Get me my bike back

September 27, 2010 10:50 AM

How can I recover / get reimbursed for my stolen bicycle?

My building has a locked storage room in the basement that only residents get a key to. When I moved in, I 'registered' my bike with the building which involved description of my bike to them (verbally, no one took notes when I was present) and getting a sticker with an assigned number. There was no paperwork that was signed.
Fast forward to last month, I go downstairs to ride my bike on a Saturday morning and its gone. I file a report with the concierge at the front desk who informs me that I shouldn't worry, the management office will pay me back for it. I pay a visit to the management office on Monday morning, and they tell me 'that's too bad. Not our responsibility'. they then send me a copy of the building rules and regulations that state 'the building is not responsible for items lost in storage'. All this is well and good, except that my bike cost me $2,000 plus tax (Cannondale Rush hybrid purchased in 2008).
I should also note that there are closed circuit cameras at 3 locations in the building that are at the exits only. I asked if I can go into the office and watch tapes and I was told that no, for privacy reasons I can't do that.
I have filed a police report with the city's police department as well and put my bike's serial # on TRACE.
I would like to know what legal ways I can go about getting reimbursed for my bicycle from the management office / building. All advice is welcome no matter how time consuming it will be on my part. I am in the wonderful city of Boston.
Thank you in advance.

posted by KB.Boston_implant.By way of NY to law & government (9 answers total)

Are you a renter? This could be covered by renter's insurance. Sometimes vehicle insurance covers this sort of thing, if you have a car.

Did you tell the police that the building has security cameras that likely show who took your bike? Maybe the police could get the building folks to be more helpful.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:58 AM on September 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

(I know you want to get money from the building people, but I suspect that's not going to happen.)
posted by bluedaisy at 10:58 AM on September 27, 2010

- The police should ask to see the tapes. I can't imagine that they wouldn't. We had a similar situation in our building not too long ago, and the police followed up with the landlord on this detail because cameras were present.

- I might have a lawyer contact the building. If there are cameras, then this is exactly what they are for! I think someone in the management office needs to check with a higher-up. I think you have been misinformed by some well-meaning employee bent on protecting their job/company.

- Also. Renter's insurance. They will tell you you should have had renter's insurance. This might be covered by the insurance on your credit card or auto? Maybe check into it?

Good luck.
posted by jbenben at 11:03 AM on September 27, 2010 [1 favorite]

Document your interactions with everybody during this process, incidentally.
posted by mhoye at 11:06 AM on September 27, 2010

I didn't have renter's insurance at the time my bike was stolen (that has been rectified since).
My car insurance company said that they don't cover stolen bicycles unless it was inside my car at the time.
As far as the tapes, the police department said I shouldn't expect to hear back from them until a few months from now.
posted by KB.Boston_implant.By way of NY at 11:13 AM on September 27, 2010

they then send me a copy of the building rules and regulations that state 'the building is not responsible for items lost in storage'.

Had you been provided this information before? Are there any "store at your own risk" or similar signs posted in the storage unit? Is any of this covered in your lease, or anything else you signed?

If they failed to notify you that you were storing at your own risk, and you can prove it, then maybe you can seek legal advice about pursuing reimbursement from the building. That said, I expect the response will be that it's your job to find out the rules before you store your things there anyway.

I don't think having registered your bike with the building will have any bearing here. They probably just want to track who parks vehicles on their property.

I wouldn't be afraid to call and check on the status of your case with the police before a few months go by. Make sure they know the tapes exist, because yeah, it would be pretty crummy for your neighbors' privacy if just any tenant was allowed to view those but the cops should be able to. That may also give your case have a higher priority than other stolen bikes, since it becomes more solvable and thus potentially one more positive "case closed" kind of statistic.

Call once to let them know about the tapes and see what other information you can get: are you allowed to know if the case is assigned to a specific officer? Is there a case number? Then call a second time a week or two later to follow up. Take notes on who you speak to, what was said, and be polite.

I'm sorry about your bike.
posted by juliplease at 11:46 AM on September 27, 2010

I am sorry about your bike, but unless you had renter's insurance, the building is not responsible for your personal possessions. The concierge's statement was clearly an error.

That said, get on craigslist RIGHT NOW and start looking for your bike. RIGHT NOW. Ask the local bike shops which other bike shops are unethical and would buy stolen bikes. Find the place where the local dude sells bikes on the street. Chances are your bike is there, and if you can find it, the police will be a lot more interested in helping you get it back.

In terms of getting money back from the building, I would write a letter to the building management stating everything that you do in your post, but the fact that you signed a document that says "the building is not responsible for items lost in storage'." means they're probably not going to give you anything. They can't know for sure that your bike was there when you said it was. Who knows if these cameras even work, and no, the police in boston are not going to watch the tapes unless there is a series of thefts or some other compelling reason beyond simple bike theft.

I wish I could give you a way to get your money back from the building but I just don't see one here. I do, however, think you will find your bike on the black market if you get out there and LOOK NOW.
posted by micawber at 11:53 AM on September 27, 2010 [2 favorites]

When my bike was stolen, my dad got it back (sans stickers and accessories) it a couple of days later by actually seeing the guys who stole it trying to sell it to someone in the street. He took pictures of them on his cell phone, then approached them and told them, "Hey, that's my bike" and they ran away without any sort of confrontation.

While there's a small chance that it would have been listed on Craigslist after the theft, those guys don't tend to be particularly "sophisticated". You said, however, that the bike was stolen last month – you may be out of luck.

I'd keep complaining to the management office even if it wasn't strictly their fault. Maybe you can lobby together with other bikers to get a dedicated bike cage that can only be accessed by registered cards?

Do you also remember the brand and type of your lock? The better ones typically have a lifetime anti-theft guarantee, for up to $1,000 if I recall correctly. You probably won't get anything unless you enrolled the lock when you purchased it, but it's still worth it to call them up and ask: for instance, Kryptonite urges customers to call even if their lock wasn't enrolled in the anti-theft protection program. I assume you get some sort of consolation price for calling.
posted by halogen at 1:01 PM on September 27, 2010

All I can say is that while bike storage is useful, if your bike costs $2000, you should find some place secure for it. Everyone I know keeps their bike in their apartment. They don't take up much space, they're easier to maintain when they're always nearby, and you never have to worry about it disappearing.
posted by jrockway at 2:48 PM on September 28, 2010