Missing Van Keys .... HELP !

[Pauljenny]

We park on a football pitch car park when visiting family .

Spent Friday morning Spring cleaning before taking off for the weekend . Jenny was doing the inside , I had the bonnet up , carpets outside , and at one stage was under the van ,sorting the grey water pipe. Warm day ,all doors and windows open . .

Neighbours had warned us that there was a "tramp " living rough in the nearby woods , who was boozy and light fingered . We had seen no sight of him all week though.

Arrived at Destination and found that the spare bunch of van keys was missing . Panic phone calls .... All without success.

We are back on the carpark with a busy week ahead .Neighbours have not found any keys . Will the "tramp" wait until we both leave the van and just let himself in ?

Will I wake up tonight to find I,m cuddling a Hairy A***d Tramp ?

What do people do in this situation ?

All advice welcome . Anyone know a good wildcamping spot near Altrincham ? Nearest campsitwe is 17 miles away !

 

[Marcs]

Meh I've cuddled worse, obvious answer is to beef up security. Costly mistake.

 

[yorkieowl]

Were you both with the van all the time? wouldn't think they'd been taken, but possible I suppose, unless you left them outside, and were you 100% sure the spare keys were where you thought, we've found our keys in some really silly places, when we were sure we had them safe (dustbin and freezer) as just two examples, especially if whoever was in charge of them at the time was tired.

 

[AuldTam]

Go find the tramp and sort it...easy peasy.

 

[scampa]

As has already been said, are you sure that the keys have been stolen? Could you have put them (or left them) somewhere else by mistake, or could they have fallen into some nook or cranny that you haven't checked properly?

I suppose you've been through all of these possibilities already, but it does seem odd (though not impossible) that someone would pinch the keys whilst you were both there.

If you're still convinced that it's the "tramp", then take the earlier advice and go find him. If you ask him to keep an eye out for any lost keys in the area, especially if you mention a small reward, it may encourage him to return them to you before you leave. (If you were to accuse or threaten him, you may be less likely to see them again). He could of course be completely innocent!

It could also be worthwhile checking with the local police (or football team?) to see if they've been found and handed in?

Good Luck!

 

[NeilyG]

Excellent strategy, scampa - good thinkin batman!
If WildCamping had the equivalent of a blue peter badge, you'd have just earned it. You may proceed to the top of the class. :rabbit:

 

[Fazerloz]

Offer him £20 if he finds them. its a easy 20 for him no risk fair amount of money for a tramp. Your stuffs safe , you sleep at night without him cuddling up. Yes i know its bad having to do it but it will be the best 20 you could spend and keys are expensive thes days .Good luck hope it works out well.

 

[Pauljenny]

Thanks For your responses

Yup , We were tired ,

The van has never been tidier as we spent most of the weekend crawling all over it.

Neighbours say the "Tramp" has not been seen lately

We've put a notice up offering a reward .

Just about to contact our local Renault Dealer and have found that the Alarm system ,(Renault factory fitted ),is not working.... Another Challenge to be overcome !

You are never bored when you have a motorhome !

 

[Smaug]

Just a thought, could they have come out of a pocket while under the van? Search the area with a magnet or better still a metal detector if you can get hold of one, stuff vanishes into grass very easily even when only a couple of inches long.

 

[n brown]

there's an old Chinese saying'' The deader the Tramp,the less stuff goes walkies''

 

[Smaug]

there's an old Chinese saying'' The deader the Tramp,the less stuff goes walkies''

That's a great idea, we could start burning witches & gassing gypsies too. (pity there isn't a sarcasm icon!)

I dare say you meant it as a joke, but as an elderly person who sometimes dresses for gardening, hull scraping, van washing, runs to the tip etc, I would not appreciate being murdered because you thought I was too scruffy to be near you.

Oh, & be careful yourself when out camping in case someone smarter than you decides you should be eliminated . . . It could even be me, following your advice when I am in Blazer & slacks or a Morning suit.

