STOLEN D3s + D300s & more :(

ryanyboy

ryanyboy

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Ryan
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Yesterday in my "day job" someone stole my keys from my coat pocket. By the time I left at 5pm my car had gone. By the time I got home (nearly 25 miles away) our friends had paid a visit here too and helped themselves to some of my kit. Here's what they took:-

1) Nikon D3s (only the body - not the box which was still on the armchair along with charger etc).
2) D300s which was living in a little Kata shoulder bag.
3) The D3s was in a tamrac shoulder bag with Nikon lenses 24-70, 85 1.4 and 50mm 1.4.
4) Several Sandisk CF cards that were also in the Tamrac bag
5) My very rarely used PS3
6) PS3 games (although I couldn't even tell the police woman what games I had!!)
7) My beloved Ipod which I used most evenings

That's it (as far as I can tell).

I know it was a rush job because they left a lowepro backpack with a D700 in, and a 70-200. They also left a big Lowepro bag with the 105mm and the 14-24 in (and my lensbaby!!). And they left my SB-900s.

As I type this I'm in a bit of a state and don't know if any of this will help. But as I told the copper - if a D3s comes up on the second hand market in the UK in the next few weeks it's 99% likely to be mine. I can't see many D3s owners selling their new body in the near future...

If anyone sees a D3s for sale for about £200 think of me.

Ryan

:crying:
 
Very sorry to hear that :( Do you have serial numbers in case anyone spots anything similar for sale?
 
Would you be able to post the serial numbers of any of the gear, as you said I cant see anyone selling their D3s in the near future which might make it a bit easier to track down, come to think of it it is a similar story with the D300s, as they are so new there are less used ones out there.

Sorry for your loss, did you have anything on your keys that said where you lived?
 
Sorry to hear about this

Do they have CCTV at your place of work or where your car was parked? If so it would be well worth checking it.
 
Really gutted for you mate, there are some scum about especially at this time of year! Fingers crossed they get caught and you get your gear back. Have the police traced your car at all?
 
That really sucks. :(
 
My first response would not get past the swear filter!

Lets hope that the insurance pays out! Did any of the neighbours not see anything? Sounds like they were disturbed leaving the box and other camera equipment. How did they know where you lived? Was your coat in an area open to the public? Do people at work know about the camera equipment?

Oh did you have them registered with Nikon? If so make sure Nikon are aware that they have been stolen as then if any of the items is re-registered or sent for repair you will find the new owner and get that item back. This can also lead to locating the scum bag who nicked your stuff. Most genuine people will register items.
 
This sounds like an "inside job" if you ask me

As your keys were lifted from your pocket at work how would they know where your car was parked?

Also how would they then know where your home was? (unless you had a sat nav in your car with your home location set)

Inside job or not this sucks big time

Will be sure to keep any eye out on fleabay and the like and let you know if anything comes up
 
That is utterly hellish.
Sounds like someone who knows a bit about you.
They take keys and know where your car is and also know where your house is.
 
That's bloody terrible news Ryan!!

Is your workplace open to the public or would it need to be another employee to get access to your coat?

I'll definitely keep an eye out on eBay etc for you - might be worth ringing all the camera shops local to you too...
 
OOOooooo bad times. It does sound like there is a good chance this was done by someone you know if the keys were taken from work and they knew where you lived.

I hope your insurance pays out as there wasn't actually a break in. If they let themselves in with keys I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance company tries to wiggle out of it.

Good luck either getting your gear back or the insurance payout to replace it all.
 
Keith W said:
This sounds like an "inside job" if you ask me

As your keys were lifted from your pocket at work how would they know where your car was parked?

Also how would they then know where your home was? (unless you had a sat nav in your car with your home location set)
p
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They probably walked round the car park pressing the fob till they saw the flashing lights then could have found a document or as you say a tomtom with home location in.

