In the spirit of CROSSHIRE


Paddy discovers to his cost that some customers aren’t worth having, that sometimes the police response is found wanting and that crime really does seem to pay some people…


IT’S A TRIPLE-EDGED SWORD


In the last eight months I have become a victim of crime more than in the last four years combined, and I have also found that there's more than one type of theft.


Most common is when your plant is stolen from a building site. Here’s an example - one morning we had a call from site stating they’d had a break-in and that some of our hired plant had been taken. During the call, my customer had the cheek to imply that it was strange that only the hired items were stolen.


This bothered me, and got me thinking about how it had happened. First, most of his gear looked like it had come from a war-torn country and barely worked, so this was most likely to be left behind instead of the hired plant. Secondly, not all our plant had been taken. Lastly, he had not been on site that morning, so he would have had no idea what was missing.


Let's face facts, it can take some time before the true extent of what has been taken becomes apparent. And just who did he think he was, insinuating that we had stolen our plant back! The thought of calling him a big **** did spring to mind, but I decided on a more professional approach.


Our ‘discussions’ continued regarding the cost of replacing the equipment, with the customer asking to see invoices for the stolen equipment, refusing to pay and causing delays by stating his insurance company was asking for more details. This was finally sorted when I pointed out the hire agreement, which clearly states that equipment stays on hire until it is returned or paid for - on a new for old policy.


It took four months to settle his account. All this hassle caused by the crooks who had stolen from my customer. It’s not just the theft of the plant, but the damage caused when they broke in. Needless to say, we have not done business since, and the thieves probably sold the goods on for a tenth of the purchase price.


Another type of theft is where the hirer holds onto the equipment for a prolonged period of time. You start to worry


and make phones calls to them - if you are lucky enough, they pick up. Usually they claim not to know who you are. When at last they remember, they promise that the equipment will be returned shortly. The truth is they don’t have the money to pay, so they just hold onto the equipment and run up a higher bill they can’t afford. Then there is the visit to their house in the hope of catching them in. The chances of getting paid are generally slim to anorexic, but if you are lucky enough to get the plant back it’s a win. In a couple of cases this has been with trusted regular customers, who were then too embarrassed to ever hire from me again.


The last type of theft is just downright fraud. They come into the shop with the deposit and correct I.D., but they no longer live at the address given. They take the items away in a vehicle not registered to them, and their deposit barely covers the replacement. If you do report a theft to the police you are required to supply a mountain of information, CCTV images of the fraudster, a copy of the hire agreement, statements taken from the staff and your notes regarding the steps you have taken. In reality, none of this will get your stuff back.


After one such event the police contacted me two months later stating they had decided to take action and had sent a letter out to the suspect asking him to come into the police station for an interview. What I did find odd was that the police advised me not to visit the address myself for my own safety. However, I had already been to see him - how else was I supposed to find out if my equipment been stolen if I hadn’t?


It’s fair to say that from my perspective sometimes crime does pay. It seems to pay well too, with the only defence being the measures that we hire companies can put in place. Losing a hire instead of plant does pay better, though.


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