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Andy Collins

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Everything posted by Andy Collins

  1. Andy Collins
    I was told by a police officer, if an intruder is in your house, you have more rights to protect your property and family, using reasonable force. If they are breaking into a shed or workshop, you can't. If they are on a front path, leading to your house, they are within their rights to be there, bear in mind they may be lost and looking for directions, broken down and need a phone etc. if they are in your back garden, they are "only" trespassing, and to assault them would be a far more serious offence.
  2. Andy Collins
    Sorry to disappoint, but unfortunately plant, including ours, does travel abroad. Though I do concede a certain amount is "recycled" into the workplace here, I do strongly feel that the majority finds outlets abroad. http://www.professionalsecurity.co.uk/news/transport/plant-recovery-2/ Anyway, whichever the end result, the fact remains that we all have to be more switched on, less complacent, to beat the thief.
  3. Andy Collins
    So where are they all then? I still believe it's going abroad. I believe the engines from a chipper can and are used in other machines other than chippers. The rest is maybe broken for scrap. The sheer volume of stolen gear including chippers surely is not still floating around here, even if every single company wanted something on the cheap, which I'm pretty sure isn't the case
  4. Andy Collins
    So if the stolen gear is staying in this country, who is buying it all? We're not talking easily fenced items, but specialist equipment which should be readily identifiable. There is only a limited number of people in this country who may wish to buy a chainsaw. Small to mid range saws are cheap and available enough through B&Q, big top range saws are not. But the market for big saws is more limited to mainly, well us lot. Chippers are only useful to people who want to get rid of volumes of tree material, now I wonder who is most likely to need one? Again, um some of us? now of course none of us would buy dodgy, so who is? I have been told it does go through the docks and onto the E European market, and also through to Africa. I know which I believe is truer.
  5. Andy Collins
    Really? When I had a machine stolen, the premium did not increase, and I'm still paying the same now more than five years on. It is a business cost, passed onto the clients, just as fuel price rises and other sundries. Don't get me wrong, all theft is totally wrong, and against any moral standard, but the thieves don't think like us, and to prevent further losses we have to start seeing it their way. Or carry on losing.
  6. Andy Collins
    Don't forget, most machines are into containers, down the docks and abroad before the Police have even turned out to give you a "victims of crime" leaflet to accompany your crime no. They are not feeding a market in this country, but abroad, where black market rules control everything. This is proper crime, not just a few smackheads after a fix, unless someone is giving them it to nick for them.
  7. Andy Collins
    Yes, that's how the thieves see it, it's not their fault for stealing it, it's our fault for not insuring it properly, or not locking it down so stupidly tight it takes an age to get to work, or forgetting to take the keys out of the truck after a hard day. It's all our fault. We deserve to lose it.
  8. Andy Collins
    The "habit" is not always drink/drugs, some are career criminals for whom stealing is like us going to work with its own set of risks. Let's face it, if you can steal a chipper and get a few grand for a couple of hours work, it's going to worth the risk isn't it? The company you steal from is insured, the insurer pays out, and the dealer sells a new chipper. The "victim" has a new machine, he's happy, the insurer get higher premiums, he's happy, the thief gets a few £££s for nowt, he's happy, and the dealer gets his sale, he's happy too. Whose lost out?
  9. Andy Collins
    No, they put up our premiums.
  10. Andy Collins
    They aren't interested in the tools for work. They don't work for a living, stealing is their profession. All they're interested in is the re-sell value. Cheap Aldi goods would have no value, top of the range pro tools will fetch them good £££s. We have to stop thinking that they think like us. They don't.
  11. Andy Collins
    Afraid it does make sense. I spoke to a dealership about suggested fitting of trackers and alarms as standard. I was told that it was not in their interest as replacement on insurance was big business. Sad but true. I bet every dealer would silently agree, but not say loudly
  12. Andy Collins
    Electric saws have there place, and as an occasional user I guess it makes sense to have one. You don't have to worry about diaphragms perishing, fuel going off etc. and you saved your soul from eternal damnation by employing a tree surgeon for proper tree work. Re: the above advice, stuff I would check first. I don't know how strong the drive would be on a B&D saw, maybe the sudden stop has wrung something internally, worse case scenario.
  13. Andy Collins
