RETAIL ONLY
RETAIL COMMENT
IS THERE A TIME of year when bike theft hots up? It seems that when we report one slightly elaborate case on
BikeBiz.com, soon after our inboxes and Twitter feeds deliver more bad news by the truckload. I’ll not need to remind anyone to be vigilant in guarding their shop floors and double checking card payments. However, in a worrying and somewhat surprising twist, recent stories that I’ve reported on point to organised operations, as well as well rehearsed and equipped scallies carrying out smash and grabs. First there was our bogus policeman who was doing the
rounds throughout February, duping retailers from London to Cambridge using a fake police warrant card to earn a test ride on top end Madones and Roubaixs from which he’d never return. A regular on BikeBiz’s trade only forum informed fellow
users that the police had the wannabe cop in custody. What’s the betting he’s charged with impersonating a police officer and let off with a slap on the wrist for the missing bikes?
“In this case the thief even had the audacity to return for a brief sizing
adjust before taking off with the bike for good...”
In the past month we’ve had a crook leaving behind copied batches of keys as collateral, hinting that they’d open a car in a nearby car park. They of course, do not. In this case, the thief has even had the audacity to test ride a bike in the car park, return for a proper sizing up, before taking off for good. A BikeBiz forum user suggested that the tally pinched by this fraudster was nearing 20. As you’d expect, none cheap, either. Once more, this suspect wasn’t afraid of clocking up some
mileage to avoid detection, striking at stores nearly 300 miles apart and thus involving multiple police forces. Luckily, in this case I’ve been informed good progress has been made in pinning the suspect to an address. It is, however, disheartening to hear that, despite the best efforts to bring some to justice, many retailers also have little faith in the justice system securing a convinction for ‘just a bicycle thief’. So what are we to do? My suggestion, as if the majority hadn’t thought of this
already, would be to photograph everyone seeking a test ride and refuse anyone unwilling to leave photo ID. For internet orders for which address disparities appear,
yet where payments often seemingly go through, it’s worth having the customer’s phone number to hand and a ‘security question’ perhaps relating a location nearby to the delivery area to hand.
Mark.Sutton@
intentmedia.co.uk IN THIS MONTH’S ISSUE
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