WWMD: Stolen bike found, but the guy claims he paid a lot of money for it

So in January I had my apartment building's steel gated bike room broken into, and my bike lock disabled and my Yeti SB-66 (and road bike) stolen.

Insurance actually covered the cost of the Yeti, and I ended up getting a Bronson CC with a sweet kit with the money - no cost out of pocket for me. On paper, the Bronson has a better kit than my old bike, carbon frame with lifetime warranty, handles every situation I throw at it, climbs okay, jumps really well ... but for the first 3 months I kept saying, "I really miss my Yeti!!!" Geometry just wasn't doing it for me - not progressive enough - and the rear linkage is not as optimized for climbing as the SB-66. Yeti was like driving a Lambo and Bronson is like driving an Audi, very comfortable but not very "jet fighter like" in how it handles terrain.

Today some random guy who lives 4 miles away calls me out of the blue, saying that he bought it from a local construction worker, and a couple of months later checked https://bikeindex.org/ and realized that he bought a stolen bike. He didn't know what I wanted to do and didn't bring up money until I asked him specifically if he paid money and if so how much. He claimed that he paid $1000 for it. He suspects the bike might have changed hands a couple of times in the last 10 months.

He said he wasn't sure if I had already gotten a replacement bike or if I had insurance pay me for it, and hasn't been in this situation before but called me because it was the right thing to do with stolen property. Overall his tone was sympathetic and I have no reason to suspect he's scamming me - he did not ask for money. He put it to me to think about how I want to handle it, and I told him I'd call him back since it was a huge surprise to get his call.

On the one hand, it's my property and I have proof that I paid for it and it's mine.
On the other hand insurance did cover my loss and this guy is out a big chunk of cash if I go to repo the bike with no remuneration offer or return reward.
If I thought my current ride was way better, I'd move on and maybe even go riding with the guy.
But I do miss that bike. Despite it being old and out of warranty and hard to service, that progressive frame has a feeling that you can't understand until you ride an SB-66. I'd LOVE to get it back, I just need to think about what's a fair to handle this.

WWMD?

The right thing to do is eighter let him keep the bike or pay him for it. You were made whole again by the insurance company. You could have bought the same bike with the insurance money if you really wanted to replace it.

I agree that the right thing is for him to keep the bike given your insurance outcome. Where he might be useful is providing information to authorities to track down the thief, but the risk is that your insurance company wants the bike to recoup some of what it paid out to you.

Assuming you talk to him more and are comfortable he's not scamming you...

Buy it from him for what he has into it. Ride the Yeti again and confirm that you do actually like it better and it's not just your perception becoming hazy over time.

If you do like it better, mix and match parts from the two bikes to pimp out the Yeti as needed. Sell the Bronson for more than $1k, which should be pretty easy to do. Maybe consider selling the Bronson to dude who had the Yeti.

If you like your old bike better than your new one couldn't you offer to trade him? He doesn't have the emotional attachment to it that you do and the new bike's worth more so it'd be a win-win.

I'll line up to take the "throw away" bike for $1,005 :smile:

It might be beat to shit by now

you could sell the bike you got and give him some $ to cover what he spent

you could just leave things as they are

we got a lot of fucking lawyers & dentists here so what are the legal ramifications I wonder?

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Assuming you talk to him more and are comfortable he's not scamming you...

Buy it from him for what he has into it. Ride the Yeti again and confirm that you do actually like it better and it's not just your perception becoming hazy over time.

If you do like it better, mix and match parts from the two bikes to pimp out the Yeti as needed. Sell the Bronson for more than $1k, which should be pretty easy to do. Maybe consider selling the Bronson to dude who had the Yeti.

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Yeah so far this resonates with me the most.

I should ask if he has any evidence of payment - paypal, cancelled check, bank withdrawl, matching up with purchase timeline, etc.

If I ride both bikes side x side then I'll know it's not fanciful thinking and focus around the frame that I really do like better.

Yeti I had XTR rims & hubs w/ fast engagement, Bronson rear hub sucks w/ slow engagement. Yeti I have harsh original CTD, Bronson I have plusher RT3. Cranks, bars, etc.

MTslackcountry - I actually couldn't have bought the same bike again because it's been out of production for 2 years and really hard to find used in the right condition with the right kit, and the insurance money would not have covered a current gen SB-6c with equivalent kit (that's like a $8-9K bike). Also some claims require you to show insurance that you are replacing the lost item so it was easier to buy new, kitted as close as possible to what's desired, with a single expense rather than buying lots of things here and there over the course of 4-6 weeks.

Ask him if he found the package in the seat tube and if this is a setup with the cops listening. He will say no, so then apologize and say, "Just keep it. But maybe don't try to fly with it".

I'm with toast as well, sounds like good advice

Since they paid out, your Insurance likely owns the bike now so refer him to them

My renter's insurance never asked for the money back, but I did call them. They paid for it, so it was theirs.

