OT: Shop broken into - Tools Stolen

Keep those garage doors closed at all times!!! Last night while I slept someone broke into my garage through the side door, was brazen enough to apparently open the electric garage door, and load up their car with my things.

Items gone:

Dewalt DW735 Planer Dewalt 515K VSR Hammer drill Dewalt DW433K Belt Sander Dewalt DW621 Plunge router Grizzly 10Gal air compressor Grizzly Pro Series nailer Ryobi Oscillating spindle sander

Non-tools: Mountain bike worth about $1800.

I've contacted the insurance company, but think I'm going to have difficulty proving ownership for all of it, as many of the items are a few years old and receipts are long gone. I'm still in sick about it this evening and have been all day since this morning. I think someone (possibly a neighborhood gardender) has seen my shop when the garage door was open and finally came back last night. It is curious that some things out in the open didn't disappear, such as a Skil 77 circ saw, Festool jigsaw, Makita cordless drill. They also missed a few cabinets worth of hand power tools, thankfully. And my Porter Cable miter saw, bolted to its table, and Milwaukee router in the router table are safe as well.

The cost of replacement is definitely going to blow my new jointer budget. Oh well, I guess it could have been worse.

Brian.

Reply to
Brian
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I can relate, it happened to me and my place was locked, but a big pair of bolt cutters gave the bad guys an advantage.

About now, you probably feel violated, but there is a bright side.

You will get replacement tools, some of which will be better than the ones stolen, it only takes money, and life moves on.

Good luck.

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

Much depends on the insurance company and the claim adjuster. We had no problems proving loss of items, some upwards of 15 years old, in our fire last year. Receipts have been gone for a decade or more.

I sympathize with your loss and hope you've got a good insurance company.

When your new tools arrive, break out the video camera or your digital camera and get good photos of every item, including those now on hand. Stash the video or CD in a fire-safe location.

Charlie Self "Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen." Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Reply to
Charlie Self

Thank you for the encouragement. Hopefully the fact that I've been a loyal client of this insurance company for 7 years with the home policy and 12 years with the auto policy, and have NEVER submitted a claim to date will weigh in my favor.

Brian.

Reply to
Brian

Man, that sucks.

Receipts don't prove ownership. I've gone through old papers and found receipts for things I'd long ago sold, given away, or just tossed in the junk heap.

Surely your insurance company isn't demanding receipts . . . are they?

Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Craig

Haven't talked to the adjuster yet. I guess I just assumed they'd want some proof of ownership. I have no pictures of the tools, so I figured that the next best thing would have been receipts.

Brian.

Reply to
Brian

I'd be very surprised if the insurance company asks for anything more than a list of items stolen, model number and description. That's all they wanted from me in a recent breakin in my house. They also let me do the shopping. I have replacement cost insurance, so I ended up with brand new items replacing the old ones. My only loss was a hand gun which is no longer manuafactured and the peace of mind of feeling safe in my hope. But financially, I came out to the plus side.

Gary

Reply to
Gary

Reply to
Nick Bozovich

They probably used the release and opened the door manually.

Reply to
Lee K
Reply to
Brian

They took the bike, too? Damn!

Depending on your claim history it may be easier than you think. I've actually been treated well by Met Life when I needed them.

Good luck, and check eBay and the local pawn shops. My mom was burglarized in FL a few years back, and I was able to get some of the stuff back from pawn shops simply by asking, WITHOUT the police. ;^)

Barry

Reply to
B a r r y

"Brian" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

We had a break-in 20 or more years ago. The insurance company didn't believe us when we claimed a home-made quilted pillow. I sent them a color slide of the pillow and they paid up.

Moral of this anecdote (sort of): Pictures of your shop can prove what was there at some point in time.

Reply to
Han

"Brian" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:

Sorry to hear that, Brian. Hate to say it, but more often than not, these things are the work of an insider...someone who has seen or heard you describe your gear. Any suspects? I hope you filed a police report.

Reply to
Woodchuck Bill

My house was broken into. He came back a while later to get what he didn't get the first time. So be very careful with what was left behind. Get a motion detector and a loud alarm. In my case, we caught the thief after his return trip. He got 3 years in jail.

Remove the 'remove' in my address to e:mail me.

Reply to
SteveC1280

It isn't much after the cows get out, but it's an effective deterrent to drill a 3/8" hole in your garage door track for a pad- lock.

Reply to
BUB 209

I sympathize with your loss.

With regard to the insurance company sentiments above, don't count on it. These days a brand new relationship starts with each renewal/payment cycle.

35 years with USAA, one of the best until the MBA's took over about ten years ago, woke me up to that sad fact.
Reply to
Swingman

Two tidbits.

FIrst, a few years ago my house was broken into and a number of things were stolen. I had replacement coverage, and while the insurance company fussed a bit, they did cover everything, eventually. I did have proof for some items (product manuals, mostly), but no receipts. It may have helped that the adjuster so royally screwed up the values and I gave them a spread sheet with the amounts corrected - those in my favor AND those in theirs.

Second, I just had a ladder stolen and when the police called a tip the officer gave me was to mark your items with some unique set of digits, intials, etc. using a dremel, in a not too noticeable area on the item. Apparently they now have some sort of national database that pawnshops check and if you have a way of distinctly identifying the item, they might be able to get it back to ya.

Renata

Reply to
Renata

[snip]

You live in a metro area? How many people know you have this kind of stuff. I tend to keep what I have to myself.

I hope you get your stuff back. Please post an update on what happens with your insurance company.

Wes

Reply to
clutch

Here's something to frost your preserves: Because we owned "professional grade" tools, my Dad's homeowner's insurance refused to cover our loss! They weren't "homeowner's tools."

Bill

Reply to
Bill McNutt

Neighbor in the house next to mine spends most of her time in a nearby city where the rest of her family lives. She came back one day to find her garage empty, someone had chipped away at the morter around a couple cement blocks and was able to remove enough to get in and disable the alarm and open the door. Had to be someone that knew her and her schedule.

Reply to
Eugene

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