Van Broken Into - Cctv

[Ste Owens 0]

Evening!

 

Last night (friday 28th) I had a gig in Birmingham, which I did and was fine, I then went to a travelodge which I had booked in Birmingham, whilst there I was told the best and safest place to park was in the euro car park opposite which I did.

 

I backed up my van to the wall so nobody had access to the gear (my van is seperated with a bed in one half and the gear in another) and there is a metal bar blocking access to the gear from the front. Anyway come back next morning to find all my clothes everywhere and the lock on passenger side had been got broken into. They took my ipod touch which was under the seat but thats by the by, none of the gear was taken (thankfully!) if they realised i had my full mackie sound system in there tops and bins and they knew what it was worth they probably would have went for that.

 

Anyway point of the post, I understand it is my responsibility for parking in the car park, however I parked there because it said on the signs around the car park 'CCTV in operation of these premises 24/7' so when I went and asked an operative for the CCTV he said there was no cameras there, I assume they are in breach of the trades descriptions act:

 

'This law empowers the judiciary to punish companies or individuals who make false claims about the products or services that they sell'

 

So my belief was this car park is cctv to put me at ease, that is not true, it does not make me easy, therefore my judgement is in danger, and consequently my van has been broken into.

 

When I questioned the guy about the signs he said 'we dont have them signs' to which I told him to step out of his little booth and read to me what a big yellow sign said and he went 'oh yeah, never noticed that' in the words of joe pasquale 3 million unemployed and they have a div on security. Do you think I would be able to get money for the cost of fixing the locks from them? Thats all I want.

 

Wondering what you guys would do in my situation?

[Dukesy 0]

You are probably not going to like any of what i'm going to say, but chances are they are the things which would be said or asked in any court case should you decide to take the matter further. I'm sure the ECP group have some pretty good legal representation.

 

Do you think I would be able to get money for the cost of fixing the locks from them? Thats all I want.

 

No, and I have to say this expectation is unreasonable. It was your decision and choice to leave a vehicle full of expensive equipment, unattended, in what is essentially a car park with full public access. Some Dj's have had van loads of equipment, stolen from off their driveways in broad daylight!. Leaving it overnight in a public car park, for me would be a huge 'no-no'.

 

It would be a bit like somebody reversing into you in Tesco's car park and driving away, and then trying to claim off Tesco for the damage to your car. It just doesn't happen, and never will.

 

Often many of these car parks will also have a sign somewhere which says 'Vehicles (and contents) left in this car park entirely at owners's risk', and it will almost certainly be in the terms somewhere - perhaps even on the back of the parking receipt / ticket. This means exactly what it says, that if you choose to leave your property in their car park then YOU personally accept all risks in relation to your property in doing so, and they will be liable for nothing of the worst happens.

 

 

Anyway point of the post, I understand it is my responsibility for parking in the car park, however I parked there because it said on the signs around the car park 'CCTV in operation of these premises 24/7' so when I went and asked an operative for the CCTV he said there was no cameras there, I assume they are in breach of the trades descriptions act:

 

Not really. The Trades descriptions act is an extension to the Goods and Services act. Unless you were purchasing CCTV equipment or are hiring the services of their security personnel and equipment then its unlikely to go anywhere fast. I know that even Councils have refused to hand over CCTV footage to the general public where incidents have been caught on Council owned CCTV installations, so even if the camera's captured anything, they are under no obligation whatsoever to hand it over to you.

 

The Signs that are in the car park are probably there as a deterrant, or more likely they are related to ANPR camera's, which are used by many car park operators these days in order to capture your number plate on arrival and then again upon departure in order to time your stay and automatically issue fixed penalty parking fines to the registered keeper if you stay for longer than you paid for!. If they are operating CCTV equipment linked to ANPR they still have to notify the fact to the public, and i'm 90% certain that this is why the signs exist.