Serious thought: trade bikes with the dude? There's probably a 60 or 90 day window where after that you don't have to pay them back. Just an uneducated guess. Probably varies by state.

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Originally Posted by stuckathuntermtn

Just an uneducated guess..

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this should be your signature!

explain that the said bike has sentimental value to you. offer to trade straight up. if the guy is genuine (which it sounds like his is) I highly doubt he would have a problem with it, assuming both bikes hold roughly the same value.

how did he get such a smoking deal? sounds like he just wants money because he said what he paid....like a sob story.

. get your bike back, cops love this stuff.

Have you considered asking him if he wants to trade you for the bike you currently have?

Tell him you really loved that bike and see if he wants to trade

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Originally Posted by DasBlunt

how did he get such a smoking deal? sounds like he just wants money because he said what he paid....like a sob story.

. get your bike back, cops love this stuff.

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You dumb fuck. He got it cheap cause its stolen. Ethically Scharlp would need to contact the insurance company if he gets the bike back for free. The dude with the bike reached out and asked schralp what he wanted to do... Doesn't sound like hes trying to extort money out of him. Im sure that bike is worth more than $1k so shralp should buy it from the guy if he wants it back. That is if its not trashed. There is 0 reason to contact the police. All that would do is waste everyones time. If he gets the bike back for free can you say insurance fraud? Das cunt you can now shut the fuck up.

Even if he pays for the bike, it could still be considered fraud.
Contact the insurance company.

You should call the police as they have an open case on your stolen bike.

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Originally Posted by MTslackcountry

If he gets the bike back for free can you say insurance fraud?

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Hypo for you: You lose your phone, but have insurance. You pony up the deductible, remotely brick the old one, and receive a new one. The old phone gets mailed back to you by an anonymous good samaritan. What do you do?

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posses...f_stolen_goods

Dascunt thinks he should get cops involved so that schralp can fuck over the guy who did the right thing and try to get the bike for free therefor profiting on this whole thing. Dascunt types are why our country is so fucked up. People don't do the right thing anymore. The guy with the bike should be commended for reaching out. although the guy should have checked the bike before he bought it and could have busted the bike theif in the first place.... I for one would not want to be riding a bike around that I scammed and schemed for. Karma is a bitch... riding along take a digger hmmmm karma.... hmmmm broken neck....

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Originally Posted by MakersTeleMark

Hypo for you: You lose your phone, but have insurance. You pony up the deductible, remotely brick the old one, and receive a new one. The old phone gets mailed back to you by an anonymous good samaritan. What do you do?

Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posses...f_stolen_goods

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How would the good Samaritan have my mailing address? I would likely call insurance company and ask them what they wanted me to do. Most likely because both phones are now used they would write it off and I would have 2 phones, good karma and a clear conscience.

The "correct" answer is call the cops and notify your insurance company.

If you don't feel a strong moral pull to do the correct thing, then toast's answer.

I've dealt with this situation before, and I can tell you while you might feel bad for the guy, you are entitled to your bike back without payment. Period. It's his fault he purchased stolen property. Whether you want to get the cops involved is up to you. As for your new bike, you paid premiums to insure it. Those premiums paid off. Nice little windfall, but not illegal, or unethical.

^ I'll check the T's & C's of my insurance policy in addition to the paperwork I signed when I accepted the compensation for loss and damages. I'm not sure anything amounts to fraud if I get back the original goods, because the replacement goods have already been depreciated. It's not like I can just go return those goods and refund the insurance company. Likewise there is no guarantee that my property is in the same condition before I was deprived of use.

The open police investigation is a valid point. I do have a case on file (required for insurance). Person who contacted me remarked that the person he purchased from had gotten it from someone else as "loan collateral" but balked. Pawn shop possibly? Who knows. Stolen bikes are a racket and this was no druggie opportunistic crime - it was a straight up pro thief specifically targeting my property and my bikes. They probably work with other people who fence the goods into the community. I was shocked to see that it ended up so close to home; I figured it would go on a van headed for Sacramento rather than risk being discovered in the local area. Shows how little I know about drugs/thieves/fences/pawn shops/fraud/etc. Police deserve the opportunity to close the case or put more intel together ... but shit, this is Oakland and honestly the cops don't have the time to investigate people like me w/ good jobs having $5K bikes getting stolen with no one getting hurt.

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Originally Posted by muted

this should be your signature!

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Haha

when my bike was stolen, my insurance co had dibs on the bike if it turned up.
the adjuster said they could reclaim value by selling it, but he seemed to hint that that would be unlikely

Whatever you do, don't listen to people saying you should contact your insurance company. There is no ethics when dealing with an insurance company (do you think they ever cut people a break because it's the right thing to do? hell no), and all that would do is screw the other guy out of $1,000. It's not like this is some mom and pop operation here.

