this afternoon, some kindly gentlemen broke into my van and lifted a snap on solus diagnostic machine, all done in a blink of an eye.

heard the alarm go, was outside in seconds, but they were already gone..

i run a mobile service, been going for years, but think this has just become the preverbial straw.

second time in four years, last time £5k worth of gear went, took about 18mths to recover from that, this time its 3k, not to mention 1k outstanding on finance with the stolen item.....

i work on good rep and relatively small profit, so hits like this really hurt...

even if i could afford to replace, not sure i want to any more...im done with it.

times a healer and all that, but maybe its time to get a 9=5 souless, mind numbingly boring job...hassle free though

sick to death of scumbags, the only thankful side of this is i missed them by seconds, who knows what could of happened if i caught them

Unlucky bud. Some scumbag tried my van last August but the didnt manage to get the doors fully open before my next door neighbour disturbed them. Still managed to wreck my back doors though! Its a joke the worst of it is itll be people who have never worked a day in their lives and are relying on benifits which comes out of your hard earned cash and theyve got the cheek to try and steal from people trying to make an honest living

Gutted for you Tony , sickning when there are people out there that steal and make times hard for others.

Will your insurance not cover your loss?

Gutted for you fella.

As preee says will your insurance not cover it?

sorry to hear that m8, these people are out an out , maybe its a good job you didnt catch them m8, (cos after helping him up off the floor a few times, if ya no wot i mean) it would probly be you that gets nicked,

not this time mate, insurance was virtually worthless last time, even so, after that first hit, made insurance costs too high to be worth it since....waste of time and money trying to insure tools to any decent value, in a van, these days.

going to have to take a long hard think about what to do from here, i can walk into a garage and get employed tomorrow, but having worked for myself for so long, not easy having to answer to someone again...was never the most patient man when it came to bosses, hence going off on my own.

diagnostics is an expensive game, probably main source of income too, i still have kit to keep me going, but this was the latest machine i purchased, so either replace it, get one of my other machines updated, or just say enough is enough....gutting thing is, i secured a good deal for a 4 channel scope which would be a massive boost to what i can do, but after this, will have to bin that route...back to nigh on square one...whatever route i take if i wish to carry on, is going to cost thousands....

enough of the doom and gloom...not my style, ill bounce back one way or another...just not sure where right now....

what the hell.....millwall at wembley next month, life aint that bad :)

Hi Tony,

Very sorry to hear of your loss mate,

I too have been a victim of theft twice, I think anyone who has been a victim of theft can relate to your current situation,

And from what I've heard about recent crimes it seems best not to confront them, its better for your own safety,

Nothing is worth waiting 6 months for a blood test result to come back from a lab to tell you weather the scum bag who knifed you or jabbed you with a needle has given you somthing,

The law over here are useless too, catch em 6 months later if atall, then lock them away for 6 months,

They get out and do it again,

I can't understand anyone who steels from anyones home or vehicle, the working man is being hammerd enough by the government via tax and deductions without getting attacked by a low life scum bag looking for a quick fix,

Whatever about robbing a bank,

That's capital money and everyone goes home to an environment where they feel safe and content,

It is every persons right to feel safe and be comfortable in their own home, its what they work for and deserve,

If I caught the scum bag,

Id lock em up, then beat him up once, and every time he sleeps id wake him up by making noises like I'm coming to get em again,

Just to give him a sample of what life is like 24/7 for a victim of crime living in constant worry, wondering "is it going to happen again today or when"

sorry to hear of your woe m8,no doubt you know a few peeps in your game around where you live,have you asked round?

reason why i ask is,the gear you have will have a limited client base so the scum bag might have to work a bit on off loading the equipment.take 15 mins a ring a few garages near you aswell to see if they have been offered it,and ring the snap on man.

was first thing i done mate, garages, mechanics and snap on...ears and eyes working all over the place..

i managed to track down the previous theft, got most of the gear back, trouble was it resurfaced 3 months later, by which time i had already payed out to replace it all, sold the lot off to recoup some money, but 2nd hand [not to mention some damage done to it all] wasnt worth a great deal.

even found out who nicked it, but as im a single parent of 2 daughters, i played it very carefully, lets say im no longer a target of theirs, leave it at that

would love to see them get far worse, but got my girls and house to think of...gives some idea what i was up against.

Guarantee some pleb will be offering your kit at your nearest Cash Converters very soon.

You'd be amazed as to how much nicked kit turns up in one of those stores.

My local one gets checked weekly and they always find stuff from hire companies and building sites.

The mugs still accept the stuff though, you'd think they would learn by now.

hmmm...never thought of that, shall keep a close eye on local ones...

sinking in more now. seriously gutted, but dont think im going to let the lowlifes beat me, had loads of calls from customers offering help etc. word did indeed get round quick.......

trouble is, if i took up those offers, they'd probably expect big discounts ;)

onwards and upwards