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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Camera stolen out of my car in my driveway.
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07/07/2009 05:31:56 PM · #1
Last night, my garage had some stuff on the floor, so I didn't park inside. I accidentally left my Canon 40D (with my 28-135mm, 8gb card, and tripod clip) sitting in the back seat of my car. I wake up the next morning and its gone along with some other random things from my glove box.

What should I do? I have looked at my local craigslist, called pawn shops, etc. I will file a police report soon, and maybe an insurance claim.

Any advice?
07/07/2009 05:35:56 PM · #2
Total bummer, but hopefully your auto insurance should cover it. Did you file a police report?
07/07/2009 05:36:40 PM · #3
Car was locked? Makes a difference with insurance, whether it was broken into or not, usually... Will need a police report for insurance, I'm sure.

R.
07/07/2009 05:39:47 PM · #4
my advice......make a claim buy a new one and remember not to leave it in your car...lol.

im like a pitbull with my stuff...i guard it with my life.when i go fishing i always take a smaller camera and i have been known to hide my bigger camera in the tumbledryer,a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do ..lol
07/07/2009 05:41:17 PM · #5
Get the serial numbers for the camera and lens and anything else with serial numbers for the police report. If the items get recovered, you have a better chance of getting them back. Don't know how much time the cops have to go looking at pawn shops, but maybe worth your effort in addition to checking CraigsList.
07/07/2009 05:41:35 PM · #6
I have my serial number (from a pictures exif), Is there anything I can use this for?
07/07/2009 05:41:39 PM · #7
=( Im sorry. That sucks. Definitely make a police report before you do anything else.
07/07/2009 06:33:05 PM · #8
Check your household insurance as well, see if you're better off going through it rather than your car insurance.

And locking your car doesn't always matter. My mother had her camera stolen from a locked car which the police said wasn't locked, as there were no signs of break-in (despite some new scratches on the doorframe next to the glass), so insurance wouldn't cover it. Later, when she locked her keys in the car and the towtruck driver popped her door for her she noticed how easily and damage-free he did it. He told her it was easy to get into any car without leaving damage and thought the police were insane to say what they did.

Good luck in getting a satisfactory outcome :)
07/07/2009 07:10:13 PM · #9
Check the buy/sell forums on popular photography websites such as this one - easiest place to shift hookey gear.
07/07/2009 07:17:46 PM · #10
my CAR insurance would not cover this type of loss.. which totally blows me away.. I know because it's happened to me before.. Not my camera, but a bunch of cd's, some clothes, some of my hubby's tools, ect. were stolen and because they were not physcially attached to my car, then they are not covered by my car insurance.. Now, they were ALL covered by my renters insurance for my house.. So, I just filed a claim with them and I was reimbursed for everything.. Good luck.. :-)
07/07/2009 07:29:42 PM · #11
Yeah, it's usually homeowners insurance that will cover theft of property from a vehicle (or at least with State Farm, it is). I'd definitely file a police report - even if they can't do anything, at least they'll have on record that stuff like that is occurring in your neighborhood. Then call your agent and see about filing a claim. They'll want the info from your police report (file #, etc).

My car was recently broken into while in my driveway as well. All they took was the bucket of change in the middle console so it didn't really amount to much but it's definitely a violating feeling knowing someone's doing it right outside your house. Good luck recouping your losses.
07/07/2009 07:36:37 PM · #12
Originally posted by BeeCee:

My mother had her camera stolen from a locked car which the police said wasn't locked, as there were no signs of break-in (despite some new scratches on the doorframe next to the glass), so insurance wouldn't cover it. Later, when she locked her keys in the car and the towtruck driver popped her door for her she noticed how easily and damage-free he did it. He told her it was easy to get into any car without leaving damage and thought the police were insane to say what they did.