Leave the cops out of it too unless there's a legitimate chance of catching the guy who stole it.

i missed the part where you live in Oaktown.....

proceed being nice to the random dude, and fuck the police and the Insurance company...

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Originally Posted by DasBlunt

i missed the part where you live in Oaktown.....

proceed being nice to the random dude, and fuck the police and the Insurance company...

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OK, your insurance co is entitled to the bike IMHO. That said, a REAL good case of amnesia ought to fix all this right up (should you be so inclined); make sure he knows not to try to move the bike but without, you know, conspiring to commit fraud.

Lets say it was not a $6k bike but a $60k dune buggy. Like a badass dune buggy, even one that maybe could talk, like speedbuggy (which was totally not like Scooby Doo). So, you tell the dude, "im not doing shit, I got paid, you got the buggy, whatevs.." You guys become friends and are seen by an overly eager insurance investigator dune buggying around together. At first glance, it looks an awful lot like you "stole" the buggy "to" your bud...see? Investigation ensues and, while the original assumption was untrue (letting your bud steal it and collecting the insurance $$), it is still revealed that you and he conspired to conceal the stolen property. I changed the values to be higher because, frankly, I doubt they give a shit about anything under 10k unless you poke them in the nose with it.

This is even more of a guess but I'm also thinking that unless you are insured by United Way, they ain't gonna try to work with letting the guy keep the bike, which would really be the only way to close the case with the cops and 'clean' the title.

Legally, the cops should sort it out. The dude is in possession of stolen property assuming you filed a police report which you probably did. Not that it would ever happen but if the insurance company found out you have a bike they paid to replace, you've committed insurance fraud. Having dealt with a few insurance adjusters, that bike would probably legally be sold or given to one of the adjusters buddies once the insurance company takes it back while technically marked as destroyed on a form somewhere. My buddy's wife use to be an adjuster and there's a number of flat screens and repaired carbon fiber frames rolling around his house that he only paid for the repairs on. This is not an isolated adjuster case.

And really, fuckers that buy super cheap nice bikes from an untrusted source with no proof of where the bike came from are only slightly less lame than bike thieves. Ignorance is no reason or excuse to support bike thieves.

Now you just need to figure out which way your moral compass is pointing.

Seems odd that we aren't focusing on the fact that:
1. You're trying to recover a bike that has a 99% chance of breaking in the next few hundred miles of riding. And that the bike's manufacturer gives fuck all about helping you replace it.
2. You're currently on a bike that has a 1% chance of breaking in the next thousand miles of riding, but if it does the manufacturer will replace it pretty painlessly.

^ I know, it's like sex with the crazy hot chick who is, literally, crazy vs. the long term girlfriend.
You ever ridden one of those bikes?

touché

every woman I was ever with and /or married to I am glad that I am no longer with/ or married to ...you also need to come to this kind of realization

Tell buddy that you think he has you confused with some body else and enjoy the bike you have

The insurance company typically owns that bike after they paid for it. They will then sell it through a salvage company.

I'd call the adjuster, tell him you think you've found the bike and will he take $500 for it if you want to buy it. They might say yes, they might send the police after the kid that bought the stolen bike.

I would definitely not pay the guy any money. He bought stolen property and he knew it.

If you buy the bike back and keep it, you should be concerned with being in possession of stolen property and having committed insurance fraud. Once the insurance company paid you off, the bike became their property and issue.

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Originally Posted by muted

this should be your signature!

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Done, lol

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Originally Posted by Conundrum

Legally, the cops should sort it out. The dude is in possession of stolen property assuming you filed a police report which you probably did. Not that it would ever happen but if the insurance company found out you have a bike they paid to replace, you've committed insurance fraud. Having dealt with a few insurance adjusters, that bike would probably legally be sold or given to one of the adjusters buddies once the insurance company takes it back while technically marked as destroyed on a form somewhere. My buddy's wife use to be an adjuster and there's a number of flat screens and repaired carbon fiber frames rolling around his house that he only paid for the repairs on. This is not an isolated adjuster case.

And really, fuckers that buy super cheap nice bikes from an untrusted source with no proof of where the bike came from are only slightly less lame than bike thieves. Ignorance is no reason or excuse to support bike thieves.

Now you just need to figure out which way your moral compass is pointing.

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That's a good point.
Call the cops to close the case. At least keep the dude in the loop on it, since it seems like he might be stupid but at least honest. Also call the insurance company. Again, you may be able to keep the bike. He'll be taught and expensive lesson. Either way, you have a bike. Or 2.

Just walk away.
If you think about the $1k you're considering spending on this increasingly low value bike, perhaps put your energy and money toward flipping the Bronson frame and trying something like a SOLO or Nomad. Or any one of a number of bikes that are loved right now. Personally, I'd get a carbon Warden.