Tory MP proposes Car Boot Sale Ban
Discussion
AlexH said:
Ridiculous proposal, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if something was done about the huge amounts of stolen and counterfeit goods shifted at car boot sales.
That is the problem.
6 garages in my a road near here were broken into last saturday night. Powertools, lawnmowers etc taken. The police reckoned that they were on sale at a car boot sale, before the householders had even woken up!
Also unless you noted serial numbers, or identified your power tools and garden tools in some way, your chamces of finding them again are next to nothing, as one power tool looks very much like another!
AlexH said:
Ridiculous proposal, but it wouldn't be a bad idea if something was done about the huge amounts of stolen and counterfeit goods shifted at car boot sales.
That will be his reasoning. Lets face it - the modern equivalent is eBay and that leaves a trail for the law to follow so (I suspect - no evidence) isn't favoured by the criminal fraternity as a channel for liquidating ill-gotten goods into hard cash.
Nope. Its "car boots" (and the pub) where this stuff is got rid of.
The real shame of it is that people seem willing to buy obviously dodgy stuff as its a "bargain"...not for the person it was stolen off you *******s.
Personally I wouldn't miss them if they were banned. But I am dead against banning them all the same. Its a civil liberties issue. Why should the law abiding majority be punished for the actions of the criminal few?
Don said:
The real shame of it is that people seem willing to buy obviously dodgy stuff as its a "bargain"...not for the person it was stolen off you *******s.
Its all the hypocritical a
holes out there who present such a problem in tackling burglary/theft; they'll complain to high heaven about the amount of crime going on, but at the same time buy goods that they know damn well have been stolen from somewhere. Without these fkers there would be no market for stolen goods, and hence the incentive to steal disappears rapidly. It would be nice if the authorities could take a much stronger line on receiving stolen goods, but I suspect the virtual impossibility of proving these cases means it will never happen. 
Good point about ebay. Take for instance dodgy V5's. The paperwork says maximum £5000 fine or 2 years @ HMP for buggering about with documents. I for one don't want my frigging cars nicked so that they can have a reg doc bought on ebay for a few £hundred. I made a point of asking DVLA and they said that they were doing all about it, they contacted me back and said that they had tried to speak to ebays HQ and got a "Well, if it isn't on our prohibited items list, you can foxtrot oscar". I reckon ebay has a lot to answer for because people pay. Let's face it, one could make a bloody fortune stealing and breaking classic cars on ebay.
all about it, they contacted me back and said that they had tried to speak to ebays HQ and got a "Well, if it isn't on our prohibited items list, you can foxtrot oscar". I reckon ebay has a lot to answer for because people pay. Let's face it, one could make a bloody fortune stealing and breaking classic cars on ebay. Isn't there a more obvious way of sorting this out - get the police to patrol car boot sales.
I mean, it would solve the pirate DVD sales in an instant, but also, if anyone reported any stolen goods in the area, they could just keep an eye out for anything matching the description.
OK, not ideal I know, but I reckon that if there's some thief trying to flog a suspiciously new-looking cordless drill on a rickety trestle table in a dusty car park for a random price, and the police turn up saying that they're looking for stolen goods, I find it very unlikely that they won't be able to determine if he's lying or not. 'Where were you at 5AM this morning' 'err...'.
I mean, it would solve the pirate DVD sales in an instant, but also, if anyone reported any stolen goods in the area, they could just keep an eye out for anything matching the description.
OK, not ideal I know, but I reckon that if there's some thief trying to flog a suspiciously new-looking cordless drill on a rickety trestle table in a dusty car park for a random price, and the police turn up saying that they're looking for stolen goods, I find it very unlikely that they won't be able to determine if he's lying or not. 'Where were you at 5AM this morning' 'err...'.
jasandjules said:
Agreed.
Surely if the police actually did something to catch the feckers who nick stuff rather than refill that Gatso........
Allow us to use knives/guns/bats to defend our property for example.......
Took the words right out of my mouth although the other day Old bill near me were patrolling the estates and when they saw me drive down the road they did a quick U-turn ,so i just pulled into a bus stop and waited for those famous words ...'Evening Sir'
We need videos of 'pummel the burglar'from the households then an eve slot on the box to show it.
