My friend had his skates stolen ....

[Aussie Willy]

.... and got them back. But how he got them back is just amazing.

They were taken from his car. They had been put in the back seat instead of the trunk by his friends. So someone must have looked in the back seat and thought the bag they were in was like some kind of computer equipment. They smashed the window to get them. Funny thing was his new sunglasses and wallet were also in the car and not touched.

However when he realised he rang radio stations and asked if they would mention he had them stolen because he is waiting to get his visa to join Disney (he could go any moment now) and obviously needs his skates. Most weren't interested but one of them was and they asked him lots of questions about his skating and put out a plea for his skates to be returned.

Anyway 30 minutes later a woman who had been hearing the radio station(because she was running late for work) rang to say that they were left in the stairwell of the building she worked in and she only had used the stairwell that day because she had been running late.

My friend is so lucky but the funny thing is why would anyone want to steal someone's skates. When the thieves realised what they got they must have been in for a shock!!!

[angelskates]

Knowing who your friend is Aussie Willy (well, at least presuming), I am sure he is extremely grateful! I can't believe ALL the radio stations weren't on it! Weird that his wallet wasn't taken. He needs new friends if they put all his stuff in clear view though!! Do you know the first place he goes to with Disney?

[How was Master's Cup by the way?]

[skaternum]

Wow! What an amazing story. I'm so glad for your friend. He was smart to call radio stations!

Perhaps skatingatty will entertain us with her story of how her skates "left" her car. It's almost as good. :lol:

[skatingatty]

Heehee... I have lotsa work to do but I'm too excited about the Peach Classic to do much. I got heat moldable Jacksons with MK pro blades in fall 2002 and had only worn them a few times. They cost almost $400 from Skaters Paradise in VA. I kept them in a little leather suitcase in my car's trunk.

A co-worker told me about her church giveaway (basically a yardsale in the hood where everything is free), so I gathered up bags of old clothes and stuff and drove over to the projects in Raleigh. I got the stuff out and a few people came to help me out. I specifically said, "Don't take everything b/c some of it's not for donation." I carried my stuff over, feeling charitable, and then got back to my car. I think it was a day later that I realized my skate bag and skates were gone! :cry: My co-worker's friend recalled the skate bag being there at the end of the event, and someone opened it and said incredulously, "Somebody donated ice skates!" After my co-worker made some calls, I found out that the donations not taken were dropped off at the Raleigh Rescue Mission, so I went there and the dirty, old warehouse was filled with mounds of old stuff. The employees said some other group had recently dumped off piles of clothes, and there was no way I was going to get a shovel and dig through everything. I even went back with signs offering $100 cash for the return of my skates, but got no response.

I went back to wearing my tight, ill-fitting Harlicks and finally got some custom Klingbeils earlier this year, which feel a lot better than those Jacksons did anyway (the Jacksons weren't custom). I am now a lot more careful when donating to charity. :)

[mikawendy]

What a story! That goes to show truth is stranger than any fiction a novelist could think up!

Aussie Willie I hope your friend has a great time with Disney. I know a girl who danced for Disneyworld during summers when she was in college. She enjoyed it a lot.

[dbny]

I think losing one's skates is a real nightmare. Glad your friend got them back, and glad for skatingatty, that she got better skates.

Last year after the morning public session at one rink where I teach, I saw another coach's skates on a bench. I knew that he had left already and also that he would need his skates the next day at a different rink. I grabbed them, found his phone number with google, and returned them to him at the other rink, where I was skating the freestyle he was teaching on. His poor old skates were so shabby that someone might have just chucked them at clean up time that night. He & his wife, also a coach, had a baby on the way and couldn't afford new boots.

[PattyP]

Your friend is very lucky. I've had this happen to me twice and never got them back either time. One pair was only 1 month old and they had my name burned into the bottom of the boot. The first time they broke the window out of my car to steal them and the second time I had them in my trunk, with my car parked in the garage. It didn't help that my husband left the garage door open all night. :roll:

I think this is every skaters worst nightmare. Both times this happened to me was right before I had a test session scheduled.

[Aussie Willy]

Thanks for the feedback and the stolen skates stories.

Someone else I know had their car stolen with their skates in them. They didn't care so much about the car because it was a bomb, but having the skates stolen were a real problem. It can take such a long time to get them here in Australia, but also having comfortable skates is so important. They ended up finding their car parked just a few blocks away from where it was stolen and managed to get their skates back.

Angelskates - I will PM you!!

