Stolen boat with police number

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Thomas C King said:

We also bought our boat from Whilton

 

I'm so sorry for you. 

Maybe you got the one good one that they sell every 10 years.

 

I nearly bought one from them once, but after so many lies and false promises from the sales staff I walked away.

 

The cafe is nice tho'.

Edited February 17, 2021 by Alan de Enfield

[Thomas C King]

Just now, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I'm so sorry for you. 

Maybe you got the one good one that they sell every 10 years.

 

I neary bought one from them once but after so many lies and false promises from the sales staff I walked away.

 

The cafe is nice tho'.

 

The thing with Whilton though is that they make everything very accessible. We tried other places and they wanted us to make an appointment for a specific boat; we wanted to view multiple boats in a day and choose which ones on the day. Maybe we would have looked for longer, but we'd handed in our rent notice and needed somewhere to live at a time when renting again would have been difficult (Covid etc.). People have different levels of risk aversion as well, so although I'd have liked to not have been so naive, I'm happy with the boat and if things need fixing (they do) then that's fine, it's money but not the end of the world.

 

Slightly off topic though, back to the police chase.

[the floating carpenter]

This boat is not stolen I have spoke the chap on board today and seen contracts relating to the sale, I have contacted the police and reported this to them and been told it is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter.  

[GUMPY]

1 minute ago, the floating carpenter said:

This boat is not stolen I have spoke the chap on board today and seen contracts relating to the sale, I have contacted the police and reported this to them and been told it is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter.  

Could he have been lying and have faked documents ?

[David Mack]

If he has acquired this genuinely I wonder why he felt it necessary to cover up the boat name and index number?

[the floating carpenter]

I doubt it, he had two contracts one for a rental and bank statement for payment and also a contact for sale. I called the police never the less and reported it to them they said it is not a criminal matter 

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

If he has acquired this genuinely I wonder why he felt it necessary to cover up the boat name and index number?

when I saw the boat I noticed there had been some repairs on rust patches including the stern and bow I can only presume it was to repair rust, she's a nice boat but due a lick of paint

[Thomas C King]

8 minutes ago, the floating carpenter said:

This boat is not stolen I have spoke the chap on board today and seen contracts relating to the sale, I have contacted the police and reported this to them and been told it is not a criminal matter it is a civil matter.  

 

How do we know, with you having just joined the forum, that you are not the thief trying to throw us off? (I'm obviously joking)

Edited February 17, 2021 by Thomas C King

[Alan de Enfield]

 

"Mony a mickle maks a muckle"

[john6767]

 

 

26 minutes ago, the floating carpenter said:

I doubt it, he had two contracts one for a rental and bank statement for payment and also a contact for sale. I called the police never the less and reported it to them they said it is not a criminal matter 

when I saw the boat I noticed there had been some repairs on rust patches including the stern and bow I can only presume it was to repair rust, she's a nice boat but due a lick of paint

 

If it was a genuine sale then the new owner would have registered the boat with CRT, as he would have needed to licence it immediately given the licence does not transfer.  Why would be then use a different name and index number  for the booking of locks,

 

As we have seen in the past these things are not always as straight as they seem at first.  But the fact the the name and index number have been covered up seems very suspicious to me.  Was a name and index painted over on both sides of the boat?

[the floating carpenter]

agree sometimes people are dodgy, the boat has a licence in the window I checked it is licensed with the crt and the index matches the licence, there wasn't a name on the boat but it was covered in rust protection and a over coat to tidy it up. experience would tell me that the guy owns the boat, he had a bank statement on his phone he needed his face to log in to the bank and showed me, he seemed rather distressed by it all. I won't decide people will do that them selfs but in my opinion the original owner is trying to pull a fast one, two months after the sale. ps I only joined here today because I was going to advertise selling fender hooks im making during lock down lol 

[Arthur Marshall]

The whole thing looks dodgy. The owner says it's been stolen, someone ssys there are contracts. The owner says there are conditions, but the boat was being "caretaken" before sale. Renting your boat out is, I believe, illegal anyway. So why didn't the owner just shove it in a marina for a few weeks while it was being sold?

If the owners were living on it previously, why didn't they just stay on it until the sale went through? Unless it was not really a continuous cruiser, just a boat dumped on the towpath to save mooring fees.

