Bike Register anyone?

[mjr]

Four years or more back at Peterborough City Council event the Cambridgeshire police stamped my bike and put it in the bike register system and the details were to follow in the post a bit later. I'm still waiting.

I remember when the first carbon bikes came out and the feds kept using the metal hammer stamps for a while...

 

[Dirk]

All my bikes are on Bike Register. It's free and has got to be better than doing nothing.
I've found it also helps to reassure a purchaser of ownership when selling a bike.

 

[mjr]

All my bikes are on Bike Register. It's free and has got to be better than doing nothing.

You can use "has got to be better than doing nothing" to argue for all sorts of daft actions.

I've found it also helps to reassure a purchaser of ownership when selling a bike.

Some purchasers are foolish.

 

[Dirk]

You can use "has got to be better than doing nothing" to argue for all sorts of daft actions.


Some purchasers are foolish.

What's 'daft' about registering your bike on a reputable site such as Bike Register?
Some purchasers are indeed 'foolish', but a Bike Register log book is an added layer of reassurance, along with receipts etc.
I doubt whether anyone selling a stolen bike could register it on a site such as Bike Register if it had previously been registered and reported as stolen.

 

[vickster]

I got two bikes marked and registered at an event in Belfast last Autumn. The peelers took all our details, saying that an email would be sent to confirm registration. Alas, no email ever arrived so I'm not sure if my bikes are actually registered.

Think you can check online

 

[mjr]

What's 'daft' about registering your bike on a reputable site such as Bike Register?

I feel it's daft to give your personal details and your bikes' details away so cheaply for pretty much no benefit.

Why's Bike Register a reputable site? There appears to be little to distinguish it from various other competitors, including previous police-backed favourite Immobilise which failed to keep their site secure.

Some purchasers are indeed 'foolish', but a Bike Register log book is an added layer of reassurance, along with receipts etc.

Receipts are gold - no problem with that - but a Bike Register log book is basically marketing pap. Also, aren't you encouraging the new owner to give their personal info to Selectamark Security Systems plc? I can't see any instructions on how to delete a registration from their database - I wonder if that will change come May.

I doubt whether anyone selling a stolen bike could register it on a site such as Bike Register if it had previously been registered and reported as stolen.

I'd bet I could register a stolen bike on a credible-looking site and you pretty much can't register it on all of them. If you did, it could become an onerous amount of work every time you move home or buy or sell a bike.

 

[Dirk]

I feel it's daft to give your personal details and your bikes' details away so cheaply for pretty much no benefit.

Why's Bike Register a reputable site? There appears to be little to distinguish it from various other competitors, including previous police-backed favourite Immobilise which failed to keep their site secure.


Receipts are gold - no problem with that - but a Bike Register log book is basically marketing pap. Also, aren't you encouraging the new owner to give their personal info to Selectamark Security Systems plc? I can't see any instructions on how to delete a registration from their database - I wonder if that will change come May.


I'd bet I could register a stolen bike on a credible-looking site and you pretty much can't register it on all of them. If you did, it could become an onerous amount of work every time you move home or buy or sell a bike.

Whatever.

 

[mjr]

Whatever.

There's no helping some people. They're just determined to give their personal details away to snake oil salespeople.

Anyway, can I interest you in buying a bridge? Or I'll give you 20% if you'll help me get my seized assets out of Zimbabwe?

 

[Dirk]

There's no helping some people. They're just determined to give their personal details away to snake oil salespeople.

Anyway, can I interest you in buying a bridge? Or I'll give you 20% if you'll help me get my seized assets out of Zimbabwe?

I'm pretty sure that the people behind Bike Register wouldn't take too kindly to being described as 'snake oil salesmen', given that Bike Register is the only Police approved cycle database.
As regards the rest of your post - well, that's just plain unnecessary, isn't it?

 

[mjr]

I'm pretty sure that the people behind Bike Register wouldn't take too kindly to being described as 'snake oil salesmen', given that Bike Register is the only Police approved cycle database.

It might be the only Police approved cycle database, but there are other Police approved property databases which let you register bikes, so it's a bit like that "Product of the Year" marketing label: meaningless.

Snake oil is "product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit" which I think is accurate. Keep your own records. Don't let some plc be able to publish them without your consent, like happened before.

 

[Dirk]

Snake oil is "product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit" which I think is accurate.

That may be the case, but what you actually said was "snake oil salesmen", implying that they were knowingly deceiving people or selling fraudulent goods.
I would be very careful about making accusations like that, implied or otherwise, on a public forum and would need some substantial evidence to back up such a claim.
Do you have any?

 

[mjr]

That may be the case, but what you actually said was "snake oil salesmen", implying that they were knowingly deceiving people or selling fraudulent goods.
I would be very careful about making accusations like that, implied or otherwise, on a public forum and would need some substantial evidence to back up such a claim.

OK, for the avoidance of doubt: I say/said Selectamark Security Systems plc is selling a product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. I expect they stop short of selling fraudulent goods.

As to whether they're knowingly deceiving people... do you think "the only Police approved cycle database" is accurate when there's other Police-approved databases containing cycle details (but also other stuff), or whether "used by every UK Police Force" implies only someone in each police force has an account at Bike Register or it implies that police on the ground actually use it - that last one was what https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/selectamark-security-systems-plc-a14-269068.html hinged upon.

Now, back to my earlier question: what's the substantial evidence that Bike Register is a reputable site rather than just another typical freemium personal data collection operation? Any public tests of their security to make sure they're not another Immobilise, perhaps?

 

[Milkfloat]

Whilst not quite a vociferous as @mjr , I too have not loaded all my details onto these sites. I do however have everything needed to do so if the worst happens and my bike is stolen. I have the invoices, frame numbers, photos of frame numbers, components and descriptions ready to go, but I see no reason to upload this information until I really need to. I would rather keep control of the information, as it offers no benefit, only risk, until the bikes are stolen.

 

[Dirk]

OK, for the avoidance of doubt: I say/said Selectamark Security Systems plc is selling a product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. I expect they stop short of selling fraudulent goods.

So they are not, as you described them - "snake oil salesmen".

As to whether they're knowingly deceiving people... do you think "the only Police approved cycle database" is accurate when there's other Police-approved databases containing cycle details (but also other stuff), or whether "used by every UK Police Force" implies only someone in each police force has an account at Bike Register or it implies that police on the ground actually use it - that last one was what https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/selectamark-security-systems-plc-a14-269068.html hinged upon.

But the judgement from the ASA said - "We therefore concluded that the claim that BikeRegister was used by every police force had been substantiated. We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules (Misleading advertising), (Substantiation), and (Exaggeration), but did not find it in breach. "

 

[confusedcyclist]

So they are not, as you described them - "snake oil salesmen".


But the judgement from the ASA said - "We therefore concluded that the claim that BikeRegister was used by every police force had been substantiated. We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules (Misleading advertising), (Substantiation), and (Exaggeration), but did not find it in breach. "

I think you missed this bit:

Now, back to my earlier question: what's the substantial evidence that Bike Register is a reputable site rather than just another typical freemium personal data collection operation? Any public tests of their security to make sure they're not another Immobilise, perhaps?