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So I got robbed over the holidays....

post #1 of 77
12/27/08 at 5:05pm
Thread Starter 
...and the robbers made a total mess of my house in the process.

I came back from visiting my family today, and now my HT setup is pretty much gone (no more plasma HDTV, BD players, HD DVD players, DVD players, Xbox 360, Wii, games, digital cameras, etc), the thieves did leave older HT items, but unfortunately, they took all my remote controls, rendering my remaining gear pretty much useless at the moment.

It won't be fun cleaning up the place, that's for sure.

But, it's only stuff. All of it can be replaced, more of less, but just the feeling of being ripped off over the holidays just flat out sucks.
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post #2 of 77
12/27/08 at 5:20pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

So sorry to hear about this Patrick. I've been burglarized twice, but it's been more than 20 years since the last time it happened. I do remember the feeling of helplessness, and the sick feeling of knowing someone else went thru all my things.

But as you said, it's just stuff that can be replaced and thankfully you weren't home at the time. I wish you better luck from here on out.
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post #3 of 77
12/27/08 at 5:29pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Wow, that stinks. Hope the find the idiots that did it.

I often wonder if it is a bad idea to put pictures on boards like this one and on personal websites. It is kind of like advertising for crooks. "Hey, look at all the expensive stuff I have. Come rob me. "
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post #4 of 77
12/27/08 at 5:39pm
Thread Starter 

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

But at least you can show the insurance company what you had!
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post #5 of 77
12/27/08 at 6:28pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Patrick, just wanted to say I'm very sorry that those losers took what wasn't theirs. You seem to have a healthy outlook about it. I hope you're able to replace the gear easily.
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post #6 of 77
12/27/08 at 6:38pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear about it Patrick! I hope your insurance pays out well!
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post #7 of 77
12/27/08 at 7:14pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

That really stinks! The silver lining is the insurance company will probably end up paying for you to get the newest equipment. If you have replacement insurance they will pay the replacement value of the stolen equipment. Then you can upgrade and make up the difference.
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post #8 of 77
12/27/08 at 7:52pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

You're not alone Patrick.

I worked all day Christmas before heading straight to my grandmothers for a gift exchange. I was so tired afterwards that I decided to wait until morning to bring in my presents. I was off the day after Christmas, at around noon my sister called me asking if I wanted to run to a few stores with her. Long story short, I go out to my car to find my front window smashed and all of my gifts, some inexpensive tools and my old Ipod gone. Pretty shitty Christmas for me as well, altho its nowhere near as bad as your story it really affects my, as it turns out, false sense of security I had living in this apartment complex. My car was parked only 20ft from my bedroom window. I went and filed a police report but other then that what can I do. $500 deductible is hardly worth what was stolen and since I already managed to get my window replaced by an old neighbor who owns a bodyshop at not much cost ill probably not bother dealing with my insurance.

Some people are just assholes.
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post #9 of 77
12/27/08 at 7:57pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear this, Patrick. I hope the insurance company is fast and fair. Did they steal your DVDs too? I tend to think of equipment as being more replaceable but I would hate to lose my DVD collection, that is much more personal. So many DVDs have a story behind them, or were gifts.
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post #10 of 77
12/27/08 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Yeah, I just remembered there was either 1 or 2 long boxes of DVDs that is now missing, and some of them were hard to get at the time, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
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post #11 of 77
12/27/08 at 9:02pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Did they get your computer too or was it with you/safe?
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post #12 of 77
12/27/08 at 9:49pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

wow, didnt you have serious water damage a year or so ago too?
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post #13 of 77
12/27/08 at 10:34pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Very sorry to hear it! I don't take stuff like that, as calmly as you do, I'm afraid. It happened to me once, many years ago. They got stereo gear, albums, camera. A few nights later, a guy tried to sell the camera, to someone that recognized it. They told me who was selling it. I went to see him. He took me to the stuff, and needless to say, I got it all back, except the albums. He said they were scattered. I lucked up. I didn't have insurance...........
I hope you get lucky, and can replace everything. Check the pawn shops....
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post #14 of 77
12/27/08 at 10:50pm
Thread Starter 

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Quote:
Originally Posted by TonyD
wow, didnt you have serious water damage a year or so ago too?

Yup, I'm changing my name to "Job".

Quote:
Originally Posted by Will_B
Did they get your computer too or was it with you/safe?

For some reason, they ignored it... this time around. I was shocked it was still here. Perhaps they plan on a return visit?

The cops claim that if you pawn stuff at the pawn shops, you have to get fingerprinted and photographed. Not sure if that's true, but that was the first I'd heard of such measures at pawn shops.
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post #15 of 77
12/27/08 at 10:53pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Perhaps we can use Patricks unfortunate incident as a reminder to take pictures and make note of model and serial numbers. Police and insurance companies realy like to have this information.

Also, there are other things you can do to make something like this a little less likely to happen. I have fake alarm co. stickers on all my windows and doors, motion sensor flood lights outside and a red blinking light inside my front and back doors (visible thru the windows) to simulate an alarm pad. There's no way to absolutely prevent it from happenning but every little bit helps.
Quote:
Perhaps they plan on a return visit?
I didn't want to mention it in my first post but that's how I got hit twice. They came back a couple of months later. After the first loss the Police warned me there may be a return visit because they know people replace what was taken the first time and they are familiar with the layout.
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post #16 of 77
12/28/08 at 12:05am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Patrick, I have a spare HD-DVD A20. It's yours if you want it. I'll get it shipped to you after the first of the year. I wish there was more I had spares of. I have a crap load of cables, so, let me know if you need any of those as well. I am so sorry to hear about this happening to you. I was held up at gunpoint and it made me so fucking angry. I would love to meet the guy again who did it. Just me and him without his gun. Take care, man.
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post #17 of 77
12/28/08 at 12:41am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

I'd first be suspicious (or is it paranoid?) of neighbor's teenage or college-age children, before I believed it was professional robbers. I'm sure neighbors would get quite pissed at me if I sent out a newsletter asking for them to keep an eye on any unexpected "purchases" their kids may have suddenly made...purchases that left no boxes or packaging, which they may claim they got on Craigslist or something.