So sorry to hear you have had this happen to you ryanboy and hopefully these scumbags will get caught. Best chance is if they don't split the gear and your bag is easily identifiable and sold on with the kit. I have been broken into twice and had goods stolen and it is not something that is easy to handle. What area do you work and live and maybe we can look out for the too good to be true bargains in that area. Check out the local cash converter type shops around home and work. Has the car been found? when it is check out that area too.

Best of luck.
 
-Rob- said:
OOOooooo bad times. It does sound like there is a good chance this was done by someone you know if the keys were taken from work and they knew where you lived.

I hope your insurance pays out as there wasn't actually a break in. If they let themselves in with keys I wouldn't be surprised if the insurance company tries to wiggle out of it.

Good luck either getting your gear back or the insurance payout to replace it all.
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It's still a burglary even if you leave your door unlocked but as you say the insurance company may be asking questions! If the coat was in an area for staff only then someone entering that area to take the keys has committed a second burglary in doing that. The insurance company would almost certainly pay out on this basis as the owner has not made a significant contribution to the incident happening.
 
Thanks so much for all the kind replies folks. You guys are the best.

A couple of people asked a few questions so here's some background. I work in an open-plan office and my job is to help people on Employment and Support Allowance (previoulsy Incapacity Benefit) get back to work. This is a mandatory process for my clients and as you guess a high percentage DO NOT want any "help" from me.

Yesterday a guy came in - conviction list as long as your arm (inc attempted murder). He was "living with friends" miles away from Cambridge and had come to the office with a friend who drove him. While I was with the client his friend sat in the waiting area which is right beside (you guessed it) our coat rack. I noticed the friend coming and going but assumed he was popping out for a cig or to use the loo. I think he may have struck lucky when he gave my coat a quick once over.

I'm still wracking my little brain as to how they put ny car and house together. I'm sure there was no paperwork in the car to ID me. BUT the bloody Sat Nav has my home plugged into it. So maybe that was their M.O.

Since starting this thread I've spoken to my house insurers. I should have a new PS3 and ipod very soon and the lock smiths are on the way to replace the locks.

Now I just need to phone my camera insurer (a phone call I'm really nervous about).....

Ryan
 
Sounds like an open and shut case to me and you have the blokes address too. Do yourself a favour and get an alarm fitted not to put the frighteners on you but even though they were rushed this time they may have had a look round for future reference. They know you work 9-5 Get a monitored alarm if you can.

Hope I'm not freaking you out but it's how they think!
 
Keith W said:
This sounds like an "inside job" if you ask me

As your keys were lifted from your pocket at work how would they know where your car was parked?

Also how would they then know where your home was? (unless you had a sat nav in your car with your home location set)

Inside job or not this sucks big time

Will be sure to keep any eye out on fleabay and the like and let you know if anything comes up
Click to expand...

:agree:

Why would they go to your house unless they knew you had expensive items and risk getting caught? Ditching a stolen car would be risky enough without also visiting your home?? What if you had realised your keys were missing and popped home or asked someone to retrieve them for you?

Sorry for your loss :(
 
CGeezer said:
Sounds like an open and shut case to me and you have the blokes address too. Do yourself a favour and get an alarm fitted not to put the frighteners on you but even though they were rushed this time they may have had a look round for future reference. They know you work 9-5 Get a monitored alarm if you can.

Hope I'm not freaking you out but it's how they think!
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Thanks fella. Yes you're fraking me out but I think that's the point - so it's cool. Perhaps the shock of it all and the sudden realisation that I'm not Superman after all might spur me into action.
 
levihaynes said:
:agree:

Why would they go to your house unless they knew you had expensive items and risk getting caught? Ditching a stolen car would be risky enough without also visiting your home?? What if you had realised your keys were missing and popped home or asked someone to retrieve them for you?

Sorry for your loss :(
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I called my neighbour soon after realising the car had gone. Her initial reply was "all's fine".

30 minutes later I got a text - "Ryan you are home now aren't you?"

Er no - I'm still 20 minutes away.

:(
 
The very best of luck to you mate .Let us know how you got on and i'm sure we'll all keep an eye out for your equipment if it pops up anywhere.
 
