Advice needed - Bike seized

[simpso]

Had my meeting with the sarge.
He was very sorry and said bike should never have been seized. The mess up seems to be with the way btp handled the situation.
So guys never get accused of stealing ur own bike in a train station.

Good news is I should be having my bike delivered back to me either tonight or tomorrow. Woop

 

[NorthernDave]

I agree with every part of this except the IPCC bit. They genuinely wouldn't be interested due to the level of the issue and would send it back to a local complaint, so I'd replace that with classic's suggestion of a complaint to the inspector.

To be honest the IPCC bit was just a tongue in cheek suggestion in case the OP got nowhere with the sergeant - hopefully by now a bit of common sense has been applied and the bike is on it's way back to the rightful owner.

Edit to say that @simpso posted while I was typing - good news at last!

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Had my meeting with the sarge.
He was very sorry and said bike should never have been seized. The mess up seems to be with the way btp handled the situation.
So guys never get accused of stealing ur own bike in a train station.

Good news is I should be having my bike delivered back to me either tonight or tomorrow. Woop

Good should be with a written apology for the way they passed you around as well.

 

[classic33]

And the BTP as well.

 

[steveindenmark]

I can see why it was siezed to begin with. Two parties claiming its theirs. Let the police keep it until one of the parties proves it theirs.

After that you have got involved in a typical police "Nothing to do with me" scenario. But it also sounds you are dealing with BTP and your local force. Thats like Oil and water.

I hope you get it sorted.

 

[jefmcg]

I can see why it was siezed to begin with. Two parties claiming its theirs. Let the police keep it until one of the parties proves it theirs.

You're really not getting this.

One person has a bike from the most popular shop in the UK.
Other person says "I used to have a bike just like that" (him, and 10,000 other people).
BTP decide to apply the wisdom of Solomon to the situation, rather than the wisdom of William of Occam.
Legitimate owner is deprived of their bike for nearly a week.

 

[steveindenmark]

You're really not getting this.

One person has a bike from the most popular shop in the UK.
Other person says "I used to have a bike just like that" (him, and 10,000 other people).
BTP decide to apply the wisdom of Solomon to the situation, rather than the wisdom of William of Occam.
Legitimate owner is deprived of their bike for nearly a week.

Oh Im getting it. Maybe you should read the ops first post. Put the shoe on the other foot. If the op had stolen the bike and the guy who stopped him was the owner of the bike and the police let the op ride off. Is that better?

 

[Pale Rider]

Leaving aside the rights and wrongs, two serving coppers on here reckon the seizure was a disproportionate reaction.

On any view, it does appear the police over stepped the mark.

 

[jefmcg]

Oh Im getting it. Maybe you should read the ops first post. Put the shoe on the other foot. If the op had stolen the bike and the guy who stopped him was the owner of the bike and the police let the op ride off. Is that better?

I once had $A20 stolen from my wallet at work. Should I have been able to take a twenty from someone else's wallet, because it looks like mine?

If you buy a mass market bike, don't record the serial number and have it stolen, then you aren't getting it back. You are going to have to live with that. You can't claim another person's bike half a year later, because it looks like yours.

Yeah, it's bad. But there's no way of knowing it's yours without the serial number.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

It's getting silly now, and unlike most of the things on here when people moan about the police, this one is genuinely starting to get embarrassing...

Aye, but it wasn'ae you fault

 

[classic33]

Oh Im getting it. Maybe you should read the ops first post. Put the shoe on the other foot. If the op had stolen the bike and the guy who stopped him was the owner of the bike and the police let the op ride off. Is that better?

Its more to do with the runaround that has been given to the OP. And speaking only for myself on this part, the removal of the persons transport. Would a car have been seized in the same way? Somehow I doubt it.

The perception of the bike as a genuine means of transport, not just a leisure item, needs to be taken seriously.

 

[steveindenmark]

Bearing in mind it was BTP

 

[classic33]

Bearing in mind it was BTP

That got the local police involved

 

[xzenonuk]

glad he is getting his bike back

 

[Buck]

@simpso - I've read this from the start and you have done well to keep so calm and rational in what reads as a highly frustrating experience.

Fingers crossed you get the bike back tomorrow and a strong apology along with it.