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363 – Thieves target cars warming up in the morning

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23 December 2009

I WAS walking to work yesterday, and taking a fairly circuitous route so I could drop off Christmas cards to friends in our area on the way.

As I went over the railway bridge I noticed Carole’s car on the other side. Carole is a near neighbour who runs her own beauty therapy business, but while the car’s engine was running there was no Carole. A quick call to her mobile found that she had been distracted inside her house – and had completely forgotten about the car!

Later that day I received a text from her thanking me and saying she had heard how three cars had been stolen that very morning in Essex by thieves targeting cars where owners had left them warming up.

I know it’s such a temptation to do that, but you really are presenting car thieves with a golden opportunity: a car, with the keys, engine running, no owner. It’s a guaranteed way to ruin your Christmas.

Later I rang up Simon Douglas, a director of AA Insurance, to ask what happens to the insurance in such cases. Simon told me: “Every winter we have to deal with a spate of such thefts. There is evidence that organised criminals wait for just this kind of opportunity to steal cars, especially upmarket ones, which are otherwise almost impossible to take without the keys.

“But insurers almost always reject these claims because theft of an unattended vehicle left open with the keys in it is specifically excluded from policies.” Ouch!

Simon suggested that the best thing to do was use de-icer and a scraper which uses less fuel, and causes less pollution. And never let your car warm up on your drive or outside your house without being present. Wise advice. Enjoy your Christmas; don’t ruin it.

Defrosting cars hit by organised criminals

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Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton

Ralph Morton is an award-winning journalist and the founder of Business Car Manager (now renamed Business Motoring). Ralph writes extensively about the car and van leasing industry as well as wider fleet and company car issues. A former editor of What Car?, Ralph is a vastly experienced writer and editor and has been writing about the automotive sector for over 35 years.

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