That's incredible. That was definitely some awful police work there. I'd file a complaint, regardless of how long ago it was. Any competent thief can pop a door without leaving a mark in a matter of minutes. Newer cars are quite a bit trickier, of course, but the older the car, the easier it is. I had a part-time job as a locksmith assistant while in college -- and quickly learned it's pretty amazing how unsecure most cars are.


Back in my PM days (pre-motorcycle) ;) when I actually owned a car, if I ever locked myself out, I would just reach in the grill, pull a wire to release the hood, pull out the transmission dipstick, and use it as a slim jim to pop the passenger door. Took less than a minute; in maybe 90 seconds, I had everything closed back up and was on the road. I would do it on purpose if I went to a concert or something and didn't want to carry my keys.


Anyway, the point being, unless they have the theft on video, it's virtually impossible to prove a car *wasn't* locked. So, I'm sure if you think about it really hard... The doors were most certainly locked, if anyone were to ask a question like that. I'm just sayin'.........
07/07/2009 08:01:51 PM · #13
Damn! It sucks that people do things like that. :-(
07/07/2009 08:15:05 PM · #14
I have my car and home insurance with the same company, but the homeowners is what covers things stolen from the car, it seems odd, but thats how the policies are written. Look into getting a rider on your homeowners that covers just the camera gear, which will not trigger a homeowner's claim, they are pretty reasonable and cover damage as well as loss.

As far as the responding officer not writing up a break-in on the car, sadly it is in the interest of the police department to minimize the crime that happens in their area of responisbility; So breaking and entering are too often written up as petty theft. Don't accept it. Write to the commanding officer of the responding unit, and c.c. the civilian oversight board, be that the city council or some specialized board and insist the break-in be written up as it was reported. Point out that it effects insurance claims and creates a false reality. Create enough fuss that they can agree with you on what took place, or offer them the option of charging you with perjury and interfering with an ongoing investigation, because they way they wrote it up, they basically called you a liar already.
07/07/2009 08:26:10 PM · #15
this reminds me. my friend had his car modified under the door trims to prevent the very same "easy" door picking some of you described earlier. he thought it was a good idea until one day someone smashed his windows just to steal his lose change inside the car. i told him i'd rather have the thief open the car door and take the coins than having to replace the window glass.
07/07/2009 08:26:54 PM · #16
Probably not real effective, but it will make you feel better anyway - //photo.net/registry/ and //registeryourcamera.com/index.php
07/07/2009 10:33:00 PM · #17
Originally posted by cdrice:


That's incredible. That was definitely some awful police work there. I'd file a complaint, regardless of how long ago it was. Any competent thief can pop a door without leaving a mark in a matter of minutes. Newer cars are quite a bit trickier, of course, but the older the car, the easier it is. I had a part-time job as a locksmith assistant while in college -- and quickly learned it's pretty amazing how unsecure most cars are.


It was early into one of their trips to the States, so I imagine they just wanted it done and over so they could get on with their vacation. This was probably 15 years ago, so I imagine it was a breeze getting into the car.

My car they weren't so gentle with.

07/07/2009 10:47:30 PM · #18
Originally posted by ssturges:

I have looked at my local craigslist, called pawn shops, etc.


Check ebay also... I had a vintage guitar stolen from my last house (in south Florida) and found it in an auction in Boston! Yes I bought it back with the insurance money! Probably going to be harder to find a camera though; good luck!
07/07/2009 11:04:20 PM · #19
Ouch...in my city i would have to buy another one and don`t even think about police...
I hope you didn't have great shots in it!
07/07/2009 11:23:42 PM · #20
Originally posted by pedrobop:

Ouch...in my city i would have to buy another one and don`t even think about police...
I hope you didn't have great shots in it!