Speaking of Craigslist, you should be checking that every day now too, sadly. Won't be clear what cities to include in the search though since you don't know where the robbers live.

This sucks.

More consumer electronics should have computer locks. Though I suppose the thieves had plenty of time to cut the cables, so I suppose that would have done no good; it would have only delayed them.
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post #18 of 77
12/28/08 at 4:46am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear of your loss. Like you said, it is only stuff that can easily be replaced. You and your family are safe which is the important thing.

My husband and I were burglarized many years ago. We actually came home to the people still in our house. Fortunately no one got hurt and because we came home early, they got nothing from us.
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post #19 of 77
12/28/08 at 7:05am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Patrick, that's appalling. You have my condolences, and Susan sends hers.
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post #20 of 77
12/28/08 at 8:17am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear that, I was robbed about 6 months after Katrina, they ripped my dashboard open and took my radio and other things from my truck.

Time to get a home alarm system and a nice new pistol.
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post #21 of 77
12/28/08 at 9:26am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

My condolences. My parents' house was robbed in Christmas of 2002 when they were visiting me for the holidays and I remember what a nightmare that was. Sense of security: shattered irrevocably. They now installed a crazy alarm and monitoring system which I always worry I'll trip up when I visit them, and the cops will arrest me a la that cell phone commercial.

I hope you and Susan can get everything back like it was (or as close as is possible under the circumstances) in short order.

Apparently it is a tactic of thieves to scope out houses during the holiday season to see who has left for vacation. I'd recommend buying those timer lights and if you're good friends with your neighbors, have them come over and park a car in your driveway to give it that "someone's home" look.
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post #22 of 77
12/28/08 at 9:58am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo Medina
I hope you and Susan can get everything back like it was (or as close as is possible under the circumstances) in short order.
Uh... I think there are limits to Michael's sympathy.

Sorry about the loss Patrick.

--
H
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post #23 of 77
12/28/08 at 10:01am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear about that Patrick. A co-worker of mine was moving into a new apartment a few weeks ago. When he went to get a load of stuff, they broke in a stole his plasma TV he just brought in. He didnt have renters insurance either. he was going to get it after he moved in.

Do you have an alarm Patrick? It may not stop them, but at least they have to listen to it as they steal, and it will cut down their browsing time.
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post #24 of 77
12/28/08 at 10:28am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Patrick: Didn't know what what was going on until I saw the mention in this week's RoundUp.

My sympathies. While there are many worse things that could happen to someone...this ain't all that far from the top. Mostly, that feeling of violation is just the worse.

Hope it all works out okay for you.

The water damage was the first thing that came to my mind, too, when I saw the mention!
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post #25 of 77
12/28/08 at 10:44am

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

That's terrible. I hope they catch the person responsible so you can get some of your stuff back.
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post #26 of 77
12/28/08 at 3:55pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Jimi,

Definitely wouldn't get the insurance company involved if you can help it. Not only would you have to come up with the deductible, they may have covered the window under comprehensive, but most policies don't cover items within the vehicle, unless they're factory installed.

On top of that, they'd probably raise your rates for making a claim.
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post #27 of 77
12/28/08 at 7:23pm
Thread Starter 

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Those M-Fers also stole 2 of my suitcases, obviously they chucked all the goodies in them and then made their getaway.
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post #28 of 77
12/28/08 at 8:11pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stan
Jimi,

Definitely wouldn't get the insurance company involved if you can help it. Not only would you have to come up with the deductible, they may have covered the window under comprehensive, but most policies don't cover items within the vehicle, unless they're factory installed.

On top of that, they'd probably raise your rates for making a claim.

Those are the reasons i've already decided against it.

If apple would be kind enough to help track stolen ipods they could easily be caught. They also stole about 15 blank gift cards that I keep on me at work for when customers return mecrhandise without receipts. I hope they are stupid enough to try to use them.

My friend wants me to leave the door unlocked with a $50 on the seat and set up a sting.. ha.
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post #29 of 77
12/28/08 at 8:21pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Sorry to hear what happened but I'd suggest keeping your eyes open for a while. My car was broken into a few years ago and like an idiot I kept over 1000 CDs in there. They broke the window and took them of course but they also stoke the CD player, countless DVDs, a few odd gifts, packages that I was meaning to take to the post office the next morning and even my car battery. I decided to use the insurance money to rebuy everything and, like an idiot again, I kept them in the car thinking I wouldn't get hit twice. I did of course. I was told that many thieves will just wait for insurance to come in and the victim to rebuy the stuff.

They eventually caught the two people doing it after a neighbor held a riffle to his head for three hours until police agreed to show up and take them away. I never got my stuff back though and I didn't rebuy anything either.
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post #30 of 77
12/28/08 at 9:53pm

Re: So I got robbed over the holidays....

Patrick that just stinks. I'm sorry to hear about your troubles and I commend you for your attitude. I hope that everything goes smoothly with the insurance and the like.
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