Locked up

[Red Light]

Went down after work tonight to get my bike and cycle home - bike is kept in a big locked steel cage full of Sheffield stands with security card access and CCTV cameras - to find someone had put their bike on the other side of the stand from mine and then locked their bike and mine to the stand with their D-lock. Doh!

Tried going through the building to find whose bike it was but no claimers. Called security who came and had a look and said they couldn't cut the lock off as it would be classed as criminal damage (I think they are right) and the other bike might get stolen if left without a lock but said the other bike looked too new and expensive for it to be one of those lock it and come back in the night to cut the locks and steal the bike. They did promise to keep the CCTV camera on it through the night just in case though. So I ended up reciprocating by putting my lock round their bike as well and leaving a note asking them to call me for a mutual unlocking session and then got a lift home.

So far I've heard nothing so I'll take an angle grinder in in the morning and cut it off if no-ones been in touch. Real bummer as I was looking forward to my cycle home.

Anyone else had this happen and what did you do?

 

[HovR]

When locking up in town at the busy bike racks I always double check I haven't accidentally locked up someone else's bike with mine.. I imagine it'd be quite embarrassing to come back to your bike to find someone waiting there for you to retrieve theirs!

 

[CopperCyclist]

I think you've covered yourself from a criminal damage charge. You have a defence to commit damage to protect our property. This is a subjective test.

You already said you fear a situation where someone has locked the bike to come back and steal it later. You've made security aware. You've taken steps to find the owner of the bike. You've taken steps to protect your bike, and left a note for the owner. I'd say if they still haven't contacted or unlocked your bike tomorrow, you're in your right to cut the lock off.

Hell, I'd have done it today!

Let us know how things go. An annoying situation.

 

[ufkacbln]

Is it a regular bike?

Unlikely with security card access and CCTV, but this was an old trick at commuter parking areas.

Lock bike to rack by mistake, knowing full well that owner would have to go home and leave it overnight... which left you stacks of time to deal with lock. If someone questioned yo uthen you had a good excuse as to why yu were tampering.

 

[benb]

I don't understand why you locked your bike to theirs as well.

 

[gaz]

I don't understand why you locked your bike to theirs as well.

So Red Light can educate them about bicycle locking etiquette!

RULE 1: Don't lock your bike to another bike!

 

[HLaB]

Given Red Light's description, I think it'll be a innocent mistake (albeit inconvenient)!

 

[benb]

So Red Light can educate them about bicycle locking etiquette!

RULE 1: Don't lock your bike to another bike!

Ah, righto.

 

[BentMikey]

B0ll0cks mate, that truely sucks! I hope it's an innocent mistake and that the chap responsible is suitably apologetic.

 

[MattHB]

I've wondered if this ever happens when locking my bike in the lockup under my building. Crazy!

 

[Keith Oates]

Very frustrating for that to happen but let's hope it's just a genuine mistake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ianrauk]

any update?

I remember coming back to the train station to pick up my bike which I had locked to a Sheffield stand. When I went to unlock it I realised I had also locked the bike sharing the stand to mine.
Luckily it looked like the owner had yet to return to his bike, though he may have done, saw what I had done and buggered off.
It's easy done.

 

[subaqua]

somebody else had this happen to them on bikeradar turns out the other rider had gone away on business or something.

 

[sunnyjim]

Happened to me a long time ago. One of last to leave the pub at chucking out time, & found someone had locked their bike to mine with a combination D lock round my frame and their back wheel. After some time asking other assorted revellers & yelling up at tenement windows, one of the party produced a set of bike spanners from his pocket (he wasn't a cyclist...) and removed the front wheel from the offending bike. I carried the bike with wheel locked on most of the way home, then hid it behind a shed in a school playground (about 2 AM by this time)& came back next morning with car to pick it up. Having got it home and in daylight it took about 5 minutes to open the lock, which only had 4 digits. The wheel turned out to be quite a good one, & I used it on another bike for several years. I think I've still got it, so if the original owner reads this & recognises the incident, you can have it back now. The pub was just off the Cannongate in Edinburgh sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. Might have been The World's End- the memory is hazy.

 

[sunnyjim]

Interesting to know how quickly the angle grinder gets through it, if it comes to that.