Oh crap, that's awful! What scumbags :thumbsdown:.

Hope you get it sorted. Keep us up to date on the progress.
 
Best of luck with this mate.

I can only imagine. Someone nicked my sons bike from teh garden last night and that fells bad enough...!
 
Sorry to hear about this ryan.
What makes it even worse is that you do a job trying to help people back into employment only to be ripped off by some scumbags.
I really hope the police can make some headway with this and the *******s end up where they belong.
 
Get your locks changed PDQ.
 
Really sorry to hear this mate.

You're not having much luck where D3s's are concerned.

Hope they catch the scum.
 
That's terrible news and should be a lesson to all of us not to have "Home" programmed into our SatNav's! Or of course, set Home as the local plod to catch these b*st***s out :police:
 
Oh my God that is awful and right on xmas.
Do you have seperate insurance for the camera gear?
I will look in all the normal places to see what is advertised, the serial numbers will be a great help to the police if you have them.
 
The scum strikes again. Sorry to hear all of this, I'll be sure to keep an eye peeled for the d3s
 
Just came off the phone from work. The boss is looking into getting me a pool car if there is one available. That's nice as the barstard car insurers only give out "courtesy cars for repairs, not theft". I enjoyed that conversation last night - especially when he uttered the classic "that's not our problem". (Do people still say that??).

Will update on camera insurance soon.
 
Ryan,

So sorry to hear about your loss.

Hope all goes well with insurers - post if you get any problems - retired now but worked in insurance for 37+ years. Will help if I can.

Unfortunately, you don't get a replacement car if yours is stolen. A few companies offer it but charge extra.

Easy to be wise after the event, but I always keep my keys with me - I've seen too many examples of what happend to you. Also never leave car keys near your front door when at home.

Hope all is sorted soon and the b*****s are caught.

Ken
 
Sorry to hear the news. Hope you and others reading this thread will learn from it.

Modern thieves now target getting hold of the car keys. Via fishing rods or other methods threw letter boxs, or in the work place, public places where people leave there coats, bags. So simple rule one keep your keys on you as much as possible when out, and not on the table by the door at home.

As already been said the cars been ided by walking around the car park pressing the fob. Nothing you can do to stop this other than keep your keys on you. When in the car as most people have a sat nav; the thief will look it over and find home. This along with keeping all keys together means the theves have about a hour to get there and nick what they can. So simple rule 2 use the town center or as I do the local police station as the home location. You should be able to find your own way home from there. Rule 3 never leave documents with your address on in the car.

Another simple rule to help the emergancy services in case of a accident is on your mobile phone put "(ICE)" next to the people you would want to be informed next to there name. Save them going threw everyone in the phone book.

Hope this does not sound to patronasing. Its meant to be simple advice to help stop the same thing happening to anyone else.

Hope you get everything sortted.
 
Maybe all these anti theft tips could be made into a useful sticky somewhere.


I would add take photos of your gear (you are photographers after all) I realise the cameras all look the same but the bag could be the difference between finding your kit intact. Helps with insurance claims too I believe.

UV pen to add your postcode to everything the Police do actually look for this on recoverd gear. Suggest inside the card cover or somewhere that it will not be rubbed.
 
WOW well taking the keys it will be easy to find your car only have to walk about pressing the key button BUT they had to know where you live, or did you have SatNav with Home set? Even then you need to know what house. Sound like someone who knows you or has followed you and know you had the gear?
 
Chaz Photos said:
WOW well taking the keys it will be easy to find your car only have to walk about pressing the key button BUT they had to know where you live, or did you have SatNav with Home set? Even then you need to know what house. Sound like someone who knows you or has followed you and know you had the gear?
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I have my satnav set with the street and house number too. I am changing it as we speak to the house owned by an Irish Docker that lives opposite me.
 
Sorry about your situation Ryan, I'm sure we all can be a bit cavalier with our gear when at home(leaving it easily accessible for our use) nobody expects to be broken into.

A sticky in the tutorial section with security tips could be useful for everyone.

Scott
 
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