 

Did the signs actually say that 'images are recorded for the purposes of crime prevention' like this one:-

 

http://thumbs4.ebaystatic.com/m/mLUA3mx9go3UpiZK7Tthcqg/140.jpg

 

If nothing was mentioned on the sign regarding recording then again you could put a big fat hole in any case if nothing is mentioned in relation to the CCTV being there for crime prevention or that footage is being recorded and archived. They can just as easily be ANPR cameras protecting their revenue, and helping to keep down the number of 'Divs' on the security staff by automating the penalty issuing procedure.

 

Wondering what you guys would do in my situation?

 

If the damage cost is significant, Claim off your insurance company, thats what you pay your premiums for. If the cost is around that of your excess or if you would rather not involve them, then get it repaired out of your own pocket and chalk it down to experience, it could be a lot worse, you have still got your equipment. I'd say you'd got off lightly and should consider doing the lottery this week!.

 

I'm sorry, but there are just some things that you don't do and have to take full responsibility for if you CHOOSE to do so and take the risks. If I was a Jeweller I wouldn't leave a tray of gold rings overnight in a car, and the same applies to valuable sound and lighting equipment. Was it not possible to leave it set up in the venue, or ask them if you could pack it away and put it in a locked room somewhere and then pick it up after checking out in the morning?.

 

Non of this should be deemed as legal advice, if in doubt ring up a Solicitor on Monday Morning and ask for a consultation with them. Many will offer between 20 - 60 mins Free at the initial consultation, in order to hear the facts of any 'case' and to see whether its worth them persuing. I have a feeling though that the advice will be pretty similar to that i've posted above, and that its a non starter but it won't cost you anything to ask.

 

Even if they decide that you have a case, it can take years to actually go to court, and in the meantime you've still got to get the damage repaired.....

[Ste Owens 0]

Cheers, yeah I understand it was my responsibility and everything but it was the hotels car park, I just didnt get that they were advertising CCTV and not providing it. I wasnt going to sue them or anything based on it being broken into.

 

As I believe it was that advertising which caused it, if i didnt see CCTV signs I wouldnt have parked there and probably wouldnt have been broken into.

 

Anywayl, lesson learned.

[Dukesy 0]

In addition, Did you report it to the police? and did you get a crime number?

 

As I believe it was that advertising which caused it, if i didnt see CCTV signs I wouldnt have parked there and probably wouldnt have been broken into.

 

Its not strictly advertising, its simply a law they have to comply with if they are operating any CCTV equipment in a public area, thats why you see them on the sides of buildings from Banks to the Local Co-Op

 

Unless the sign actually stated that footage was being recorded and existed for crime prevention then its probably better to assume that it isn't. I still think they are just operating an ANPR scheme, and even their company website mentions the fact...

 

http://www.eurocarparks.com/services-we-of...es#service-2883

 

Even so, CCTV camera's don't actually prevent crime from happening, and the fact that CCTV warning signs clearly existed and your van still got broken into proves that the crims don't give a damn about the potential existance of CCTV anyway.

 

All of that clear CCTV footage that they show on BBC's crimewatch rarely stopped the crime or murder from happening in the first place, they just help to identify those responsible.......sometimes.

 

If you are still undecided whether or not to take it further, you could also post on here for advice, as there are, clearly, some legal specialists amongst their members

 

http://forums.pepipoo.com/index.php?act=idx

 

I still wouldn't mention the fact your vehicle was loaded with several thousand pounds worth of equipment at the time though, as they tend to be a little bit blunt

[Derek Paul 0]

I Agree with Dukesy that you probably don’t have a chance of claiming. Again like Dukesy, I would never leave my gear in the truck. But I also agree with you, is seems unfair to advertise a security measure they don’t have.

 

I think in your place I might do a little on-line research. See if you can find “ECP Groups” Managing Director. Then write him a polite email or letter, explaining what happened. Believe it or not some of these companies do believe in customer service. If that does not work find their facebook page (if they have one) and post your story there.

 

Good Luck, and as you say the good news is you still have your gear.

,