More to this than meets eyes.

[Granger]

Good morning, Im the current owner of the boat with paper work to prove so including statements. I have personally spoken to themes valley police this morning explained the situation and been informed if the previous owner approaches the boat to call 999 immediately. I am not a thief I was maybe a little naive as its my first boat but I am defiantly not by any means a con man I bought the boat in December in Oxford and have been learning the ropes ever since and making her my home as she now is. Its taken 2 months for the previous owner to claim there is any fraud or crime. I have also spoken to the canal and river trust and informed them of the situation today who have suggested I relocate to keep the old owner away from the boat. I am licensed and do have a crime reference number for the insolent and have also been informed that the ref already shown on this thread does not mean any crime has happened and incident number is gave to anyone who calls 101 or 999. Ive chatted to people along my journey for water and fuel as and when needed and been moored up and made some friends along the way. I won't place my incident number on here as the police have request I don't as it could lead to the other person having information they shouldn't have, but I would like to say I am innocent im just living life and as someone living with early onset dementia the situation is really making my anxiety peak due to a  fear of being attacked or broken in to. I hope people can see there's something that doesn't add up with the theft/fraud claim etc and im just trying to live my life easy going on the cut. thank you all god bless and stay safe during covid 

[Athy]

Thank you for that explanation, and welcome to the forum.

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, Granger said:

Good morning, Im the current owner of the boat with paper work to prove so including statements. I have personally spoken to themes valley police this morning explained the situation and been informed if the previous owner approaches the boat to call 999 immediately. I am not a thief I was maybe a little naive as its my first boat but I am defiantly not by any means a con man I bought the boat in December in Oxford and have been learning the ropes ever since and making her my home as she now is. Its taken 2 months for the previous owner to claim there is any fraud or crime. I have also spoken to the canal and river trust and informed them of the situation today who have suggested I relocate to keep the old owner away from the boat. I am licensed and do have a crime reference number for the insolent and have also been informed that the ref already shown on this thread does not mean any crime has happened and incident number is gave to anyone who calls 101 or 999. Ive chatted to people along my journey for water and fuel as and when needed and been moored up and made some friends along the way. I won't place my incident number on here as the police have request I don't as it could lead to the other person having information they shouldn't have, but I would like to say I am innocent im just living life and as someone living with early onset dementia the situation is really making my anxiety peak due to a  fear of being attacked or broken in to. I hope people can see there's something that doesn't add up with the theft/fraud claim etc and im just trying to live my life easy going on the cut. thank you all god bless and stay safe during covid 

Thanks for putting your side of the story, these things are often not as they seem. I posted this here originally as I mistakenly thought there was a police crime number and I am sorry if I have inadvertently caused more problems.

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by ditchcrawler

[Thomas C King]

6 minutes ago, Granger said:

Good morning, Im the current owner of the boat with paper work to prove so including statements. I have personally spoken to themes valley police this morning explained the situation and been informed if the previous owner approaches the boat to call 999 immediately. I am not a thief I was maybe a little naive as its my first boat but I am defiantly not by any means a con man I bought the boat in December in Oxford and have been learning the ropes ever since and making her my home as she now is. Its taken 2 months for the previous owner to claim there is any fraud or crime. I have also spoken to the canal and river trust and informed them of the situation today who have suggested I relocate to keep the old owner away from the boat. I am licensed and do have a crime reference number for the insolent and have also been informed that the ref already shown on this thread does not mean any crime has happened and incident number is gave to anyone who calls 101 or 999. Ive chatted to people along my journey for water and fuel as and when needed and been moored up and made some friends along the way. I won't place my incident number on here as the police have request I don't as it could lead to the other person having information they shouldn't have, but I would like to say I am innocent im just living life and as someone living with early onset dementia the situation is really making my anxiety peak due to a  fear of being attacked or broken in to. I hope people can see there's something that doesn't add up with the theft/fraud claim etc and im just trying to live my life easy going on the cut. thank you all god bless and stay safe during covid 

 

Thank you for sharing your side of the story.

 

This is purely out of curiosity, from your perspective why would the previous owner be trying to claim you stole the boat if you have clearly paid for it? What have you been naiive about if you paid for the boat and have records to show from it?

