Thread started by Hair at 03.25.09 - 10:46 pm

Here's one:

So, I parked my spare bike in the court yard of my building for about 3 days...I went to go check on it and found a note attached. Paraphrasing, the note said, "this is my bike, who gave it to you or did you steal it?" and then had a number and name attached and asked if I would call so "we could talk". so, the person seems pretty cool and just wants their bike back...

What do i do?
I figure I'll ask when it was stolen and see if that matches when I bought it (from the new/used bike shop), What else should I be prepared for?
Has this happened to anyone?

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I'd give the guy a call, see if he can identify it, and then the both of you go back to the used bike shop to ask "WTF?" and see if you can get a refund in exchange for your not calling the police to report him for fencing stolen bikes.



JB
03.25.09 - 10:52 pm

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+1

Anyone who is as close to their bike as I am knows things about it that other people may not know. Like scratches, blemishes, marks, shit like that...

If the guy can positively identify his bike...then do what the poster suggested above...



el_spaniard
03.25.09 - 11:04 pm

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he already identified it...he left the note on it...so anything that is unique he would have already seen.
I dont want to give away too much on the forum, but this is not a bike of someone would be able to describe such deets...
I dont want to give away when I bought it but I bought it when I first moved here and have since moved on to building my own bikes...

I agree with you that one should know all the weird scratches and such which is the type of person I have become.

So, anyway it was pretty inexpensive, but having an extra bike around is worth more than I payed for it considering my car is dead and I have become a bikefreak.

I guess what I'm asking is if he/she properly identifies when it was stolen is it douchy to ask for half of what I paid?

I guess the first thing is to go to the bike shop like JB said...But I like my bike shop and dont want to cause a raucous.

i'm not a douche so i will probably give it back if I think it makes sense...but im poor, too.




Hair
03.25.09 - 11:20 pm

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Sounds like it might be worth a $100 or so? It wouldn't hurt to go to the bike shop and ask them what they think and will do. After all, you didn't do anything wrong, yeah? The guy that's claiming it needs to come up with more than, "hey that's my bike". Is he offering say, a receipt as proof? Pics? What? And if you don't get things resolved the way you think is fair or right, threaten to go to the cops and get things resolved that way.



User1
03.25.09 - 11:57 pm

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Did the supposedly legitimate owner of this bike file a police report on it when it was stolen?



angle
03.26.09 - 12:00 am

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excellent questions. This is why I posted. Keep them coming...I would prefer to have an answer/question for anything that will come up..Like I said, Im not trying to screw anyone out of their bike..I just dont want to trip through this whole thing like a dumbass.



Hair
03.26.09 - 12:24 am

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the shop should step up if the bike was stolen.
its in some part, their responsibilty.

on the other hand if the original owner did not report it stolen to police
then it might be difficult for a legit shop to filter out a stolen bike.

If you can determine 100% that it is that other person's bike then i'd take it up with the shop.

If its an honest mistake they will want to know how to best prevent getting a stolen bike and they should be cool about rectifying the situation.



trickmilla
03.26.09 - 12:51 am

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I was just thinking this week, as I was photographing my bikes, that it's a good idea for everybody to document their bikes for future refrence.
You never know when you may need the photo.
And, besides, don't we keep photos of the ones we love the most?



Creative Thing
03.26.09 - 6:44 am

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if everyone is on the up and up...

you can actually ALL (you, the person claiming the bike, AND the bike shop people) have a discussion, and some type of conclusion can be made...







adrian
03.26.09 - 10:32 am

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the best thing you can do is to take a picture of your bb shell with the serial numbers of your bike next to a picture id of yours. like a drivers license or state id or something.



ruinedbyidiots
03.26.09 - 10:46 am

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take a clear full size picture of the bike to so you aren't scrambling to find one.

post it to flickr etc so you can prove what date you had it.

oh and if you have home/renters insurance, you can buy a rider for a few dollars a year that makes your deductible for bicycles $5 or $10, and they cover it if it was stolen anywhere not just at home.



stevestevesteve
03.26.09 - 12:57 pm

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Wow, this is a weird instance.

Geez, Eric Hair is such a nice guy. One of my favorite Ridazz.

Good luck with all of that.



Joe Borfo
03.26.09 - 1:15 pm

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oops. Hair is different from Eric Hair.

But you're still a nice person and good luck nonetheless!



Joe Borfo
03.26.09 - 1:16 pm

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hmmmmm I'm gona be taking some pics of next to some bikes this weekend.

Along with my drivers licence by the serial number for good measures!

Then I'll be posting these up on my flickr acc.

yes sir..... that's what I'm gona do.............



User1
03.26.09 - 2:04 pm

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I'M FOLLOWING SUIT. GREAT IDEA.

AND UNDER EACH PICTURE I WILL HAVE "NEVER OVER MY DEAD BODY WOULD I EVER SELL/GIVE AWAY THIS BIKE" ALONG WITH A TIME/DATE STAMP.



GodLovesUgly
03.26.09 - 6:30 pm

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CONCLUSION:
I called the guy....he was like "Ya so when did yu get that bike"
I was like "when was it stolen?''
he was like, "uh like 3 weeks ago"
I was like, "oh it's surely not your bike"
he was like, "oh, ok."
i was like, "alright."
he was like, "alright.''
then there was this silence like..'should I just hang up'
so he did then I did and I ate Green cut & wax beans from Big Lots
and went on Pigeon Run.

I do have photos with meta data like two days after I bought the bike...does meta data hold up in court.? for future reference we should all be self issuing bike licenses like everyone above is recommending.



Hair
03.27.09 - 2:24 am

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WHAT EVER YOU DO, GET YOUR MONEY BACK.





eddieboyinla
03.27.09 - 7:20 am

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Anyone can look at a given bike and say it was theirs, unless they have proof then if you own it, it's yours.

I'm making a guess that you got this bike from the Bicycle Doctor. I could be wrong but I had a freind work there and he told me the guy buys bikes that he knows are stolen.

I have many people try and sell me bikes on a near daily basis and I have to be real careful not to buy a stolen one. I take thier drivers licence and record the date I took it in and keep a file on every bike I buy so if there is an issue, it can be resolved. I turn 95% of bikes offered to me away.

Like it was said, having a record of your bikes is a good idea if you ever hope to get them recovered. And keeping pecipts of your bikes, the date of purchace etc. Bike theft is way up so we need to be extra careful.





rev106
03.27.09 - 9:55 am

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