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Cyclist buys his stolen bike back on Gumtree after police fail to act

Theft victim forked out £40 to retrieve it ... but will have to spend £300 to replace parts

A cyclist in Scotland has told of how he had to buy his stolen bike back after seeing it offered for sale on Gumtree after police ignored repeated appeals to help him retrieve it after it was spotted being advertised for sale online.

The theft victim, who wished to remain anonymous, ended up forking out £40 to buy his Carrera One bike – which he had bought for £325 just three weeks before it was stolen – back, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.

Thieves had cut through the lock securing the bike to the railings outside the owner’s flat on the Scottish capital’s Slateford Road on 11 April.

Three days later, a neighbour spotted it for sale on Gumtree and alerted the owner to the listing.

He called police straight away, and the following day after obtaining the address of the seller put in two more phone calls, worried that it might be sold on before officers reacted.

Having received no response, he went with a friend to the vendor’s address in Wester Hailes and handed over £40 to get his bike back.

Before visiting the address, he stopped at a local police station and told an officer what was happening and if they could help him, but was apparently told not to go to the house because “it’s not worth it.”

While he managed to buy his bike back, it no longer had its wheels, and he has been told by staff at a local Halfords branch that it will cost him more than £300 to get it re-equipped with them as well as the tyres and disc brakes.

A member of his family, quoted by Edinburgh Evening News, said: “It’s a total lack of police response. He led the police to the door of it and they did not seem interested.

“What is the point in all the money being spent on bike lanes and Spaces for People if you can not own a bike in the city without it being stolen in a matter of weeks?

“We obviously do not want the same thing happening to other people again.”

Chief Inspector Scott Richardson of Police Scotland told the newspaper: “We can only apologise if the complainers feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations. With regard to the theft of the bike, our enquiries are ongoing.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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23 comments

Avatar
joe9090 | 2 years ago
8 likes

Richardson sounds like an utter turd:
"We can only apologise if the complainers feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations"

What a stupid statement. 

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mdavidford replied to joe9090 | 2 years ago
4 likes

Also untrue - you can't only apologise - you could endeavour to do better.

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grOg | 2 years ago
0 likes

Note to self; don't buy new bike, then rely on a lock to secure it to railings outside..

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Rendel Harris replied to grOg | 2 years ago
6 likes

grOg wrote:

Note to self; don't buy new bike, then rely on a lock to secure it to railings outside..

Note to you: some people live in flats so small they have no choice but to lock their bike up outside or quit cycling.

Second note to you: stop victim blaming.

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JLasTSR | 2 years ago
5 likes

That is appalling the Police should have been very keen to help. Many years ago my cousin was at Portsmouth polytechnic when hi bike was stolen. Two weeks later he was contacted by Plymouth's police force to say they had his bike. He went on the train and retrieved his bike. On returning to Portsmouth as he was leaving the station he was arrested for stealing his own bike. In order to prove his identity he called his dad who said he would come down the next day. My cousin spent a night in the cells for stealing his own bike,what a difference 40 years makes.

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Smartstu | 2 years ago
4 likes

That is pretty poor service from the plod. However, when my bike was knicked off the top of my car (on my drive! 🤬) - Beds Police sent an officer around the next day who dusted the whole car for prints. No chance of ever getting it back - but they tried.

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Jenova20 | 2 years ago
8 likes

"Chief Inspector Scott Richardson of Police Scotland told the newspaper: “We can only apologise if the complainers feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations."

 

That's not an apology! "Sorry you were offended" is not an apology. I think everyone hearing the details of this will agree that not only did your "service" not meet the victim's expectations, but it also didn't meet the bare minimum standards for you to be a police force.

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Awavey | 2 years ago
8 likes

I think most people have covered the bases on the average police response to stolen bikes,just remember their priorities are set by the PCC who in England & Wales at least are up for election in two weeks time.

But I just wanted to tackle the £300 quote for new wheels on a bike that cost £325 to begin with, as in surely it wasnt fitted with such wheels to begin with, appreciate these might be considered standard cost for reasonable quality wheels, but there must be cheaper budget alternatives ?

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bobbinogs replied to Awavey | 2 years ago
4 likes

Very good point about the wheels.  As an example, I got the Shimano RS100's as temp cover last year and they cost £80 for a very decent basic wheelset that got me up and down the hills without too much grunting and grinding.

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MarkiMark | 2 years ago
2 likes

Just for a bit of police balance (I'm not in any way connected to the police), I have always found the response of my local police in Kingston Upon Thames incredibly good. I've had several bikes stolen from central Kingston, and I've always had immediate follow-up and help. I've even had stolen bikes recovered, as long as you record the bike on Bke Register, the police appear to actively search this. I'd say the bigger problem is with the auction sites. I can't peak for Gumtree, but both Facebook Marketplace and eBay, to my mind, put up as many barriers as they can to retrieving stolen goods. I'm not surprised the police consider these thefts a lost cause.