Twincam16 said:
Very sensible stuff
Oh
Agree entirely. Take a strict line on pirates/counterfeiters - it can't be that hard, a few bodies per event will soon sort the pros out. As for the scumbags dealing in stolen items, then a similar approach, maybe with a list of local stolen goods/serials. Of course it requires the public to make the effort to catalogue their possessions. Do you record serials on new equipment? I do, but then I'm a bit anal about it. 
Better still, decent security in every home/garage/workplace would help. Again, will probably always be a minority who make the effort. not saying of course that it can't be overcome, but solid doors/windows, decent locks, security lights, maybe even cameras if you live in a high-crime area. Not difficult, not that expensive, not top of most peoples' priorities. Sorry to contradict folks but I did a project a few years ago on the market for stolen goods, including car boot sales and the amount of nicked gear that goes through is small compared to other markets: mates and mate of mates, pubs, door to door selling locally (like baby clothes, battries and nappies), dody businesses that take coffee for the office, IT and tools. The small ads and Ebay are a more likely outlet that car boots.
The work included a load of car boot sale tactics like checking names of vendors and car reg numbers,and handing out notices to buyers as they entered. Labourintensie
Problem is, as someone had already said, that you and I are happy to but a cheap set of golf balls, or a cheap drill or the latest mobile phone without asking too many questions. And that includes people we know are nicking stuff from work. That includes 'diodgy' fags and booze that they pass off as smugled through Dover when in fact it comes from your local spar sop at 3 in the morning.
The work included a load of car boot sale tactics like checking names of vendors and car reg numbers,and handing out notices to buyers as they entered. Labourintensie
Problem is, as someone had already said, that you and I are happy to but a cheap set of golf balls, or a cheap drill or the latest mobile phone without asking too many questions. And that includes people we know are nicking stuff from work. That includes 'diodgy' fags and booze that they pass off as smugled through Dover when in fact it comes from your local spar sop at 3 in the morning.
As far as serial numbers are concerned, they're almost always on a peel-off/ easily defaceable label these days...
I use a Dremel-type drill (no, I didn't buy it from a car boot sale!) to 'engrave' the serial numbers (or postcode etc) dot-matrix fashion, all the way through.
To deface that would mean cutting a chunk out of the casing; not many people want a 240v item with a hole you could slip a finger into.
Now why do I get the feeling that Vixpy will mutilate that last statement...?
I use a Dremel-type drill (no, I didn't buy it from a car boot sale!) to 'engrave' the serial numbers (or postcode etc) dot-matrix fashion, all the way through.
To deface that would mean cutting a chunk out of the casing; not many people want a 240v item with a hole you could slip a finger into.
Now why do I get the feeling that Vixpy will mutilate that last statement...?
Twincam16 said:
Isn't there a more obvious way of sorting this out - get the police to patrol car boot sales.
I mean, it would solve the pirate DVD sales in an instant, but also, if anyone reported any stolen goods in the area, they could just keep an eye out for anything matching the description.
OK, not ideal I know, but I reckon that if there's some thief trying to flog a suspiciously new-looking cordless drill on a rickety trestle table in a dusty car park for a random price, and the police turn up saying that they're looking for stolen goods, I find it very unlikely that they won't be able to determine if he's lying or not. 'Where were you at 5AM this morning' 'err...'.
Interesting.. I was at a car boot sale last summer and the trading standards, supported by some 4 policemen were 'raiding' a stand selling dodgy DVD's. You wouldn't believe the verbal abuse the police were getting from the buyers and sellers! Unfortunately the local boot sales seem to be becoming 'no go' areas for law abiding people, and the law itself for that matter. Perhaps this is why the tory MP was saying they should be banned?
minghis said:
Interesting.. I was at a car boot sale last summer and the trading standards, supported by some 4 policemen were 'raiding' a stand selling dodgy DVD's.
Ah, but that is about copyright and as we know the entertainment industry is very willing to make a lot of noise about that to defend their own, er, sales policy. Some might see it as a rather different method of removing excessive amounts of cash from a large part of the community for a poor quality products.
Still, it gets a lot of publicity and as a crime is probably easy to prove compared to a nicked hammer drill or elderly lawn mower.
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