The truth about Britains epidemic

The alarm beside your bed goes off, it's still dark, you get dressed you drink a coffee, you walk outside. 

Something feels off, you see paperwork flying in the wind.

Wait a minute, that's your paperwork. 

Your stomach sinks and you're full of fear. 

Your van door is open and you expect the worst. 

Your tools are gone. 

You go back inside and pace around the kitchen for 10 minutes clutching your mobile phone not really sure what to do. 

You text the boss/customer: "Gary, someone did my van mate, I won't be in today need to sort this out."

You ring the police, they give you a crime reference number, you jot it down on a piece of paper and realise what a waste of time that was!

A few days pass, you've rung your insurance and you're covered for a grand's worth of tools.

Luckily, one of your mates has lent you some old tools to get you back out there and a locksmith has fixed your van door. 

However, you lost 2 days off work and wasted lots of time on the phone and in tool shops replacing your tools. 

but what is worse is something else..... The thought that this vagrant and disgrace to society has been rifling around in your van stealing your tools and has got away with it and no one seems to really care.

Those thoughts turn very quickly into anger, bitterness, and resentment, you start to carry that around, fantasing about what you could or should have done if you caught them or catch them, although, deep down you know it would have ended badly for all if you had. 

Your wife or girlfriend hears it, your parents hear it, your mates hear it, your customers hear it. 

Those feeling, sadly just don't go in a few days. it takes time but they do go.  

One thing that doesn't go so speedily is the 'fear', now knowing every night and every day this could happen again. 

Vanmate is a very simple motion sensing alarm system, that literally will take 1 minute to fit in the back of your van and if someone tries it and opens your doors they will be welcomed to the piercing tune of 120DB - that's enough to wake the street. 

Order van mate - If someone does manage to get your doors open 120db will let you and the street know, minimising the chances of your tools being stolen. 

A van is broken into every 23 minutes in the UK 

Vanmate will help stop your tools from being stolen, no thief with 2 brain cells to rub together is going to hang around with 120db going off in their ears. 

I know, some damage has been done, your doors may have been forced open, you just need to make sure you have the right level of cover on your insurance to protect you from that.

We recommend: simply business 

Get a quote from Simply business to protect your van & tools - we found them to be the cheapest offering the most comprehensive cover. 

Thanks for reading, John Buckley, ex heating engineer.  

Ps. this has happened to me and I've just explained how it made me feel. 

If you can relate or have a mate who can relate, share the post on whatsapp or facebook to raise awareness.