My car was broken into!!!

Just a short tale of woe.

Parked up as usual yesterday morning and locked my car setting the alarm.

On returning to the car at about 5:15 after work I noticed the door was only half closed and a bunch of A4 papers were on the drivers seat!

On opening the car with the key, the alarm fob wasn't working, I read the top paper which explained my alarm was going off and the Council broke into my car to disconnect the battery! Anyway the blurb went on and on about noise abatement and pollution etc, etc but flipping heck, they broke into my car and left it not only without an alarm but with the door half open.  

Okay I understand the local residents would have been peeved at the noise and I apologised to one or two who popped out to see me, they were very nice and apologised for the action they took as did I for the noise.

The final upshot was that the battery was flat and we couldn't get her bumped so I had to call the AA to give me a jump.

On the bright side they all know me now and I exchanged mobile numbers with a nice chap who said it's a lovely car and he'll keep an eye on it for me just in case, any problems and he'll give me a ring.

Still feel violated tho'

Cool.

Tian :mrgreen:

thats a criminal offence isn't it? especiailly as the caused damage to the vehicle (flat battery was all there fault honest)

Good outcome in the end and a bonus of a security guard as well! :wink:

Where was the car left? Not to specifically. I mean I'm not going to come and pinch it

The Council have a duty to abate a noise 'nuisance' (which is legally defined at great length)…they are able to use means necessary to do so - which could have meant towing your car to a secure compound, where you would have had to pay their costs to have it released…. This is what they would possibly have done if they couldn't get into the car, or couldn't turn the alarm off.
Having said that, I think they were being a bit harsh, as noise from an alarm during the daytime wouldn't be a nuisance, merely an inconvenience to local residents. I would guess they did this to prevent it causing a nuisance during the night - they don't know when you are coming back to the car!
Alarms should have a cutout after twenty minutes - I suspect your battery was flat because the alarm was running constantly, rather than because of their action? Time to have it looked at?
BTW, did anyone bother to report it to the police? It's just possible your alarm went off because some git was messing with your motor!

surely if the battery was flat before they tampered with the car, the alarm would have stopped?

No, battery could still have enough power to run the alarm, but not enough to turn the engine….
The council disconnecting the battery doesn't make it go flat!

wonder if they went for a spin in it.

How does disconnecting the battery stop the alarm??


Most Alarms have a built in 24 hour back up battery insde them!!!!!!!!!

Depends on the alarm…some do rely on the car battery, especially older or cheaper alarms.  
Those with a built in battery would tend to go flat much quicker - possibly they recharge from the car electric system ?

Just to clarify, the battery was drained by the alarm sounding almost without pause for five hours. It is an old alarm, but what do you expect on an old car! :mrgreen:

The Council left very detailed info for me and to be honest I don't blame them for the action they took. I'd be interested to know if they had to call the Police to open it though as I'm not sure on their rights as a civil authority to gain access to a private vehicle. Maybe TOTR can clarify that one.

Ultimately, I've got to know a few of the people on the street and they are all very nice and one guy gave me his mobile just in case there are any problems.

Tian

Im currently working for the county council in the highways department. The council dont have any authority to be able to move vehicles, therefore im sure that would mean they do not have the authority to break into a vehicle!
Sure it would of been the district council that done this but surely they would have to get the police to do this.
For instance, if you lived in a private property and there was a problem with noise, i.e music, the district council couldnt come around, break in, and turn the stereo down. A vehicle is also private property…
Also, is it not in the highway code that you cant sound your horn between something like 7am and 11pm - this stems from noise pollution. And this happened between those times so the actions seem v.drastic, if not illegal..
I would check with the police a) if they have a report b) if it was one of theyre officers who done it.

ok time to waste my thousands post.

my comment about it being illegel was made in jest. aslong as your car is undamaged buy there actions then i wouldn't worry about it. might be worth having a check of the alarm or fit a new jobby if it's going off without anyone touching it. but as my bike can set my car alarm off i wouldn't worry about it. and as you've said you've made a friend and a watcher out of it so no harm done.

i would feel abit peeved that someone had opened my car but as they caused no damage they must have used the correct tools which means police or locksmith (councils are not aloud to go equiped with lock lifts or picks)

no harm done hay fella.

by the way your picture winked at me the other day and now i find it strangly alluring. :mrgreen:

i''ve thought that was breaking and entering, they didnt have permission to gain entry to your car, okay it was making a racket, but surely the rozzers should have come to deal with it, not the council, or am i just being naive :dontknow:

I was just on the phone to the district council on a unrelated subject but thought I would pose the Q..
Initially they said they had no rights what so ever, then i was put onto a officer at the Environmentle Health. They said that they do have powers to serve notice if there was many complaints and the noise was persistant. However they would contact the DVLA first to find out who owns the vehicle.
They do even have the powers to take the vehicle away.

Carrying on from my last reply; I would like to see them tow a house away..!

But christ I would be 'off. Especially with damages, then having to wait ages to get a claim for them

Someone had a very similar problem on another forum I go on.

http://www.brick-yard.…_posts.asp?TID=24243&PN=1

I'd be well peeved.

how did they break in? take it they didn't damage the car atall, does any one here remember armour plating that used to go round the door handles on mark 1's and 2's to stop people from driving a screw driver in between the handle and door to break in, can you still get this?

apc195y said

how did they break in? take it they didn't damage the car atall, does any one here remember armour plating that used to go round the door handles on mark 1's and 2's to stop people from driving a screw driver in between the handle and door to break in, can you still get this?

yes gsf sell them

Armour door plates -don't drive a Mk1 without them! Any old moron can open your car with a screwdriver next to the handle otherwise!
Having said that, you will find that old door locks on Mk1's are pretty poor anyway - they wear - especially the driver's lock, which gets the most use. Anyone who's tried other VW keys in their door will confirm this!
Steering locks are much more difficult!
Glad it's been confirmed - like I said, the District Council does have powers to abate a noise nuisance, and that means entry into your car. They should get a warrant for this from a magistrate first, but if access is fairly easy they may do it without a warrant and save costs ( they are entitled to reclaim costs against the owner of the vehicle)….
Don't underestimate the annoyance which alarms can cause at night - it is not unknown for a fraught sleepless neighbour to 'disable' an alarm themselves if it goes on all night! They don't always take as much care as the Council! I've been kept awake by a neighbour's car alarm, and it wasn't very funny!
Unusual to force entry during the daytime though, as in this case - maybe the Council were worried that if they didn't stop the noise in the daytime, it might have continued all night. They don't know whether you're coming back at 5.15 or whether the car will be there all night…
Just for interest, the Council can also get a warrant and enter your house to turn off your house alarm if it causes nuisance.

 the Council can also get a warrant and enter your house to turn off your house alarm if it causes nuisance.

from what i remember they have to have a wooden top present for this aswell though.