored there)

About to head back in armed with the digital camera to take some pictures before I head to the police station to let them know whats happening.

[kurdt_the_goat]

Sorry to hear that Zippo :( By the sounds of it though, you can at least be thankful that it could have been a lot worse.

[Zippo]

Just a couple of pictures of the cut in the clearlight and wire and then of the general damage to some of the boxes

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/nz-kiwiman/P1050424.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/nz-kiwiman/P1050428.jpg

[Hursticon]

I'm sorry to see and hear Zippo what those *Bleeping* *Bleepers* have done to your personal property.

It could have been indeed much worse but at any rate it still sucks that these plebs feel the need to do what they have done.

I hope that the contents was insured and that the Police act swiftly in apprehending the perpetrators.

[Zippo]

With the majority of items of mine in Mac/Apple boxes and the fact that my spare ADSL Router was also taken along with the phone and car kit - I beleive they were after electronics.

Of course it doesn't explain why they took Star Wars, Gi Joes and Transformers Titaniums. They missed a heap of good stuff as well..

[Lint]

That sucks. Do you know if only your unit got broken into or were others hit as well?

[jaydisc]

Wow, sorry to hear man. Is the storage facility liable? Do you have separate insurance?

[Zippo]

That sucks. Do you know if only your unit got broken into or were others hit as well?

Need to find out on Monday


Wow, sorry to hear man. Is the storage facility liable? Do you have separate insurance?

They are not liable, and while I do have insurance I have never bothered to ask if it covers storage units.

[Verno]

What is the storage shed companys responsibility in all of this? Surely they are liable for your goods being stolen/damaged etc when you are paying them to house them for you?

[GoktimusPrime]

I hate that awful, awful feeling of violation that comes after you've been robbed. :( :(

[Zippo]

Well I now have a list of everything that was stolen and need to catch up with the Police on Monday as I left the number I needed to ring at work (whoops).

Also need to catch up with the storage facility owners and see any other units were broken into and either find a new unit in the same facility or a new storage place. I don't trust my current unit with the hole in its roof now.

[1AZRAEL1]

I wouldn't trust it either, now that the thieves know what is stored in it.

[griffin]

If someone is familiar with a location and can easily break in, they are more likely to come back.

[5FDP]

Sorry to hear Zippo. I know the feeling of having someone break in and take what you have worked so hard for. Not only that, but the feeling of having someone there that shouldn't have been there; it's a personal violation.

[kup]

What is the storage shed companys responsibility in all of this? Surely they are liable for your goods being stolen/damaged etc when you are paying them to house them for you?

Yeah you are indeed paying them to keep your stuff secured.

[Lint]

What is the storage shed companys responsibility in all of this? Surely they are liable for your goods being stolen/damaged etc when you are paying them to house them for you?

Nobody would operate a self storage business if this was the case.

Unless the contents were stolen as a direct consequence of the business' actions or inaction (like deliberate theft or security systems not being up to standard) I don't think they are liable.

[griffin]

Yeah, it'd be in the contract that they are not liable for loss or damage. And since you are choosing a storage facility and signing up to its conditions, the facility can't be held responsible for someone breaching the level of security you've chosen and agreed to. They would only be liable if they did not provide the standard offered (like if they claim to have patrols and cameras, but then don't have them), because they have failed to provide the deterant being paid for.
It just means, that if you are storing valuables, you'd pay for a more secure, patrolled facility, if you can afford it.

It sucks, but look at it like long-term parking - if you pay for somewhere that guarantees security, they are liable. If you go somewhere cheaper that doesn't offer any security, they will usually have as a condition, that it is at your own risk.

[Zippo]

So I went into the storage shed, moved the stuff to another unit but left feeling very unhappy with the answers I received to the questions I had.

This is the email I then sent to the manager

Hi Phil
Its Brett here, ex occupier of Unit 429 – the one that was broken into and things stolen from.