 

[sasquatch]

I usually find my keys in the fridge!

 

[n brown]

That's a great idea, we could start burning witches & gassing gypsies too. (pity there isn't a sarcasm icon!)

I dare say you meant it as a joke, but as an elderly person who sometimes dresses for gardening, hull scraping, van washing, runs to the tip etc, I would not appreciate being murdered because you thought I was too scruffy to be near you.

Oh, & be careful yourself when out camping in case someone smarter than you decides you should be eliminated . . . It could even be me, following your advice when I am in Blazer & slacks or a Morning suit.

I can see i'm going to have to start using those emoticon things.then again I might not bother

 

[Smaug]

I can see i'm going to have to start using those emoticon things.then again I might not bother

So it's ok for you to make jokes about killing tramps, but you can't take the same "joke" redirected back at you?

Fairy Nuff, I shall try not to respond in kind when you make offensive jokes in future - or maybe you could think a bit before posting? :banana:

 

[whitevanwoman]

I hope you've either found them or taken additional security measures by now, how frustrating, and potentially expensive :scared:

And another problem (alarm) to sort on a new van :sad: :mad2:

I was going to suggest giving the dealer a stern word or 2 about the problems with the van but it occurs to me that if you are understanding with the dealer and not aggressive, you might be able to persuade the dealer to change the lock barrel for you and give you a new set of keys, if not for free, then maybe cheaper.

But I find my keys, and other essentials, such as glasses, purse etc in the strangest of places, sometimes by chance, days after I've "mislaid" them - not only do I try to back track what I was doing at the time of the loss, I try to remember what I was thinking about ie, if I was thinking about the car boot stall I'm planning on doing, it's worth looking in the boxes of car boot stuff in the spare room. I do things and don't even remember doing them, particularly when stressed or got alot on my mind. I often also find all sorts of things in the washing machine after taking out all the wet clothes - one day I expect to find a washed out mobile phone in there.

I now have a specific spot for my keys and force myself to put my keys there as soon as I've used them - living alone this works for me, but when there's 2 people around, you both have to be a bit OCD about it. But then I'm sure most people are a bit like that, out of necessity. When out in the van, I have to have my keys physically attached to me (carabiner clip to belt or bag).

If it's any consolation, I once lost the dog, well, not so much lost as forgot that he was tied up outside a shop, walked out straight past him and carried on with various jobs in town. It was about half an hour before I realised something was missing... bless him, he was still waiting patiently outside the shop, with a slightly concerned look on his face, staring in the direction I'd gone in.

 

[Ste]

This happened to a lass at the antiques fair on Sunday. Turns out she'd forgot that she'd changed her trousers due to the weather.

 

[Fazerloz]

I can see i'm going to have to start using those emoticon things.then again I might not bother

:scared::danger::camper::shag::beer::nothingtoadd:

 

[n brown]

So it's ok for you to make jokes about killing tramps, but you can't take the same "joke" redirected back at you?

Fairy Nuff, I shall try not to respond in kind when you make offensive jokes in future - or maybe you could think a bit before posting? :banana:

ok mum

 

[landyrubbertramp]

you say you were uder the bonnet could they be sumwhere in the engine bay or on top of the inner wheel arch

 

[Pauljenny]

The plot thickens !

We put a notice up near the carpark. Just the phone number and offering a reward.

No keys yet, but a bloke rang to tell us he found his keys missing from his council van parked there on that Friday morning.... We noticed a worried looking chap in a hi-vis vest walking about .

Spooky eh ?

As a precaution we decided to test the factory-fitted security alarm ..... Not a peep !!

The van goes into the local Renault workshop on Monday ,new key and recoding ordered ..

I'm 100% sure the missing key will turn up on Tuesday......Will I still have to bung the finder a reward ?

You are never bored when you have a wife and a motorhome !