    Why do you have to keep the machine in the van overnight? If it's worth anything to you it's also worth stealing. Thieves do rely on us "leaving stuff in vans" it's just so easy for them. IMO the more secure you make the van, the more of a temptation it makes it, all they have to do is drive it away and work on it. Truckers leave doors open to show there is nothing nick able on board.
  14. Andy Collins
    Being hidden away is not necessarily a good thing. It gives plenty of time to thieves to do what they want. Most cases are not random snatch and grab, but planned out. They are professionals, in their own right, they know when you're in and when you go to the pub, when you work locally and when you work away. They know the time of night you let the dog out, and when you get the post in. They rely on you being a creature of habit, and as such we are lazy, can't be bothered. That's when they hit. They even see it as our fault. Keep an eye on vehicles about, when I was robbed there were extra vehicles parked about "on their phones" conveniently. When I reported the plates it turned out all 3 vehicles had false plates. This was after the robbery, waiting to see when I replaced the kit. Be suspicious of everyone, and let strangers know you know they're about.
  15. Andy Collins
    Contractors around here drive across the region, not just the county. When they cleared the large field out here the other week, they drove straight off the fields without looking, it's on a sharp double bend. How no one had an accident I don't know, it certainly was not skill, just luck. They're pulling huge trailers at speed on winding country lanes. It is not funny to see school buses full of kids driving up the verges to avoid collision.
  16. Andy Collins
    Usual practise is to mention at the bottom of pictures or quotes the originator, so that others can see where it came from, ie "pics courtesy of national Geographic" or whatever. It's a superb picture, and I believe should be shared amongst interested parties to discuss climbing techniques, or tree size/shapes. I see no problem of the pic being on the forum, such a quality shot enhances the forum. Arguing, does not.
  17. Andy Collins
    Iirc there were moans that it was too far south!!!
  18. Andy Collins
    For those that can only read half way, as above, so no apology due, and I did re-iterate this in my last post. See, laziness is rife, and a sad human trait.
  19. Andy Collins
    Yes, it's a laziness of attitude, "that'll do". How is the climber ever going to improve and become a better climber by standing in a lower position and working around the tree with a pole saw? He may as well just hack the limbs off where he can reach them. And, the standard of work reached with pole chainsaw will never be of the same standard as that of a climber making the extra effort. Cuts will be raggedy, not to growth points, and generally less accurate. If climbers want to earn top money, they need to learn to do a top job.
  20. Andy Collins
    As you know, I used to ground for Steve, and I can vouch for his claims, and most other climbers I've worked with would be at this standard. In general, it's either laziness or inability that prevents a climber getting out there to the tippy tips.
  21. Andy Collins
    I agree 100% Marti, but it really does not pay some people to go to work. The system itself is so flawed. Who in their right mind goes to work when there is a chance of more money for doing nothing? When I was ill a couple of years ago, I was getting ESA, I couldn't believe how well off I was, for no effort. I'm not a lazy person, nor a scrounger and after 4months claiming, I decided to stop and return to work. The assessors were shocked, I was entitled to claim for much longer, why put yourself through all that suffering when there is help there? I had to really be persuasive to get them to believe I didn't want to continue claiming. A lot of folk would have said oh alright then, sod it.
  22. Andy Collins
    This is e fault of the system IMO. Wages are poor, in relation to benefits. Why would a family man risk the hassle of losing money to work maybe part time, then have no work tomorrow to feed his kids? I know a chap who applies for every job he can, he works on a p/t basis as that's all he can find. He is now 60, full employment is unavailable to him. Last week he got 3hrs employment at a large DIY chain, the week before he did 44hrs. Basic rate. How on earth is he supposed to run a house and budget to live with such unrealistic terms of employment. Xmas coming up, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes. Yes there Is work out there, but employers don't want to employ full time staff if they can avoid it, and many are only too happy to take on casual JSA claimers as they are cheap disposable labour.
  23. Andy Collins
    Try contacting Timberwolf, as Chippits were made by Entec! which renamed as Timberwolf.
  24. Andy Collins
    We need the clever ones to keep the status quo. Token clever folk give the forum a certain something. It looks good.
  25. Andy Collins
    A truer statement should read, "most good tree surgeons are members of Arbtalk"

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