Written by Stefan Puno
If your bike is stolen acting quickly is key to increasing the chances of successful recovery. In the heat of the moment you might not know exactly what needs doing. Luckily our friends from bikestorage.co are here with 6 things you should do immediately if your bike has been stolen.
Use security cameras
When your bike is stolen you need to check the camera footage to see if it’s really stolen so that you can easily trace it. You should then alert the business owners immediately and inquire whether they can retrieve the camera TV footage. Remember, if you wait for long the footage may have been erased. According to the bike manufacturers, the security cameras are some of the best ways to find your missing biker.
Visit the flea markets, used bikes shops and pawn shops to look for your stolen bike
If you are looking for your stolen bike then have a buddy with you and visit the pawn markets and the flea shops near you. These areas have a huge collection of stolen bikes. From push bikes to dirt bikes, you will find all collections of stolen bikes. Your stolen bike could just be there. If you find your bike then call the cops who will then advise you on what to do next. More so, call all the shops around and provide them with a picture of your stolen bike. In case they recycle stolen bikes then they will tell you what could be the problem.
List your bike as stolen
In case you have registered your bike then you should tell them that your bike has been stolen. They may have facebook pages or twitter feeds indicating that your bike has been stolen. If you have not already registered with these organizations then it’s never too late. If you do not know your serial number you can still go ahead and look for it. Within a short time, you will have saved from several problems.
Spread the word within your social media networks that your bike has been stolen
When you have lost a bike take a photo and post it on the social media pages. Many people usually share such information on social media pages. More so, set up social media alerts and with the exact information marching your bike. If your bike features on the internet then you will get immediate alerts. You can always boost the possibility of finding your bike.
Report to the police
Try as much as you can to report the theft to the police. Although you might not be having insurance this is very important. You might think that this is effortless but it’s one of the most important things to do. Thankfully, over half of the stolen bikes are usually recovered by the police. The only reason why only 5% of the stolen bikes are returned is that the owners of the bikes cannot be traced by the police. If you report the police will also get an actual picture of your stolen bike. You must ensure that you do this as soon as your bike is stolen.
File an insurance claim
If you have some sort of insurance policy then you need to file a claim. Make sure you are in touch with them as soon as you can so that you can start the process of recovering your bike. Most insurance companies require that you alert them as soon as your bike is stolen. The faster you file the report the much better because it will give you an easy time to recover your bike.
Wrap up
One of the worst things to happen is having your bike stolen. The most unfortunate thing is that it will eventually happen to any of us. The best thing to do is, therefore, to prepare for any eventuality that may happen. You must do everything that you can to recover your stolen bike. So, those are the top 6 things that you can do in case your bike is stolen. Remember to think about them to ensure that your bike remains safe. There may be probably more but if you think about these things you will recover your bike fast. Good luck and search for your bike.
The fix that beats recovery: don’t give the thief the chance
Every tip above is damage control. The bike is already gone. The one thing that actually prevents the loss is where the bike sits when you walk away: controlled, enclosed, anchored storage beats a cable lock on a street sign every time. Repeat theft on a property is almost always a design gap, not a lock problem, and a hardened enclosure closes the gap by removing the opportunity most theft depends on.
If you run a property, office, campus, or transit hub and you are tired of fielding theft reports, that is the part you control. Give riders secure bike lockers for one-bike-one-key privacy, a Class 1 bike room that puts a locked door between the bikes and the street for higher counts, or lockable racks where short-term visibility matters most. Send us the floor plan and target count and we will size it. Request a Quote or Free Layout Assistance: call 800-630-7225.