No joke. Same thing here. I'm an avid bmx'er and have had my friend's bikes stolen. Thing is, we found who stole it and where they lived. Police didn't do anything. We decided to just steal the damn thing back. After we told the police that, they figured we weren't full of it and busted the house- found 50+ hot bikes there.
I've also been hit and run on by a car when I was on my bike. After I got up, a police car was going by, which I waved down. I informed him of the circumstances, gave a description of the car and the first portion of the out of state license plate in addition to the direction the car had just sped off in. He had better things to do than help a bicyclist that was hit by a car. So I got to carry my broken road bike home.
Good luck with everything. I've had loads of cd's jacked from cars and a bike from a friend's house. Having things stolen is about the worst thing ever.
07/08/2009 01:15:01 AM · #21
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Originally posted by pedrobop:

Ouch...in my city i would have to buy another one and don`t even think about police...
I hope you didn't have great shots in it!


No joke. Same thing here. I'm an avid bmx'er and have had my friend's bikes stolen. Thing is, we found who stole it and where they lived. Police didn't do anything. We decided to just steal the damn thing back. After we told the police that, they figured we weren't full of it and busted the house- found 50+ hot bikes there.
I've also been hit and run on by a car when I was on my bike. After I got up, a police car was going by, which I waved down. I informed him of the circumstances, gave a description of the car and the first portion of the out of state license plate in addition to the direction the car had just sped off in. He had better things to do than help a bicyclist that was hit by a car. So I got to carry my broken road bike home.
Good luck with everything. I've had loads of cd's jacked from cars and a bike from a friend's house. Having things stolen is about the worst thing ever.


Well..here is a little worse, because stolen things normally goes to favelas (not saying that thieves are always in favelas), which are places that our cops don't easily go and search for stolen objects. And i won't go there too, or i can get stolen again...or worse.

Message edited by author 2009-07-08 01:20:31.
07/08/2009 01:19:55 AM · #22
Originally posted by pedrobop:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

[quote=pedrobop] Ouch...in my city i would have to buy another one and don`t even think about police...
I hope you didn't have great shots in it!


Well..here is a little worse, because stolen things normally goes to favelas (not saying that thieves are always in favelas), which are places that our cops don't easily go and search for stolen objects. And i won't go there too, or i can't get stolen again...or worse.


Yeah I know, I saw you were from Brazil and it's greatly different from here. Really, I was just taking up my chance to complain.
I'm aware of favelas, but only in name, having never actually seen them other than on tv.
07/08/2009 01:23:09 AM · #23
Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

Originally posted by pedrobop:

Originally posted by spiritualspatula:

[quote=pedrobop] Ouch...in my city i would have to buy another one and don`t even think about police...
I hope you didn't have great shots in it!


Well..here is a little worse, because stolen things normally goes to favelas (not saying that thieves are always in favelas), which are places that our cops don't easily go and search for stolen objects. And i won't go there too, or i can't get stolen again...or worse.


Yeah I know, I saw you were from Brazil and it's greatly different from here. Really, I was just taking up my chance to complain.
I'm aware of favelas, but only in name, having never actually seen them other than on tv.


hahaha!! Yep, I understand, sometimes i feel confortable to complain here too! DPchallenge can be a psychologist.

Message edited by author 2009-07-08 01:23:50.
07/08/2009 03:31:48 AM · #24
Thanks for the advise. I filed a police report; I am not sure how much good this will do. I do live in a very small town and hopefully this will help recovery.

But this came at just about the worst time... I am right now setting up for a photoshoot on Saturday and am having to borrow a 20D from a friend last minute. And I need to get my Senior portraits done by the end of summer. So I need to get a new camera soon.

I feel so... lonely without my camera. You don't realize how much you love it until its gone.
07/08/2009 09:22:59 AM · #25
Dang that sucks.

When I had my convertible I never left anything in the car, and rarely locked it. I figured if someone was going to steal something they'd just cut through the roof (or stick their arms through the numerous holes in it). My current vehicle has an alarm and if you unlock the doors, even from the inside, without the key the alarm goes off (very annoying).

I also cover anything expensive with something else. Usually my fire department vest or jacket, or bury it under all of my EMS stuff in the back.

No matter what I think it sucks that there are people that would do this. I had a local friend have the same thing happen to him a week ago.
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