Warning Model Shop Owners!

[Derek 19B]

Sorry but you must live in a very nice part of the world . As national account manager for a security company they will use any method , e.g while surveying for additional CCTV cameras a customer with baby in buggy was caught with £250 pounds worth of goods about the park and baby.

The stores products were not high end I fact the opposite. The store manger on his return to my side said just imagine if all that stock was Hugo boss how much it would have been.

The rif-raf will use their children to steal , and have been doing so for years.

 

Derek 19b 

50 years in the electronic security industry

[Widnes Model Centre]

 

Agree with Derek 19B.

 

The sight of a couple with a baby buggy, with or without a child and the alarm is raised. We have 12 cameras and you will literally see them counting the cameras.

 

Our biggest loss to date was by a couple filling a baby buggy with Bachmann trains. Thankfully we recovered every one of the items on that occassion. The couple didn't even have a child and although it couldn't be proved, chances are they stole the buggy from another shop.

 

To be totally honest, our biggest shoplifters tend to be well over the age of retirement. Exhibitions are the biggest cause of losses with large crowds milling around stalls.

 

On a slightly lighter note, a few years ago we had a fairly large radio controlled boat stolen. The following morning while studying the cctv system, I had the face of the offender on screen, looked up and there he was looking through the shop window. I was still giggling when he got a free ride to the local Police station. Never recovered the boat though.

[Ross34]

3 hours ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

 

 

To be totally honest, our biggest shoplifters tend to be well over the age of retirement. Exhibitions are the biggest cause of losses with large crowds milling around stalls.

 

 

 

Of course the vast majority in the hobby aren't thieving scumbags and I suppose rather naively "we" find it hard to accept such people are "one of us".

Just recently I had somebody very well "known" in railway circles not pay me for an item won on an auction site - it happens, but it still disappoints.

[Gareth Collier]

11 hours ago, MRDBLUE17 said:

Sorry but from 20 years in retail that comment is way off the mark. Very rare will you find a family with a buggy out shoplifting. Far too slow to get away and out quickly. 
 

No idea what kind of  retail you were in but mum's with buggies are the number one culprit. My wife works for a large clothing retailer and they have a number of well known shoplifters all of whom come in with baby and buggy and load up. Getaway speed is irrelevant. You can't stop them until they've left the store when you will be on the receiving end of abuse/violence if you try to tackle them all for minimum wage. They help themselves as if the store calls the police they may get a patrol car pop by a couple of days later. Even those that were caught return as there is zero consequence, they plead poverty and are released.

[Gareth Collier]

Duplicate post as forum playing silly !

Edited March 11, 2020 by Gareth Collier

[maico]

They must be spending a fair amount on fuel visting model shops unless they are stealing that too...

If they try do sell in their home country they may be in for a shock, I doubt there is much interest in OO?

[PMP]

12 hours ago, MRDBLUE17 said:

Sorry but from 20 years in retail that comment is way off the mark. Very rare will you find a family with a buggy out shoplifting. 

No it isn’t. You’re not the only contributor with retail experience.
It’s the thoughts of a model shop retailer that recently had a large amount of stock shoplifted in one event.

The retailer thinks that along with various distractions, the buggy was used to transport the stuff away. After the event it transpired on reflection, there was no actual requirement for a buggy to be brought into the premises. Go figure...

Edited March 11, 2020 by PMP

[PMP]

17 hours ago, 40F said:

 

 

They are based in a fictional Cotswold village not Swindon

I’m from London. Swindon is definitely a Cotswold village.

[Nearholmer]

2 hours ago, maico said:

If they try do sell in their home country they may be in for a shock, I doubt there is much interest in OO?

 

Selling from a distant country into the UK isn't difficult. My guess is that, if you have a UK-based accomplice you can 'warehouse' in the UK, sell from abroad, collect the funds abroad, and post from within the UK. And, there are probably alternative models of deviousness.

 

The internet is a great help to the honest and the dishonest alike.

[maico]

48 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

 

Selling from a distant country into the UK isn't difficult. My guess is that, if you have a UK-based accomplice you can 'warehouse' in the UK, sell from abroad, collect the funds abroad, and post from within the UK. And, there are probably alternative models of deviousness.

 

The internet is a great help to the honest and the dishonest alike.

 

Sounds a bit to complicated for those two Neanderthals...

[truffy]

21 hours ago, jcredfer said:

I watched a senior member of staff remonstrate at one lass, for some misdemeanour, while she just shouted back at him.  Eventually she had heard enough and stormed off, with a few "choice words" in his direction.  I was some distance away down the corridor, so she had stopped yelling, by the time she passed me.  So, as she passed, I quietly said "Hi, what was that about then?'  Reply, "Huh, some idiotic little rule and he thinks it's ok to shout his head off.  Don't have any effect, he don't realise that's wot I get the moment I open the door when I get home, every day".  

 

I recently had cause to visit my home town, Folkestone, AKA Chav Central. In ASDA we witnessed a mother and her 6-7 year old daughter have a minor disagreement:

 

Quote

Daughter: "F**K OFF!"

Mother: "WHERE'D YOU LEARN TO F**CKING TALK LIKE THAT?"

 

Heartwarming, n'est pas?

 

19 hours ago, jcredfer said:

Apparently the C of E has not yet appointed a high enough ranking cleric to satisfy the wishes of the populous, so, until then, Swindon will have to remain - patient.

