Stolen Gear in REI parking garage, Portland

[jessbee]

Hello all,

 

I should be sleeping under the stars tonight in the North Cascades, preparing for 5 long hard days of climbing.

 

Instead, I am writing to report that my backpack, along with its contents, and other gear in my car, was stolen while I was picking up a few last minute items at the Portland REI.

 

Some big things off the top of my head...

 

Rack of BD cams

Crampons

Ice axe

32 degree down sleeping bag

brand new Mammut 45 L climbing pack

brand new down jacket

Rock shoes, harness, associated 'biners and slings

Thermarest prolite pad

2-person Mountain Hardwear tent

Nikon Coolpix camera AW 110

1st generation SPOT tracker

food, clothing, misc for 5 days of rock and snow climbing

and the list goes on and on........

 

I was told by the REI employees that this is not an unusual event and they've had an uptick in theft lately. The police officer on the phone was also not all that surprised, although he was much nicer than the REI employees. They said that security was too expensive, and they posted signs warning of theft, which was good enough for them.

 

The thief/thieves obviously were pros and had some device to break the lock on my passenger door. They didn't get all of what was in my car, but it looks like they grabbed as much as they could--the large pack loaded up with 5 days worth of gear, my apres-climb bag with snacks, clothes, and toiletries, a small backpack with my checklist of items to bring, plus some medical paperwork I needed for an appointment this afternoon.

 

So yeah, they've got my SSN and medical history as well.

 

Please be vigilant. Anyone else have similar stories? Advice?

[ScaredSilly]

Bummer, I would suggest that you immediately call the credit bureaus and freeze your credit reports. All of them. Not sure what else needs to be done in these cases but the hassle of stollen items will be short term but a stollen ID will last years. So I would worry about that first.

 

It sounds like they used a slim jim on your door. It is not as hard as one would think to use one. Hopefully, you have insurance and can get it all replaced.

[astrov]

sorry man.

 

How much would it cost REI to through a left-over GoPro camera up in the corner of that garage and hook it up to a left over hard drive and put it on loop? Next to nothing, I'll bet. that might deter a few folk. I'll bet they spent as much on their disclaimer signs.

[ivan]

[JasonG]

Advice?

 

Was this stuff in sight? It seems like keeping things in nondescript duffels, throwing a blanket over your gear, using the trunk, etc. is better than nothing. Most of these folks only break into a vehicle once they know that there is something valuable inside. Make it tough to know from outside the vehicle and your chances of getting broken into go down. But it is pretty hard/impossible to stop determined thieves. Insurance is probably the best thing.

 

As far as post theft, what SS said.

[jessbee]

I filed a police report, called my insurance company, set up a fraud alert on my credit file, and bitched to everyone I know. I had REI send me a report of everything I ever bought there so I can pick out the model/make/size of the things I know were stolen. About half of the gear came from REI, half from other places. I was able to estimate about $4100 of gear was stolen.

 

Now, as for insurance, I was not aware that if your property is stolen from anywhere OUTSIDE your home, you can only recover 10% of the value--minus the deductible, of course. So that means the insurance company is looking at $1300 - $500 = $800 max in my pocket.

 

Why the hell am I paying for insurance?

 

So if you think your insurance covers you, I strongly suggest you call your agent and make sure your policy does what you think it does. This is a terrible time to be finding this out.

 

OH, and quit shopping at REI for last minute items. I was in the store for 30 minutes. The person who broke in obviously had a quick and efficient system for getting in and out.

 

 

[KirkW]

You had me at...

 

 

OH, and quit shopping at REI

 

Thieves suck. Sorry.

[DPS]

 

So if you think your insurance covers you, I strongly suggest you call your agent and make sure your policy does what you think it does.

 

Insurance companies are the biggest thieves of all. We were recently robbed to the tune of $60,000 in cash and prizes and the insurance company did everything in their power to weasel out of paying, even on items we had floaters for.

[HelloKitty]

Not be the bad guy but here are a few things. Im not familiar with the Portland REI but if they post signs saying your stuff may be stolen, they have done what needs to be done, beyond that is up to you. You are in a city, people steal things in cities, I have had my car broken into several times and I know the feeling. While I am not a huge fan of REI, I dont think it is their responsibility.

 

Another note, Im not sure what kind of insurance you have but my home owners policy payed me full replacement value for all of my ski gear that got stolen this last winter out of my truck which was unlocked with 2 pairs of skis in the bed. Home owners and renters insurance, if its worth its salt should pay for your stolen belongings regardless of where they were stolen.

 

I feel for you, getting shit stolen sucks, but instead of blaming the location it got stolen from and your shitty insurance, think about what can be done differently... And get better insurance. USAA.

