Stolen tools

[ishium 80439]

Hanging tool thieves is waaaaay too lenient. I pretty much look at it as someone just stuck their hand into my kids mouth and took out the food they were chewing. It makes me angry beyond words that these dirt bags damage your vehicle and then sell your lively hood for $100. I get considerably un-PC with my thoughts about these miscreants. If you steal my stereo or TV that sucks but it doesn't steal my ability to make a living.

The first time this happened to me I was working for a company and the things that were taken out of their van were my hand tool bag and my cordless bag. The company basically said "Sorry". None of their tools were taken. The second time this happened to me I was on my own and they spent a little bit of time in the van and took basically everything I had at that point. Made it pretty difficult to do a job when I didn't even have a pair of linesmans.

I guess this is more of a rant and commiseration rather than an answer to your question. I was a homeowner when both of these things happened to me. I filed a claim w/ my HO insurance the first time and they covered it even though it was from a company van (although I was not on a job at the time; the company had us take our vehicles home and my stuff was taken after work hours while having a bite w/ a friend). I did not file the second time because of the fear that I would be dropped and/or my rates would go up.

I'm sorry that you had to go through this. Sucks all the way around.

 

[ishium 80439]

as do i thats why i never buy tools from the guys who show up at the job with such a good deal.... dont forget to checkm the local pawn shops after you ve been robbed

I once chased one of those dirtbags off of the site. If you buy from those guys you are really not that far removed from them.

 

[quogueelectric]

I'd check with your renter's insurance provider, since I'm pretty sure they'll cover it even in a company truck. If not, post here. It may not be much, but I have some spare tools in the bin I could send if it'll help you get back on your feet. If a few others can do the same...

Yes if you are completely cleaned out I have some pretty nice stuff I dont use anymore and would be glad to help you out. Pm me.

 

[iwire]

Gentlemen, this is a professional electrical forum, there is no place here for descriptions of what you would like to do to thieves.

Further posts along those lines will be removed.

 

[okeefe]

I had tool my tool bag stolen, when I was an apprentice and the contractor replaced my hand tools but that was all I was responsible to have for work. Just rencently I was doing a service upgrade and the kids next store asked me for wrenches to work on their bicycles, they took off with the wrenches and when the father came home I told him what had happened and he said that I should never had given it to them, what was I thinking and they are gone for good.

 

[ericsherman37]

I'd check with your renter's insurance provider, since I'm pretty sure they'll cover it even in a company truck. If not, post here. It may not be much, but I have some spare tools in the bin I could send if it'll help you get back on your feet. If a few others can do the same...

I have about ten extra pairs of wire strippers with holes blown in the cutting edges.

That's a serious bummer, though. Tools are expensive and I'm rather sentimental about some of them (the ones that have been with me since the beginning). I have not had the misfortune of having my stuff ripped off but I will definitely be more wary...

I didn't read all the posts but if no one has mentioned it yet, your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy might cover some of that... otherwise the best I can offer is the aforementioned accidental-live-circuit-cutting wire strippers. If your circuit tracing equipment was stolen as well, you can use the strippers to identify circuit breakers in a pinch

 

[eric7379]

MAK-You might want to consider asking your insurance agent about an inland marine policy. I used to travel for a living (all over the continental US 300+ days a year) and I had my personal tools with me everywhere I went. An inland marine policy should cover your personal tools. Fortunately, I never had to try filing a claim, but my insurance agent said that theft and loss would be covered.

 

[brian john]

Hit all pawn shops.

Call you insurance company.

I would buy all your tools but if you work for me I own 90% of all your tools. My men are not permitted to bring personnel tools to work. If you want it I'll buy it BUT IT IS MINE.
I would replace the hand tools and I think your boss should work with you on this.

Business insurance goes up every time you do anything. Several years ago our auto insurance went up drastically, when we asked why, the answer. You have not had a claim in 7 years, you are due for a major accident.

 

[luckyshadow]

Several years ago our auto insurance went up drastically, when we asked why, the answer. You have not had a claim in 7 years, you are due for a major accident.

Kind of defeats the purpose of defensive driving huh?

 

[nakulak]

as crazy as it sounds, I hope you filed a police report. we had a sea container emptied of tools a year ago (they hit us and a plumber on the same night), and damned if the cops didn't recover almost every single item ! (of course, we had pics and serial #s of every tool) around here, the pawn shops have to take every serial # and tool description that comes in, and once in a while it pays off, as it did in our case) so, don't give up on the law - its worth a shot.

 

[infinity]

I would check E-bay and Craigslist too. They seem to be good outlets for getting rid of stolen stuff. As with any expensive stuff you should have an inventory of what you own with all of the serial numbers and a description of the items. Sorry if it's too late for that.

 

[jrannis]

Maybe your boss should offer you the $2000 they would have paid for the deductible in exchange for not filing a claim

 

[nakulak]

Maybe your boss should offer you the $2000 they would have paid for the deductible in exchange for not filing a claim

there ya go

 

[rt66electric]

DTR electric is always hiring

DTR electric is always hiring

Well....that can be tricky stuff....

First off....if your boss makes you have all the tools....including power tools....why not think about doing it yourself???