 

If you're referring to Swindon not having a cathedral, it's irrelevant. Naming a city is under royal warrant; there are cities without cathedrals, and towns with cathedrals.

Edited March 11, 2020 by truffy

[DCB]

4 hours ago, PMP said:

I’m from London. Swindon is definitely a Cotswold village.

No it ent.  Cotswolds is west of Swinnon, They has railways an that. I ort ter no,  I live in the Cotswolds and shop in Swindon.  This Country is filmed in Northleach and to be honest its' more or less a documentary.   Except they play down the lack of facilities, like going to the Library to check eMails, what Library?  Comes once a fortnight if they are lucky. Makes the under privileged claims of the inner city types with easy access to Libraries, colleges,universities, jobs,  supermarkets etc look very pathetic. 

Swindon is not a city either, if it was the GWR would have named a 34XX class 4-4-0 after it.

Edited March 11, 2020 by DavidCBroad

[Harry Lime]

21 minutes ago, truffy said:

If you're referring to Swindon not having a cathedral, it's irrelevant. Naming a city is under royal warrant; there are cities without cathedrals, and towns with cathedrals.

 

Brighton and Hove is another example...and yes, before anyone says it, I omitted the Hove (actually)!

[jcredfer]

16 minutes ago, Harry Lime said:

 

Brighton and Hove is another example...and yes, before anyone says it, I omitted the Hove (actually)!

Gracious, I never knew that, do you know how that came about?

 

Julian

 

[Harry Lime]

1 minute ago, jcredfer said:

Gracious, I never knew that, do you know how that came about?

 

Julian

 

Brighton and Hove left East Sussex in 1997 and became it's own unitary authority in 2001.

 

(Me omitting the word "actually" is through being bored of having so many people say "Hove actually" to me after more than thirty years of living and working there as though it is funny...)

[jcredfer]

39 minutes ago, Harry Lime said:

Brighton and Hove left East Sussex in 1997 and became it's own unitary authority in 2001.

 

(Me omitting the word "actually" is through being bored of having so many people say "Hove actually" to me after more than thirty years of living and working there as though it is funny...)

Thank you Chris, that's very recent, indeed.  It's almost surprising that a City could / would be created in modern times.  Very interesting, thanks again.

 

Julian

 

[Butler Henderson]

12 hours ago, Widnes Model Centre said:

To be totally honest, our biggest shoplifters tend to be well over the age of retirement. Exhibitions are the biggest cause of losses with large crowds milling around stalls.

Have seen one trader who had the items in a display case with those for sale safely kept at the back of the stand. Never quite understand the thief tempting layout most traders use; did see a Peco Jubilee get nicked at Doncaster some years ago when the thief picked it up as if to examine it, and walk behind other punters as if to take it down the stand to where the staff where but then at the last minute ran off towards the exit. I did shout towards the exhibition staff at the exit who looked at me as if I was mad so I left it there. Manning a club sales stand it was an unfortunate case when an item that was present when the show closed had vanished when the goods were accounted for.

[laurenceb]

Wolverhampton is another

[Oliver Rails]

Unfortunately they also visited us on Friday 7th February. Two O gauge locomotives were stolen which were on the counter during a cabinet clean. Luckily they tried to open further cabinets but all were locked and they soon left. This was reported to the police and footage / image was supplied to them

 

Here are a couple of screen shots, including one of the registration plate of the vehicle they arrived in. 

 

Edited March 12, 2020 by Oliver Rails

[truffy]

38 minutes ago, Oliver Rails said:

 

Here are a couple of screen shots, including one of the registration plate of the vehicle they arrived in. 

 

 

 

 

Looks like your visitors, or at least their car, are from Dortmund. Good job!

[Legend]

Still puzzled at them targeting model railway shops . I mean it looks like they are touring the country with an aim.

[caradoc]

18 hours ago, PMP said:

I’m from London. Swindon is definitely a Cotswold village.

 

As I'm from Oxford (which definitely is a city) I agree 100% !

[TheSignalEngineer]

27 minutes ago, truffy said:

Looks like your visitors, or at least their car, are from Dortmund. Good job!

Otherwise deliberately using a car with foreign plates to make tracking more difficult. 

A former neighbour of mine was a bit of a fly boy and conman. He used to go around in a car with Dutch plates. Mr Plod took an interest when he was caught up in an incident which caused a big delay on a busy trunk road and he ended up with an all-inclusive break at Her Majesty's Hotel.

[TheSignalEngineer]

 

1 hour ago, Oliver Rails said:

Unfortunately they also visited us on Friday 7th February. Two O gauge locomotives were stolen which were on the counter during a cabinet clean. 

 

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the comment I made earlier:-

On 08/03/2020 at 11:12, TheSignalEngineer said:

Do their movements correlate with any recent thefts from exhibitions.

 

 

That was the set-up day for the Doncaster Show, about 40 minutes drive away. 

 

I wonder if they've been recorded  at any venues with CCTV?

[AGR Model Store]

2 hours ago, Oliver Rails said:

Unfortunately they also visited us on Friday 7th February. Two O gauge locomotives were stolen which were on the counter during a cabinet clean. Luckily they tried to open further cabinets but all were locked and they soon left. This was reported to the police and footage / image was supplied to them

 

Here are a couple of screen shots, including one of the registration plate of the vehicle they arrived in. 

 

What ******s.