claimed on insurance, now police found bike!

[montage]

Three months ago my bike got stolen, It was a giant mtb. I claimed on insurance and purchased a new bike - feltz65.

Today the police emailed me with the pic of a bike they think may be mine! After looking at the pic I can confirm this is my bike.

If I collect it do I pay back the insurance? :S

 

[alecstilleyedye]

no, iirc the recovered bike is now the property of the insurance company. you should probably let them know. if they don't want it…

 

[MacB]

Three months ago my bike got stolen, It was a giant mtb. I claimed on insurance and purchased a new bike - feltz65.

Today the police emailed me with the pic of a bike they think may be mine! After looking at the pic I can confirm this is my bike.

If I collect it do I pay back the insurance? :S

you need to sell it on to a fellow CC member for £10 inc postage, generally first to ask gets.......so dibs here then

 

[mr Mag00]

nice 1 macbludgeon

 

[fossyant]

See what the insurance company might accept for a slightly secondhand ex. stolen bike ?

 

[rich p]

I realise that one should in all honesty inform them but how would the insurance company know?

 

[Vikeonabike]

Get the insurance company to donate it to a PC or PCSO at the local station....another plod on a bike will be good news!

 

[montage]

Get the insurance company to donate it to a PC or PCSO at the local station....another plod on a bike will be good news!

seen how many bikes are at the police auctions?
I'd really really like to keep the bike as it was my first "proper" bike, and I need a second bike....but don't want to be too dishonest about the whole thing.....but then again, who would honestly feel bad about short changing an insurance company - they hardly have the moral highground. I guess we shall just have to wait and see what the buzz say

 

[montage]

edit: tried to put pic in here and failed

 

[yello]

It belongs to the insurance company now so don't even think of trying to take it! It'd just be a stupid thing to try and do. Let the insurance company know that it's been found and, if you're really interested, offer to buy it off of them. They'd probably go for it. Question is, what's it worth to you?

 

[postman]

Tell the insurance company.Then ask them if they want to sell.It will save them a lot of hassle in collecting and so on.If you get the picture.Make it sound like you could do them a favour.

 

[montage]

so now this is a moral dilemma?

 

[yello]

Only if you make it one. It'd be the legal dilemma I'd be concerned with if you took the bike! Imagine being done for stealing your own stolen bike!

 

[ed_o_brain]

Firstly, good news and well done Mr. Plod.

I'd imagine you had given the insurance company the crime reference number for the stolen bike, and it wouldn't be beyond the wit of the insurance company to check with the police to see if it has been recovered.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were tie-ins with the police national computer in order to effect this.

So my advice would be to speak to the insurers and see what they say. I can't imagine them having much interest in the bike, so they will probably let you buy it for a nominal sum.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I wish plod would find any one of my stolen bikes.

 

[highpeak will]

This happened to me. We got burgled and several weeks after we had an insurance payout, the police recovered my childrens ipods. They were found at someones house and we identified them by the serial numbers. We eventually got them back and it never even crossed my mind to inform the insurance company.

This was about 3 years ago and there haven't been any repercussions from it.