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Dnnnnnn replied to MarkiMark | 2 years ago
4 likes

I think you've been lucky. A friend of mine recently found his stolen bike on Facebook contacted both the vendor and the Met police. The latter were going to call him back.... he's still waiting. Meantime, the stolen bike was sold and the vendor offered two more similar bikes for sale. Seems like a profitable, low risk business.

My bit of balance is that I do know how busy the Met can be. Another friend moved to another force because it just too much. He was a detective with about 100 cases on the stocks at most times...

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Bungle_52 replied to Dnnnnnn | 2 years ago
3 likes

In this case though, on the face of it, all the work had been done and it would have been one case solved with minimum effort. Hard to understand really unless paperwork and the legal process take more time than solving the crime.

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Captain Badger | 2 years ago
9 likes

Chief Inspector Scott Richardson of Police Scotland told the newspaper: “We can only apologise if the complainers feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations. With regard to the theft of the bike, our enquiries are ongoing.”

"complainers"

"feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations."

Jeez....

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brooksby replied to Captain Badger | 2 years ago
6 likes

Captain Badger wrote:

Chief Inspector Scott Richardson of Police Scotland told the newspaper: “We can only apologise if the complainers feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations. With regard to the theft of the bike, our enquiries are ongoing.”

"complainers"

"feel that our service on this occasion did not meet their expectations."

Jeez....

AKA "Sorry (not sorry)"

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open_roads | 2 years ago
6 likes

I still believe that most of the people who join the police do so with positive intent - to help the community they live in.

That said, it's starting to feel like there's a systemic issue with the culture and leadership of many forces - even simple crimes are ignored and the public are left fending for themselves whilst the police sit behind desks effectively saying "not my job". 

Plenty of criminologists have made a convicning case for targetting low level crime due to the effect it can have on reducing more serious crime - but many police forces in the UK seem to systematically ignore this.

In my local area there's a significant problem with people on electric scooters "close passing at speed" people walking in parks / on the pavement. Additionally most of the deliveroo riders appear to have modified their bikes with motor kits that allow them to travel 25-30mph without pedalling - often doing so without lights at night. After 2 near misses in 5 minutes a few weeks back I encountered 3 x Policeman wandering along the street. I asked them why they weren't doing anything about the illegal bikes or scooter use and pointed out the deliveroo rider on an illegal bike  that had just passed them (no lights, not peddling - still doing around 30 mph).

They told me they didn't have "enough room" to store seized electric bikes so there was nothing they could do. The mindset very much seems to be one of "can't be bothered" and presumably it will take a few serious accidents before they act - yet they have the powers to seize illegal vehicles immediately. 

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Sriracha replied to open_roads | 2 years ago
6 likes

I'm more concerned by the blind eye turned towards motor vehicles than scooters and bikes.

This is not just whataboutery. If a zero-tolerance approach was directed towards all anti-social use of motor vehicles (travelling above the speed limit, parking on pavements and cycle lanes, harassing vulnerable road users by close passing etc) then not only would more serious motor offences be curtailed, but also the scooter and delivery riders might be more inclined to use the roads without fearing for their lives - which in turn would solve the issues which concern you, for free.

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barongreenback replied to open_roads | 2 years ago
2 likes

It's a resource issue similar to many other areas of public expenditure.  Ask people if they want more police, more nurses, more teachers etc. then they say yes.  Ask them if they want a couple of pence on the rate of income tax then the party that promises the lowest taxes wins.  It's a complete cultural and political failure that's not limited to the UK but the fact is that the police simply do not have enough people to investigate every crime.  Yes, there are always efficiencies in every public sector organisation but not to the extent that ultimately, they need more cash.  The UK tax system is a horrible half way house between the US (low tax, get naff all) or the Nordics (pay alot, get a lot albeit my friends in Sweden and Denmark still complain!)

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MTB Refugee | 2 years ago
4 likes

Honestly, by now I would have thought that people had realised that bike theft is no longer a crime. It's never investigated and even when the cops have a slam-dunk arrest they can't be bothered.

If you were stupid enough to take matters into your own hands, then you would end up being prosecuted and having to pay the scum-bags compensation.

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schlepcycling | 2 years ago
2 likes

Useless police as usual. 

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alchemilla | 2 years ago
6 likes

Unfortunately a typical police response.

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0-0 | 2 years ago
3 likes

The cyclist now knows where the theft (or maybe just the seller) lives.
I'd be smashing all their windows on a semi regular basis, with my new found catapult skills, until I thought the "debt" had been paid.

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TheBillder replied to 0-0 | 2 years ago
2 likes

And the thief knows where the cyclist lives... And breaking windows in Wester Hailes might be an escalation too far unless you are very brave.

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bobbinogs replied to TheBillder | 2 years ago
3 likes

Yepp, scrotes usually have far less to lose from escalating incidents...and can often call on even more unpleasant folks who are more than happy to get involved.

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