Edited August 13, 2013 by HelloKitty

[CascadeClimber]

sorry man.

 

How much would it cost REI to through a left-over GoPro camera up in the corner of that garage and hook it up to a left over hard drive and put it on loop? Next to nothing, I'll bet. that might deter a few folk. I'll bet they spent as much on their disclaimer signs.

 

As it turns out, if they put a camera in the garage and don't monitor the camera and something happens, they are liable. Thank some jerk-wad attorney and their unaccountable client for this.

 

Thanks to this judgment, no company would put up a camera in a situation like this.

[DPS]

USAA.

Yeah...Those were the a-holes who stone walled us and tried every trick in the book to not pay out on our insurance policy when we were robbed. They likely paid you out because your loss was small. When they are faced with paying out a significant claim they change their tune. I would never recommend USAA to anyone. Really sleazy folks.

Edited August 13, 2013 by DPS

[kevbone]

Super LAME this happened to you. Try parking on the street. Even if you have to pay for it. I am scared of that garage. Always have been, even when I worked there. I hope you are able to recover some of your stuff.

[jessbee]

Not be the bad guy but here are a few things. ...

I feel for you, getting shit stolen sucks, but instead of blaming the location it got stolen from and your shitty insurance, think about what can be done differently... And get better insurance. USAA.

Yes, thanks for signing in just to shit on me. That's totally helpful at this point now. What happened to me could have happened to nearly any of us, and it was crap luck that got me this time. Hundreds of people file through that place each day with gear in their car and it's the luck of the draw who gets nailed. Now I could just stop climbing all together, strap myself to my couch and never travel with gear in my car if I wanted to reduce my risk to zero. Shit happens. You can't prevent it all. I was doing the best I knew how.

 

When I took out my insurance policy I made it clear to the agent this was exactly the scenario I needed protection in. Why I ended up with a policy that is not covering me know, I don't know. And yes, NOW I know I need to find a new insurance agent and policy. Congratulations, you did a better job of getting appropriate insurance that replaced your skis.

 

So I know it feels really smart to be the lucky guy sitting at home who hasn't suffered this way. I was that person not too long ago, thinking about what some poor whining sap online could have done to prevent their situation. Unfortunately, shit happens. And I'm trying to get my story out so people are a little more aware and more vigilant in protecting what's valuable to them. I can't afford to run out and replace all the gear that was taken. It will be years before that happens. So it's been a big hit to me and I feel like I need to talk about it.

[ScaredSilly]

Bummer on the insurance - I have never heard of such of exception with a policy. I hope the agent went through the policy with you to show you the language for that exception. Do not be afraid to push them.

 

That said I just talked to my agent (State Farm) and found that there are renters policy that will only cover only items in an apartment - if something is stollen from the patio/balcony it is not covered at all. State Farm provides coverage world wide. So such policies do exist.

[HelloKitty]

Whoaa there Jessbee, you are sounding a bit reactionary. I do believe that my advise was sound. We could all shit on REI and whatever insurance company you have until we are blue in the face but that wouldnt help you at all, would it?

 

Im not trying to shit on you. And Im not the guy sitting at home who has never had this happen, last Feb I had my car broken into and well over $9k worth of climbing, ski and camera gear stolen. It sucked and was a pain in the ass but it was my fault, I had the gear in my car. Period.

 

If you are really trying to get the word out to prevent something like this from happening to other people than own up to your end of it. You learned that your insurance is shitty, thats a good take home for others. You learned that cars get broken into in the portland REI parking garage, thats a good take home for others. Now while it sucks to hear, those arent your insurance companies problem or REIs. Thats your problem, thats your part in all of this and its a good lesson for other people.

 

Good luck with getting your stuff back. Be a hard ass with your insurance agent, if you had renters or home owners it should definitely be covered. If they say its not, ask where specifically in your policy it says that.

[olyclimber]

Sucks you lost your stuff....was any of the gear marked in anyway such that it is uniquely identifiable? I didn't read the whole thread, maybe you mentioned this already. Just in case some one on here runs across a crack junkie hocking some gear out of the back of their trunk.

[Water]

my renters was pretty easy when i absentmindedly 'set' down my wedding band on a table at the gym while fussing with my locker key and ipod. i came back 2 minutes later and it was gone. expensive jewelry had been found and turned in at this gym in the past just fine--since it never showed up my agent said I could consider that a theft. without an extra rider the policy maxed at $500 on jewelry but hey it helped a lot on total cost of replacement!

 

i'd definitely try to rake your agent over the coals on this. that is such a BS policy clause they are giving you.. like others said confirm it in writing. My agent has told me i am covered with our basic renters if my gear gets stolen from my car or if for instance a camera/gps/etc was stolen from a basecamp tent, etc.