I moved out of that unit this morning and into another unit, but I am not a happy camper

I had a chat with the receptionist, who answered some of my questions, but left me with more questions as well the needing answers for the questions she could not answer.

- Storage unit was access by the robbers cutting a hole in the roof and then they targeted my unit
- You have a 10 day window of possible time in which robbery happened
- All units of the size that I currently occupy have clear roofing material on the top of the unit
- Units are not individually alarmed
- Storage facility does not have any cameras, only motion detectors.

My concern is the clear roofing material used. If you gain access to the building, you can walk on top of the units and peak into each and every unit to see what it work taking. The stuff that I have in storage was mostly in computer boxes and you can tell the way things have been damaged and what was taken that the robbers were targeting electronics.

My second concern is that your website advertises Individually Alarmed Units and Alarmed Buildings.
Clearly the unit that I was in possession off, and the one that I moved into was not alarmed, based on the information that I have that you only know that the offense was committed in a 10 day window. An individual alarm would have gone off the moment someone accessed the storage shed and given you a precise time of attack.
Also, do your staff not check the roof for holes that have been cut in them each day?

My third concern is that you advertise video surveillance on the website, yet I have never seen a camera and the receptionist tells me that you have none. False advertising??

Another concern that I have is if the robbers were disturbed by the motion alarm and it activated the other alarm … did the security patrol that you advertise turn up? I am sure that that would also help in determining a more precise timing of the robbery rather than having a 10 day window.

My last concern is that the robber is actually someone who has a storage unit at the Roslyn Mill Storage site and is now storing the stuff they stole from me…

I will ask two more questions, as one word questions

Compensation?
Insurance?

I will, over the rest of the week and weekend look for another storage unit to store my items in as I have lost my faith that you are providing what I thought I was paying for at your facility.

I look forward to your reply, though I will follow this email up with a phone call in the next day
My contact details at work are in the email signature below, otherwise my home [private]

Brett

PS: Just thought about another question – why did I have to hear about the break in from the police (ie, why no contact from Roslyn Mill) and why am I the one that has to start the conversation about this??

[Zippo]

And I received the offical police form when I got home
Reported on the 21st of May!!

Took 4 days for someone to get in contact with me and no one from the storage shed has yet got in contact.

[1orion2many]

Unfortunately this is just a minor inconvenience for both the Police and the Storage people. They will most probably do very little about it and anything you might be lucky enough to get returned will be just that LUCK! Sorry about your loss Zippo.

[kup]

If they advertised security that is clearly not present and staff officially told you that it doesn't exist then they are liable for your missing property.

You should take them to court for not upholding their side of the agreement.

[Lint]

If they advertised security that is clearly not present and staff officially told you that it doesn't exist then they are liable for your missing property.

You should take them to court for not upholding their side of the agreement.

I agree, capture as much hard evidence of their lack of security (and conversely evidence of what they have advertised as security) as you can before they play touch-ups. Also check over to see what their T&C say in the contract you signed with them. If what you said is true you've almost definitely been targeted by someone who has visited the facility. I doubt they're stupid enough to store the stolen goods at the same facility though.

[SuspectimusPrime]

That totally sucks, Sorry for your loss!

[chuttla]

f#$&*%g a holes!:mad: sorry to hear man:(

[kaiden]

My last concern is that the robber is actually someone who has a storage unit at the Roslyn Mill Storage site and is now storing the stuff they stole from me…


serious? thats just... ironic.
hopefully you get the storage company to conpensate enough.

I bought a nissan maxima st 2004 in november of last year and after 2 months it was totalled. the insurance company gave me a very unsatisfactory return :/

[Tabias Prime]

I doubt they're stupid enough to store the stolen goods at the same facility though.

I don't know, some people can be pretty stupid.....

[SkyWarp91]

I don't know, some people can be pretty stupid.....

Yeah, like the bank robber that walked right into the glass door and stuffed up the job before he even got inside. That was in Brissy wasn't it?

[MV75]

I don't know, some people can be pretty stupid.....

Yup.

http://www.fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=12694899