[Beccapoo2003]

Here's another skate story..... I was going to a competition in Michigan the next day and had taken my skates out of my locker at the rink to bring home to pack. Went to the drive through at the bank, Micky D's drive through for lunch, then 15 miles to work. Got to work and was going to take the skates out of the car so they wouldn't get too hot...........$#%*& ! They weren't there! Retraced my steps.......OMG......there's one in the median of the freeway..maybe it's OK and the other one is nearby. Aaaaarrgh!! Only one boot and one half of a blade!!! ( you guessed it-retard left them on top of the car) :oops: USH!! So I borrowed my coaches wife's skates which were a little big, but with 2 pairs of thick socks could get by, and had a fun weekend.
Needed new skates anyway!
Becca from Alabama

[luna_skater]

A friend of mine had ONE of her skates stolen, but never had the happy ending of getting it back. Her skates were in her car in a backpack when her car was broken into. The backpack was open a bit, so when they grabbed it, one of the skates fell out. They obviously didn't notice, and didn't check to see what was in the bag. So my friend was left with one boot and blade and never did have the backpack returned. She does have new skates now, but has no idea what to do with the old one. We've come up with a lot of ridiculous suggestions, but no practical ones. :lol:

[flippet]

As an aside, I've never understood the charm of stealing a backpack. I only ever kept books and crumpled up papers in mine--and the occasional old candy bar wrapper. I can see that a thief might be hoping for a wallet or something---but in my experience, you'd get a wallet maybe one time out of ten, and if it belongs to a poor college student, you might come up with a handful of change from it. :lol: It just doesn't seem worth the risk.

You people are freaking me out with your stolen skates stories!! 8O I think I'm going to put a note in my skate bag that says "If you have stolen this bag and can see that the contents are worthless to you--PLEASE drop it off at the nearest ice rink. You can tell the staff that someone left it outside, and no one will question you. They can find my name and address and return it to me. Thank you."

[Mrs Redboots]

Husband once left his on the train, but (phew!!!!) was able to get them back from Lost Property the next day.

[dbny]

( you guessed it-retard left them on top of the car) :oops:

Hubby has left so many things on top of car that I have learned never, ever, ever, to put anything there, even for a moment.

[mary]

I was driving along the expressway recently when I had to swerve to avoid a metal golf club of all things! A little ways farther, another! Then another! Obviously, someone probably left them on the hood of their car and drove off. Hope they weren't too expensive. Wonder how long it took them to realize where they all went :lol:

[Isk8NYC]

Knowing that many of the skaters on this site have expensive skates, I ask this question: Does homeowners or renters insurance cover a loss like this? Is there a rider clause you can purchase to cover replacement value cost?


Equipment coverage would be a good thing to add to the Coaches' Liability Insurance policies.

[FSWer]

From what you say it sounds like mistakened a equiptment bag for skates. Because they didn't steal any money or anything. Umm weird. I'm glad he got them back. Is the toepick ok? BTW. what do we mean when we say Visa to join?

[backspin]

In reply to the insurance question......I called my agent when I first got good skates to ask that question. It took awhile to convince him that ice skates were worth looking into being insured! I kept asking for confirmation that they would be covered under my homeowners insurance, and he was kind of half-listening & saying, "yeah, they'll be covered......." But when I kept asking for the amount that would be covered, if I needed to bring in a receipt, etc., finally he said, "Well, no you don't have to do that..... I mean unless these are, like, custom made, $600.00 skates......" (in a kind of sarcastic tone, obviously thinking he was saying something that was ridiculous)......and I said, "That's exactly what I'm talking about! My skates are worth about $800.00!" There was this long pause on the other end, and suddenly he said, "Wait a minute......who is this?! :lol: :lol: All of a sudden he started paying attention. :lol:

[Isk8NYC]

I asked because of a car accident I had years ago. Short story, my car was totalled on my way to work. I had my skates and a change of clothes because I was going to the rink after work. A cousin stopped to help me as I was emptying my car out to be towed. I handed him one bag of dash compartment junk and my skates. Then I went to the hospital and let the car be towed. Thank God he recognized me an stopped to help.

Vin's a wonderful person that has a tendency to be very thrifty. (You know, drop off the payment instead of paying for a stamp.) For months, he made fun of me for worrying about the skates being stolen. Finally I said, "Vin, the skates cost over $500 and take two months to have custom-made."
I thought he was going to be sick. They cost WHAT???

[angelskates]

When I had contents insurance with my apartment, I paid extra for my skates to be separately insured, covering them if they got stolen from outside the house (rink etc). I also got my laptop and violin separately insured.

My travel insurance (I am living in China) also has my computer etc separately insured, and my skates. I separately insured anything of significant value, because the top rate my insurer pays for a single item won't cover them.

[Figureskates]

I had the same reaction from my insurance company when I told them the cost of my skates.

I have two pairs, my freestyle pair and my patch pair. Besides the time and expense of breaking in a new pair, another problem I face is the growing scarcity of finding patch blades that fit my boot (I have a size 12 boot).