9 minute read
Security Matters
BEWARE OF TOOL THEFT! —————
I was talking to a friend recently (who wishes to remain nameless) who owns a four man installation business; he was telling me that he became a victim of vehicle crime when thieves broke into his van one night back a couple of years ago while it was parked outside his home in south London.
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“They took my tool bag which contained tools I had accrued over many years that were very difficult to replace, especially my drills. I also stupidly left some cash in the van and they obviously took that too. Worse, was the fact that I had to cancel my planned jobs over the next two days whilst I frantically searched online for deals on tools.” He added, “The value of hand tools I lost totalled around £500!”
This feature first appeared in Connections, magazine for NICEIC and ELECSA registered contractors - www.niceic.com/www.elecsa.co.uk
The reason he was telling me this was because recently another of his team had his van broken into with thieves getting away with yet more expensive equipment. Sadly, these are not isolated incidents as figures obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live in 2017 from the 45 UK police forces showed that the number of reported thefts from vans rose from14,063 in 2014/15 to 22,749 in 2016/17, an increase of around 38% in just two years!
True, there are more than 4 million vans on the road in the UK according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, so only a tiny number of van owners suffer such thefts, but this is clearly still a common crime, and one to which kbb installers vans are particularly vulnerable. Statistics suggest that tools are stolen from vans in the UK on average once every 23 minutes!
As Matt Weston, product manager, LCV and electric vehicles, marketing, at PSA Group (which produces Peugeot and Citroen vehicles), puts it: “You’ve got a toolbox on wheels: something valuable that people are keen to get access to.”
WEAK POINTS
Simon Ashton, vehicle industry liaison for security solutions provider Selectamark, says, “Theft of vans or from vans is now less likely to be opportunistic: much more of it is the work of highly organised illegal businesses. The two most commonly stolen vans are the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter, which are stolen to order for parts that are then sold online. These vans are so popular simply because they are the bestselling vans, so offer the two most lucrative markets for spares. But any vehicle protected by nothing more than standard locking and ignition systems is at risk of theft or targeting by thieves.”
The motor and insurance industries are currently concerned about an increase in the use of skeleton keys, which enable swift access to a vehicle as easily as if the thief had the real key. Digital ignition systems are also relatively easy to hack. The on-board diagnostics (OBD) port,
located near the steering column, is also a security risk. “It is possible to plug a laptop into the OBD and add an additional key for the vehicle,” Ashton explains. “The process can be completed in less than a minute!”
FIGHTING BACK
There are things you can do to address these vulnerabilities. Fitting a lockable device over the OBD port, and using ignition locks, or pedal boxes and steering locks, can all help to deter and even defeat attempts to steal the van. But these devices won’t stop someone breaking into the back of the van to steal its contents. As there is now usually a solid bulkheads between the cab and the back of the van, thieves often get into the back of the vehicle by peeling open a weak part of the panelling on the side or rear doors.
“Having a lockable toolbox or using a strong wirelock on your toolbox could prevent the theft of some items “says Simon Cook, LCV leader at leasing company Arval, “Anything that will slow thieves down is worth having, for instance, you can also mark tools with tracer and microdot markings that identify them as yours, but cannot be seen without special equipment.” Manufacturers of marking kits such as Selectamark also offer an opportunity to upload photos of individual tools to their databases, this can then be shared with police to help reunite stolen items with their owners.
“If installers livelihoods are in their vans, they’ve got to secure it to the utmost,” says Ashton at Selectamark. “Once you lose your van, everything goes: your work, all those tools you’ve accumulated, the money.” Increased vehicle security can include fitting extra shielding around doors and locks. If a van is stolen, tracking technologies like Teletrac can help police to recover the vehicle, although in some cases thieves will be able to find and remove the tracking system.
Its worth checking out an organisation officially known as the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre but is better known as the Thatcham Research Centre. The organisation works closely with car companies to set car insurance rates depending on the complexity of security systems, safety and repair costs (www.thatcham.org/ security).
Critically though, insurance could be what saves your business from complete disaster following a theft. You need to make sure you have the correct cover and that you have
provided accurate information to buy ‘the premium you need, not necessarily the cover you think you want.’ Otherwise you may find that any savings gained on the insurance policy at the outset are dwarfed by the loss suffered when you discover that you cannot claim for everything stolen.
Christopher Bates, Divisional Director – Corporate and Commercial Division, UIB Group,
official partners of the BiKBBI, advises installers to check with their insurer that they have all the cover they need, and ask them to explain the relevant section of the policy if it is jargon-heavy. And if the worse comes to the worse and you are the victim of a van or tool theft crime, then it’s important to provide an insurer with a crime reference number as it may help speed up the claims process. “It may expedite the claim significantly, because then the insurer knows the loss is valid,” Christopher explains, “Some insurers may insist on the theft having been reported to the police before they will settle the claim. Yet the most important actions an installer can take are those that significantly reduce the chances of having to make a claim in the first place.
Returning to the beginning of this article and my friend who was a victim of van theft said through experience, he suggests that kbb installers should remove all they can
from their van and keep anything of value as well hidden and protected as possible. “Purchase an alarm,” he says. “It’s well worth the peace of mind: it’s a gut-wrenching feeling when you set off to work only to find your tools have been taken.”
He’s not alone though; another real life case study has revealed that an Installer of more than 25 years, serving clients in London had his van broken into while parked outside his house in Banstead, Surrey. After the initial shock, he then had to wait for almost a year
before his insurer would pay out on his claim, after which it then increased a quote for his next annual premium by £500. He now makes sure he takes all his tools out of the van and into his house every night. “It’s a bit of a pain but it’s worth it, rather than having them stolen again,” he says. He has also installed a CCTV camera at his house.
Unfortunately, this spring he was hit by a second robbery while the van was parked outside a client’s property. “I was gone for 20 minutes and when I returned to my van it was unlocked and all the tools were gone,” he says. “They’d taken everything, even my paperwork. That did knock me back a bit!” he added, “Since then, I’ve bought deadlocks for the rear and side doors. This came to about £350 and if I want the front ones fitted it will be another £400! It’s all more money, but it’s what you’ve got to do these days sadly.”
Final word goes to UIB Group’s Christopher Bates who says, “You should make a simple inventory of the tools you have, and ideally keeping a record of serial numbers and receipts as it gives the insurer very clear details of exactly what tools you owned if you need to make a claim.” He says. “This could by-pass a lot of the form-filling.” He also stresses the importance of buying all the cover you need.
"My van was robbed whilst parked outside a client’s property, I was gone for 20 minutes and when I returned to my van it was unlocked and all the tools were gone, they’d taken everything, even my paperwork!" Here’s a few tips: • Lock your van at all times
• Install security lighting and CCTV where the van is parked
• Use a Thatcham-approved alarm or buy / lease a van with these already fitted
• Don’t leave equipment in the van overnight
• Fit stronger locks, or get a van with stronger locks
• Keep tools inside a lockable toolbox and / or use extra locks to secure tools and toolboxes inside the van
• Use tracking technology to increase the chance of a stolen van being recovered
• Use extra security devices in the cab, such as OBD and ignition security locks
• Mark van and tools with security markings that may deter thieves and enable recovery of stolen goods
• Make sure you have the right insurance cover and keep a registry of your tools to help speed up a claim