 

What I don't understand is why anyone would think that they could get a boat that they've sold back just by claiming it was stolen, when there has been a money transfer. It just wouldn't work, would it? So I assume there has been some kind of misunderstanding, but I don't know what and by whom.

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, the floating carpenter said:

when I saw the boat I noticed there had been some repairs on rust patches including the stern and bow I can only presume it was to repair rust, she's a nice boat but due a lick of paint

 

But you don't do outdoor painting at this time of year (if you expect it to last), and was the rust only in the areas of the name and licence number?

[Granger]

Hi john6767 there is more to it all but at the moment there’s an on going police investigation regarding a report I have made about the previous owner. I don’t think it would be appropriate to go in to details just incase it reaches the court stage of criminal proceedings. I think reporting a boat stolen in February that was sold in December is rather strange but Ive heard stranger.  I have all the reinvent paperwork with regards to a sale and regarding licensing I can assure you I own this boat I’m not sure why the previous owner has done this but I won’t just curl up and hide and allow my home to be taken. Thank you for the message 

11 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Thanks for putting your side of the story, these things are often not as they seem. I posted this here originally as I mistakenly thought there was a police crime number and I am sorry if I have inadvertently caused more problems.

 

Hello ditchcrawler please don’t apologise it isn’t your fault at all. I’ve been up and down the canal getting water and fuel for the last two months and met some lovely people with the best intentions. It just causes me some anxiety but hopefully it should be fine. I have a meeting with the police tomorrow to clear everything up and put a stop to it. Be safe 

[Alan de Enfield]

22 minutes ago, Thomas C King said:

This is purely out of curiosity, from your perspective why would the previous owner be trying to claim you stole the boat if you have clearly paid for it? 

 

This has happened on a number of previous occasions.

 

Boat is sold in stage-payments and is not 'owned until the last payment is made when a receipt stating 'full and final payment made' will be issued.

Until that time (like with a hire-purchase company) ownership remains  with the seller.

 

People have been know to 'run off' with the boat without making all of the payments.

 

Not saying that this happened in this case but just giving a possible answer to your question.

 

If 'Granger' has a 'full and final payment made' receipt from the seller then there can be no question of ownership.

[Arthur Marshall]

Someone on FB has suggested the previous owner comes on here and explains stuff. The FB thread has been closed. It does seem odd that it would take someone over two months to realise their boat had vanished, but then a lot of boat owners are a bit odd, especially continuous cruisers who don't.

PS according to a photo posted on FB, the boat number is clearly visible.

[BWM]

26 minutes ago, David Mack said:

 

But you don't do outdoor painting at this time of year (if you expect it to last), and was the rust only in the areas of the name and licence number?

It does seem odd but i can think of a couple of reasons for this, one being that the previous owners are attempting a bizarre scam and the new one is trying to avoid being stalked. The second and more likely scenario would involve an unpaid balance bought about by buyers remorse, hence the police stating it is a civil matter. 

[SoosieQ]

16 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Someone on FB has suggested the previous owner comes on here and explains stuff. The FB thread has been closed. It does seem odd that it would take someone over two months to realise their boat had vanished, but then a lot of boat owners are a bit odd, especially continuous cruisers who don't.

PS according to a photo posted on FB, the boat number is clearly visible.

It was visible at cropredy but not by the time it was in Syston - by which time it would have had to navigate the manned locks at Foxton where you have to provide licence and index number 

[GUMPY]

19 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

It does seem odd that it would take someone over two months to realise their boat had vanished,

I wouldn't know if my boat is where I left it, getting on for three months since I have seen it. Having said that the river has been on SSA since November so no chance of anyone taking it anywhere.

[ditchcrawler]

2 minutes ago, Loddon said:

I wouldn't know if my boat is where I left it, getting on for three months since I have seen it. Having said that the river has been on SSA since November so no chance of anyone taking it anywhere.

Rick of the coal boat told me mine is still there

[Midnight]

The new owner assures us it's his boat, the old owner assures us it's their boat. I say saw the boat in half and give one bit to each party. (Oh no then they will argue who has the front bit and who has the back bit.)
As Monty Python would say "Too Silly!"

[frangar]

8 minutes ago, Loddon said:

I wouldn't know if my boat is where I left it, getting on for three months since I have seen it. Having said that the river has been on SSA since November so no chance of anyone taking it anywhere.

It could be on the bottom of course....