Our supposed CASSOA Gold storage site was breached on Friday night. I received a call late yesterday afternoon informing me that the site had been breached and our van was one of a number of vans affected.
As we are insured, we are to contact the police for a crime number and then claim on our insurance.
Went to have a look at the damage & Yep, something missing from the front of the van.
They have taken our Alko stabiliser hitch but left our new air awning which was stored in the van - now at home.
Others on the site came off worse, some with door damage thanks to the use of a crow bar, and some roof lights smashed/taken as well as tv's, hitches & other items. All in, 18 vans affected.
No one around from the company to talk to until Tuesday, but I can buy a new van & accessories!? Customer service?
Apparantly, the usual security guard is on holiday! - read into that how you will.
Anyone contacted CASSOA to voice concerns?
Will also be having a conversation with one of their directors to find out what will be put in place to ensure this doesn't happen again.
I thought it was odd to remove the Alko stabiliser too, some were taken & some were not - all on the same row?
Vans either side of us had their stabilisers intact but had been forced open & ransacked. A couple opposite us were having trouble finding replacement parts for their van due to its age and because a number of places were closed on Sunday's.
I suppose you could say we got away lightly, though only had the van 8 months & now can't move the blummin thing.
to get that much damage they have been in the storage yard for a long time! why wasn't there any security on the site? I would be asking for the insurance details of the site as it would appear that they have been neglegent
It's quite a big site, new vans, accessory shop & site storage - at the moment I'm guessing that there is one security guard and seeing that the regular guard was on holiday, no idea what the replacement was doing - we certainly now know not a thorough job.
No doubt there were several scumbags all in the compound and would have been in and out in 10-15 mins plenty of time if the guard was on the other side of the site checking on new vans.
takes longer than 10-15 mins to get that many alko;s off nevermind all the rest of the damage done, I would still be claiming off their insurance tho if it was me
I'm sure that to be awarded the CaSSOA registration there are terms and conditions laid down that have to be adhered to at all times whether it's a Bronze, Silver or Gold status so if the T&C's have been breached then the storage site could lose their licence and totally stripped of the registration. It can be an easy income for storage site owners but it does come with a huge responsibilty so the owners should be held accountable for the absence of security at the time of the theft.
Quote: Originally posted by tango55 on 26/2/2017
I'm sure that to be awarded the CaSSOA registration there are terms and conditions laid down that have to be adhered to at all times whether it's a Bronze, Silver or Gold status so if the T&C's have been breached then the storage site could lose their licence and totally stripped of the registration. It can be an easy income for storage site owners but it does come with a huge responsibilty so the owners should be held accountable for the absence of security at the time of the theft.
Quote: Originally posted by Beanyman on 26/2/2017
If a Hitchcock was fitted, could they still have taken the stabiliser?
- forgive the newbie question
A decent Hitchlock should cover the bolts to stop the hitch and stabiliser being removed but, to be honest, a hitchlock would only delay a thief by a couple of minutes. They seem to be able to get these off without a key quicker than you and I can with.
Check the terms and conditions of your storage, don't be surprised if there is a get out clause for the storage company, all vehicles stored at owners risk type of thing.
Quote: Originally posted by Beanyman on 26/2/2017
If a Hitchcock was fitted, could they still have taken the stabiliser?
- forgive the newbie question
They would have just cut the lock off. (Maybe)?
We used a Gold site previously, how it got gold i will never know. OK reasonable security from the front with a card or coded gate entry and an outer gate locked as darkness fell. But along the rear was a hedgerow that had more holes than a swiss cheese at a mouse convention.
Behind that was a field with a public right of way.
Yet still managed to get a Gold? Sites gone now, closed to build houses.
Just a thought...
In the terms & conditions for CASSOA sites you are required to have your own insurance.
Which insurance are you covered with?
Are you "over insured" if you are covered with two policies?
Or another way, to get us paying twice for the same cover.
Just a thought....?
The site will have public liability insurance. The caravans are insured by their owners. Any insurance claim for caravan damage while at the the storage site requires caravan owner to contact his own insurer who will settle his claim.
Any possible claim against storage site will be dealt with by caravan owner's insurance & is of no concern of caravan owner.
This is a question that often arises & the simple answer is that one of the purposes of caravan insurance is to avoid having to fight a claim against a 3rd party yourself.
We had the same happen to us at a Silver CASSOA site last year - they broke the door lock - took nothing and we had a new awning (boxed) and TV in the van. Only damage inside was to the bed.
There were approx 9 other vans damaged - one they had removed the gas struts from their bed - taken the TV off the bracket, but then left it on the sofa.
When we arrived onsite the gates were all open (fills you with confidence) - as they also use it for airport car parking, which was a recent change.
We have since changed our storage site - as totally lost confidence in them.
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: CASSOA Gold site breached