Second....they should cover your loss....if they are afraid to make a claim....well....that tells of their financial situation....$3500.00 shouldnt hurt to bad out of pocket....

Third....FIND A NEW BOSS!!! YOURS SUCKS!!!:smile:

I somewhat agree. DOWN-THE-ROAD electric is always hiring!! If the boss does not make a token attempt to help you out, I would file that as a mental note, the boss is a tight-wad and heartless. The next tme a good offer comes up, consider taking it. If you can provide all the necessary tools and etc, you can provide a van w/lettering also!!!! If you have been there 5 years and are getting paid diddly-squat and providing Tools -who's the chump?.. If you getting paid really well (enough to pay for tool etc- most jobs figger-in a tool charge,are you getting compensated??) , then I woud call it hard lumps and more to a better neighborhood>> DENNIS

 

[MAK]

I somewhat agree. DOWN-THE-ROAD electric is always hiring!! If the boss does not make a token attempt to help you out, I would file that as a mental note, the boss is a tight-wad and heartless. The next tme a good offer comes up, consider taking it. If you can provide all the necessary tools and etc, you can provide a van w/lettering also!!!! If you have been there 5 years and are getting paid diddly-squat and providing Tools -who's the chump?.. If you getting paid really well (enough to pay for tool etc- most jobs figger-in a tool charge,are you getting compensated??) , then I woud call it hard lumps and more to a better neighborhood>> DENNIS

I think my bosses are pretty good. They have taken care of me fairly well over the years. I get paid ok right now and don't really want to work for someone else at this point. They told me that they can't file a claim and I totally understand why. I can not fault them for doing what is logical.
I have not had any further conversation with them on it as of yet.

I am still trying to see if my renter's insurance can pickup some of my losses. Knowing what I know now I would have gone through a lot more steps to protect my stuff ex. tool insurance,track s/n #s, armored vault, etc..
I have some friends that I contacted that are going to help me out a little so I can be ready to go monday.

 

[MAK]

Maybe your boss should offer you the $2000 they would have paid for the deductible in exchange for not filing a claim

They may actually do that. I have to talk to them and see what they would be willing/able to do. Out of pocket expenses are tough right now with the econonmy's current state.

 

[AV ELECTRIC]

I agree, I had my car borken into on a jobsite, car damaged, and tool loss. I was working out of town for the company, right up to Christmas Eve. My company took care of the loss and the details. If you are busting your hump for the company, they need to buck-up.

If I owned the company that you work for, I would RUSH to replace your tools.

I agree. Those tools probably made the company you work for alot of money .You could explain that to your boss, maybe he can do a partial replacement its a tax deduction for him.If your a valued employee im sure hell step up to the plate but take into consideration this is a tough economy your boss may not have the cash to do this at this time. you do have a job and thats a good thing, and remember if your truck was broken in once they will probably do it again so take the correct action protect your lively hood. maybe you guys have some good ideas on protecting your tools from theft it has happen to me to

 

[active1]

It was my understanding every time I got, changed, or priced out comercial truck insurance is the tool coverage was optional. While I don't remember the numbers it always seemed costly to me at the time to cover tools in that price range. As in I could have bought the tools again after a few years of paying that rate. $2,000 seems like a high deductable for your average EC truck full of used tools. Also remember that insurance companies rarely pay replacement cost. More like fair market value. I would guess that in general to be half of new cost.

It makes me wonder if your tools were insured or if your boss is mixing up his coverages.

I had a friend that had a shop get robbed of company and workers tools. They filed a claim on both but never paid the workers. Some thought it was the owners that did it. As they were in financial trouble and ended up going out of business.

I don't know if this is a good idea for you but you could always call the phone number on the truck insurance card to see what's up.

 

[B4T]

A few years ago some guy in a unmarked van asked me if I wanted to buy some hand tools. The story was he just lost his job and needed the money for rent. I knew it was a BS story.. nobody sells tools that can make them money. I took a look at his stuff and made a mental list of what he had and his plate number. I told him I had all those items and was not interested. I called the cops and gave them the info.
My tools got stolen once and I never forgot the feeling of not even having a pair of pliers left

 

[sii]

My experience is that employers will provide you with everything THEY THINK you need to do your job. I have always tried to get them to buy tools that are not neccessarily required to do the job but make it one heck of a lot easier. Example: someone stole my Klein 11-in-1 screwdriver off of my workbench because I left it out one night. I gave my boss the model number to get me a new one. He brought me back a 10-pack of Menard's Tool Shop brand screwdrivers. Do they work? Absolutely. Are they good for much besides shanking a fellow inmate. Nope. And I sure as heckl don't want to carry around half a dozen screwdrivers when one will do the trick. So what did I do? I again asked for a Klein 11-in-1 and when the answer was no, I bought one out of my own pocket. I'm sure there are a million employees with similar situations. At least for me, the line between what are my tools and what are the company's is pretty blurry.

Not long ago, our HR director asked all of us maintenance guys for a list of all the tools that we had in our boxes/cabinets because we had been collectively complaining about tool theft. He told us that to cover them on the company's basic insurance would be a paperwork nightmare so they had bought a seperate policy just for our tools and boxes. It was dirt cheap in comparison to adding them to their base policy.