Rotherham branch handed dummy keys in exchange for £2999.99 bike. £200 reward for information leading to return.
J E James is warning bike shops around the country to be on high alert following the theft of a £2999.99 Whyte 146 S from its Rotherham branch.
Posing as a legitimate customer, even hanging around the store for close to an hour engaging in 'clued up discussion' about mountain bikes, the thief left a dummy set of keys in exchange for a test ride from which he has yet to return.
According to a spokesperson of J E James's Rotherham store: "A man came into the Rotherham store at 1:35 pm and quickly entered in a conversation with a staff member. They discussed bike styles and suitable options for about 40 minutes and the man seemed to know his product fairly well. They eventually they focused on the Whtye 146 S size Medium.
"He started asking about what discount we could offer for cash and haggling when the offer we suggested wasn’t good enough. The bike was set up and the staff asked for a card deposit (through a pin number), the thief then gave him the excuse that he had just finished work and didn’t have a card on him but he had brought cash. The member of staff then asked for proof if I.D and his car keys. (The staff had seen him leaning on a car outside and walking around whilst he was on his mobile so he had assumed it was his car). The thief produced his driver’s licence (the staff member didn’t take it off him) and the man gave him some car keys, which had other keys on it but these keys turned out to be a dummy set.
Unbelievably, during the test ride, the suspect did initially return to the store to request minor adjustments to the gearing.
"The staff then went out with the man to the road at the shop entrance and he rode up and down, the staff member brought the bike back in for some minor gear adjustments and the man took it out again. This time he was up and down the road and then took off through the side streets," the source told BikeBiz.
The suspect, captured on CCTV in store, is described as a white, six foot one male in his mid 30s. the suspect has brown hair and eyes and has a small ring tattoo on his right ring finger.
The Whyte stolen carries the frame number: TAFZM11CO28
The spokesperson concluded: "We need as many retailers and people to know about this as possible so the same doesn’t happen to them, and the masses can keep any eye out for this bike for us. We have a £200 reward for any information that leads to the safe return of this bike."
Former boxing world champion Ricky Hatton MBE has joined in the manhunt, tweeting J E James's theft story.
Advertisement
Add a new comment
You need to be logged in to post comments. If you do not have an account then please register.
Comments
11 comments
Perhaps it is an idea to take extra precautions with such expensive bikes? When I've taken a bike for a test ride, I've supplied my passport. Although that's not foolproof, but it's better than the set of keys trick.
Christopher Sauvarin Apr 17th 2012 at 2:02PM
0 0We were hit here at Rutland Cycling a few weeks ago with the same trick. A stolen Ford mondeo was left in our car park with the keys as security against a test ride on a yeti ASR. Needless to say we never saw the bike again. Several other shops in the area. best advice would be to take phone, wallet, keys and take a photo. Or even better a card deposit. Take another bike and ride with them. If they've got nothing to hide, they won't mind.
Drew Davis Apr 17th 2012 at 2:39PM
0 0Taking a ride alongside could only be seen as 'Good service', as you could ride an alternative bike to swop over, and compare. HOWEVER... you then run the risk of meeting his mates and their baseball bats, round the corner! This of course would not be practical on a quiet day in a small shop, leaving the premises understaffed and vulnerable to... you guessed it!
Andy Scaife Apr 17th 2012 at 5:51PM
0 0We now take full payment for a test bike...If the customer is going to buy it, he is going to have to pay for it somehow ! If it is finance then propose him first and take the deposit ! Finance details required should flush him out. This tried it with us too...
Andy Knight Apr 17th 2012 at 6:02PM
0 2...and he had the same shirt on two weeks ago !
Andy Knight Apr 17th 2012 at 6:04PM
0 0I can remember the chap going round just after Xmas doing this, posing as a fake police man. In our shop the test bikes don't leave the shop unless fully paid for, again if they want the bike surely they have means of payment, bar the obvious choice of finance, but that needs a deposit anyway. We do have a car park for customers to demo bikes in with us. One of our other shops was stung a few years back by a regular. Company policy should be no money, no demo. Hope you can catch the thief.
Dean Brooks Apr 17th 2012 at 7:43PM
0 0This is a different bloke from the fake policeman. There is more than one of them it seems. They always say they ride an 'Ibis' mountain bike currently and want something chunkier to do some downhill stuff... He came to us as 'Dave Foster'... This worthless individual has to be caught asap Maybe Bike Biz could have 'fraud alert section' for us to view on a regular basis ?
Andy Knight Apr 18th 2012 at 10:12AM
0 0Andy Knight what retailer are you from? I think we could do with a quick chat have you got a contact number?
Mark James Apr 18th 2012 at 10:29AM
0 0should ask for driver's license ....
Tony Yeh Apr 18th 2012 at 2:01PM
0 0Sadly he's struck again - this time in Devon http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/test-ride-thief-strikes-again-at-dartmoor-cycles/012916
Jonathon Harker Apr 18th 2012 at 4:47PM
0 0We should go to the national press with this guys picture without further delay. This would be a good story for the Daily Mail considering the popularity of cycling and we have a certain picture now of him....also he has had 20k's worth or more of bikes.None of us can aford that, he is making this industry look like easy pickings, which will encourage more lowlife's to try the same...
Andy Knight Apr 18th 2012 at 5:46PM
0 0