Someone cut my bike lock.

[Vickyjrob]

I went to a friend's house for half an hour. I left my bike locked to the railings outside a tenement house in Glasgow. When I came back the bike lock had been cut and my bike had been thrown onto their next door neighbour's garden which had no railings around. The street surprisingly had no lamp posts or other railings nearby and certainly no bike parks as it is a residential street. I can understand why they did it. The railings had a plant growing around it but I made sure to attach it to only the railings. I didn't damage their plant in the slightest. The building is a Tenement building so I'm presuming that they do not own it therefore the railings are not their property.
I would like to know what my rights are. They didn't damage the bike but my lock cannot be used again. Can I press charges for criminal damage?

 

[gb155]

Did you lock it to someone else' house then ?

Sorry a bit confused.

 

[gavintc]

The building is a Tenement building so I'm presuming that they do not own it.

What the hell do you mean by this statement?

 

[gb155]

What the hell do you mean by this statement?

Wiki Says

[font="'Comic Sans MS"]In Scotland, the term 'tenement' lacks the pejorative connotations it carries elsewhere, and refers simply to any block of flats sharing a common central staircase and lacking an elevator, particularly those constructed prior to 1919. Tenements were, and continue to be, inhabited by a wide range of social classes and income groups[/font]

 

[gavintc]

Wiki Says

In Scotland, the term 'tenement' lacks the pejorative connotations it carries elsewhere, and refers simply to any block of flats sharing a common central staircase and lacking an elevator, particularly those constructed prior to 1919. Tenements were, and continue to be, inhabited by a wide range of social classes and income groups

Exactly, if he intends to survive living in Glasgow, he should drop the pejorative comment about tenements. If he wants to educate himself he might look at just how much tenements sell for and what type of people live in them.

 

[yello]

Blimey, I didn't even know that 'tenement' had a pejorative sense! I've used the word all my life merely to describe a type of building.

Btw, gavintc, your response confuses me. The wikipedia entry said the word lacks the perjorative connotations so I think it was used in the manner that I'm familiar with. That is, no inference intended.

Vickyjrob, welcome! You've been given a bit of a hell fire response there. Please don't fret, I think it was a simple and honest misunderstanding. In answer to your question, sorry no idea. I suspect if you could find the culprit that you could indeed press charges.

Was there a notice on the railings? There often is when residents don't want bikes etc chained to them.

 

[Brains]

The solutions are:

Do Nothing, but buy a bigger and better lock - Abus Granite 10+ Gold standard will take the average vandal more than 10 mins to saw through

Buy some heavy duty chain and lock all manner of items to the railings - there is (was?) a wonderful website made by a guy with the same problem as you, who over a period of many months locked baths, car wheels, furniture, basins, doors, basically anything large and heavy with a hole in it to a set of railings and then took photos of the results.

Remove the railings. As happened to an office in the City of London who removed a couriers bike. Dozens of couriers arrived tooled up the following night and removed the railings. Cost to the company was in six figures and the insurance refused to pay out

Paint the railings (just the top) - suggest alternate day glow orange or some other unsuitable colour. (use hammerite paint)

Cheap'n'easy - Get a packet of cable ties, the biggest industrial ones you can find. Attach a dozen at a time tightly to the railings on a regular basis. It takes time and effort to remove them. (ensure colour contrasts with the railings)

Oh, and if you find out 'whodunit' then a small tube of super glue in their door lock will knacker their lock. Does not matter if they are in or out when you do it. Either way they will need a locksmith and a new lock.

 

[downfader]

I remember the lock blog. He chained a kiddies trike on there one week. I think he ended up in court for it?

 

[cookiemonster]

I went to a friend's house for half an hour. I left my bike locked to the railings outside a tenement house in Glasgow. When I came back the bike lock had been cut and my bike had been thrown onto their next door neighbour's garden which had no railings around. The street surprisingly had no lamp posts or other railings nearby and certainly no bike parks as it is a residential street. I can understand why they did it. The railings had a plant growing around it but I made sure to attach it to only the railings. I didn't damage their plant in the slightest. The building is a Tenement building so I'm presuming that they do not own it therefore the railings are not their property.
I would like to know what my rights are. They didn't damage the bike but my lock cannot be used again. Can I press charges for criminal damage?

Hi Vicky

If you want a response from a legal eagle, if you PM Patrick Stevens, one of our members, he will be able to point you in the right direction.

Hope this helps,

Gaveintc, you're an arse

 

[BSRU]

It is criminal damage, even councils can get into real trouble if they illegally remove bicycles chained to railings.

 

[Bigsharn]

...Paint the railings (just the top) - suggest alternate day glow orange or some other unsuitable colour. (use hammerite paint)

Cheap'n'easy - Get a packet of cable ties, the biggest industrial ones you can find. Attach a dozen at a time tightly to the railings on a regular basis. It takes time and effort to remove them. (ensure colour contrasts with the railings)

I'm sure I can help there
http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/Kustom_PCs_Shop_Cable_Ties___Bases_98.html

 

[Vickyjrob]

Wow, a lot of these responses are just stupid (Brains and Gavintc). I was hoping for some constructive help. I'm not going to do anything petty.
And when I stated that it was a tenement block I wasn't referring to any social class of the inhabitant, I was pointing out that it is a shared building not owned by anyone in particular. And in response to Gavintc, Glasgow is mainly made up of Tenement buildings so any sort or class of person can live in a flat in one.


There were no signs anywhere. I would not have chained it if there were and I would have deserved it if I did. My Uncle is going to give me a motorbike lock.

Glasgow has a great cycling community. A lot of people ride bikes and they're chained to railings all over the city. This isn't an uncommon thing so I don't understand what their problem was. They must have seen me do it through the window and waited until I had gone to make a statement.

 

[Brains]

Wow, a lot of these responses are just stupid (Brains and Gavintc). I was hoping for some constructive help. I'm not going to do anything petty.
My Uncle is going to give me a motorbike lock.

errr, that was my first (serious) suggestion

 

[mr_cellophane]

 

 Can I press charges for criminal damage?

Against who ?

What proof do you ?

 

[ufkacbln]

The solutions are:

Buy some heavy duty chain and lock all manner of items to the railings - there is (was?) a wonderful website made by a guy with the same problem as you, who over a period of many months locked baths, car wheels, furniture, basins, doors, basically anything large and heavy with a hole in it to a set of railings and then took photos of the results.

What should Iput on the fence


My favourite was the Fridge door