£10,000 boost to theft war
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by Juliet Parish Loss adjuster Ellis & Buckle is joining Commercial Motor in the fight against truck theft by setting up a division to recover stolen trucks, trailers, plant and machinery. And to emphasise its commitment a £10,000 reward is on offer for the recovery of a £160,000 unit belonging to heavy machinery haulier AET Transport Services.
David Sharp, manager of the newly formed Plant Investi gation Division in Reading, Berks, says hauliers will only pay for its service if their units are recovered. The company will demand 20% of a recovered unit's book value when working directly for a haulier, or 10% if it is dealing with a claim from an insurance company.
Sharp says that within 20 minutes of a haulier contracting him he can notify the theft via a computer-linked fax to around 75 contacts in the police, shipping lines and plant industry.
He recommends that hauliers contact him no later than 48 hours after the theft, before stolen units have left the country. Once stolen trucks get overseas they are hard to recover because they are often used for scrap, says Sharp.
However the scheme could lead to trucks being recovered years after they have been stolen, he adds. Their details will be kept on a computer which will be referred to if any suspect units are found during his regular port checks.
LI One of the trucks Sharp is currently trying to recover is a Volvo F12 298kW (400hp) Globetrotter which belongs to Poole-based AET; it is fitted with a Nooteboorn extending trailer. The three-axle trailer with a hydraulic lifting front axle is reinforced with 4.5 tonnes of steel to carry a 45-tonne metre P1(45 Palfinger truck loader. The unit, registration number H3 AET, has a white cab with blue signwriting. It was stolen on Saturday 31 October from AET's secured yard in Dorset.
If you know where the unit is and want to win that £10,000 reward, contact David Sharp on (0734) 567890.