Update on the stolen bicycle

Calling them wasn't just the right thing to do morally, it's one of those things that would come back to haunt you anyway. So good for you on both counts.

When I bought this house, they goofed up on the accounting for the second mortgage, so I actually owed another payment. I tried to explain this to them, not just because I didn't want to be a cheat, but because I was sure somehow it would mess me up in the future. They just kept saying, no, I didn't owe anything. I refi'd a few months later, so I never had to pay it. But at least I tried.

 

Idy, this reminds me of that scene in the movie Brazil: "A refund check?!!?"

 

It probably adds significantly to the rarity that police almost never recover stolen items in the first place.

 

Hank: Very ridable. The thief swapped out the racing tires and wheel set for some cheapo set. But it went from a 10-speed rear cog to a 9-speed rear cog and the shifting is pretty funky since things don't align properly. The shifters and derailers are dinged up pretty good but still functional. Bike shop recommended replacing them just in case.

OTD: I agree with you. Since I don't need two bikes, I'd probably fix up the one bike and try to sell the one I liked least. The last thing I'd want happening is to have the insurance people hunt me down for selling allegedly stolen goods. $1,000 isn't enough for that risk either legaly or morally. My wife would think a lot less of me, too. Who wants to tell their wife they are insurance cheats?

Bristol: I think this area is rare. My sherrif neighbor tells me pawn shops frequently have stolen goods reclaimed because anything pawned in this state must be reported to a state agency. If the stolen goods have been registered (which my bike was) the item hits the database and alerts the local police. Spending $2 to have my bicycle's serial number -- imprinted into the frame -- registered with the city, county and state is probably what led to it being recovered.

 

idaho, i am missing a leap in logic somewhere along the line. what makes you think the bike the insurance company bought you isn't yours to keep?

i know nothing about the insurance industry but i would think that once the insurer decides to cut the check, they are officially declaring it a loss. as i understand it, this is the way the insurance industry operates - it's a series of risks which is why they'll insure your bike as part of homeowner's but not your diamond-crusted uh, bible or whatever.

just because it's no longer a loss doesn't mean the insurance company owns the replacement bike. does it? does it say that somewhere in your insurance policy? i've never heard of that kind of thing.

 

I'm not an insurance insider, either. The way my mind works, when someone sends me a check for the cost of a stolen bicycle, they are buying my missing bike.

I know insurance companies will declare cars total losses, compensate the owner for that loss, and then resell the damaged vehicle after repairs. The previous owner of that car is not the one getting money when the car is resold.

 

You should trade it in for a unicycle. Everyone needs at least one of those.

On a less serious note, I consider myself pretty honest, but I wouldn't even think twice about taking a car to a place where I can pocket a little extra money. I probably wouldn't have them do the extra work part, but if the insurance company wants to pay me $1000 to fix something, and I know a guy that can do it for $600 ... na, don't feel bad at all.

I don't feel bad about stickin' it to "the man" every once in awhile. As a policy, I don't screw over individuals, small stores or indivudal employees and I don't try to shoplift or anything, but if dumb 16 year old forgets to charge me for a bottle of toothpaste ... not my problem. I've also been known to use return policies to their utmost effictivness.

Still, most of the people I know take advatange of such situations way more often than I do.

 

Wow, there's some moral high ground.

 

thanks for doing your part to drive up insurance premiums.

 

Never filed a claim, so I haven't done anything yet.

 

Idaho - I commend you for doing the right thing. Not just in a moral sense, but in a sense of protecting yourself.

But if you hadn't said a word about it, would that have been wrong? The reason I say this is that, from the sound of it, when you got the bike it was really different and more messed up than when it was stolen. You didn't get the same bicycle back.

For the insurance company and agent, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I don't know what I would have done. I might not have said anything because I might have thought it would end up where every good deed gets punished, because you never know what insurance companies might do.

 

Perhaps not in the big picture. But in my mind, yes.

The bike still has a value of at least $1,250, IMO even with the non-original parts and damage. It's still very ridable, just not the same as it was.

I couldn't, in good conscience, resell the bike and pocket $1,000 or more knowing -- at least in my frame of thought -- that the bike belonged to the insurance company which compensated me for it. And, if the person I sold it to decided to register it himself, the serial number wold have popped up in the system. So the CYA of reporting it to m insurance agent was worth it to me.