As you see in the article. the poice stated that it was a civil matter and could not take any action even if the rider was found. Not very satisfactory.
Well, on Friday I was in the shop looking for some new knicks and asked Steve if he ever got his bike back.
When they realised that the blke was not coming back, they grabbed a few stills from the shop security camera and then posted on Facebook asking anyone if they recognised the culprit. Steve also paid up to boost the post.
The fraud happened at close of business on the Saturday. By Monday the post got 65,000 hits!
Come Monday they got word from some random that the guy was at the Apple Store. They got over there pronto, confronted the guy, arrested him and called the cops. The cops came, went to Freo to collect the bike (still in new condition fortunately) and return it to Steve and charged the bloke with theft and or fraud.
The guy was an engineer visiting from Germany so, presumably, not living by the seat of his pants.
Though not all shops are so fortunate, Steve tells me that, in the many decades of operation, it is the first time anyone has tried such a scam on Elite Racing.
OK, that's your good news story for the week.
Man takes off with $8,000 Elite Racing Cycles bike after test ride from Beaufort Street store
A trusting bike store owner in Beaufort Street is counting the cost of his faith in people today after a customer’s test ride set him back $8,000.
Elite Racing Cycles’ owner, Steve Harcourt, said a customer came in to the store yesterday asking to give the expensive bike a quick spin - but has not come back since.
To add insult to injury he’s been told police can do nothing about it.
The customer first came in to the store yesterday afternoon around midday, inspected the bike and took it for a quick ride.
Mr Harcourt didn’t think twice about letting him take it out again when he returned at 3pm asking to have another go.
The man handed over headphones and a mobile phone as collateral, a move that bizarely eliminates the extent to which police can pursue him.
"The lady at the call centre told me that because I'd accepted a telephone and a set of speakers I had entered a contract with this gentleman to take the bike and there was nothing they would be able to do to help me,” Mr Harcourt said.
"It made me feel very deflated - being a trusting sort of guy that I am, I was quite upset standing outside looking at an empty road waiting for the bike to turn up and it not turn up.”
Mr Harcourt added that he will go to his local police station tomorrow, hand in the phone and headphones and hopefully make a statement - but police say it is now a civil matter due to the so called verbal contract the pair had.
And while losing out on $8,000 Mr Harcourt says that while customer will now have to go through some pretty thorough checks - he'll still let them take test rides.
"We sell bikes worth a lot of money here and I love people having that opportunity to ride my bikes,” he said.
“I think it's important they can do that.”
https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa/man ... 881358159z
