This story began on a gloomy winter morning … No, all the same in the late evening, when I did not find free space in a cramped parking garage. I did not want to get into the small UAZ-Patriot garage, so I was sent to spend the night in the neighboring yard, where it was more free. I would have known how it would all end, I drove off to a paid parking lot, even for distant lands. And so the next morning …
THE FIRST DAY
At 8.30 the car was not in place. A strange feeling - at first you don’t really believe in bad things. You remember if you didn’t leave the car in another place, if you didn’t leave it in the parking lot near work, then you go around the back streets … And only after realizing what happened, you begin to act.
At 8.50, he called the district police department, dictated the data of the car, a contact phone number and remained at the scene of the alleged crime to wait for the police.
At 9.10 a white and blue “six” appeared, the sergeant wrote down the number of the car again and left, strictly ordering him to wait further.
At 11.00 tired of waiting - again called the police department. The second call turned out to be effective, after a quarter of an hour the striped Sable arrived. The police, having examined the scene of the incident and apologized for the delay, delivered the victim to the citadel of law enforcement.
At 11.30 he arrived in the office of the investigator and the police routine began: drawing up a diagram, special signs of the car, documents, signatures … along the way, the operas entertained the “patience” with stories of frequent hijackings and, alas, not so frequent finds.
At 12.00 he moved from the investigator’s office to the investigator’s room. A serious young man in a blue prosecutor uniform for a long time asked various strange questions …
At 13.00, having received a coupon from the duty officer saying that "… he had contacted such and such …", he left the police and called the insurance company. They reacted clearly, obliging them to deliver all the documents within three days according to the list, which was immediately dictated. Nothing unusual, you just need to remember that not only a policy will be required from you, but also a document on its payment, as well as all sets of car keys and key rings from the alarm system. It will take the very ticket from the police. In our case, it was necessary to make powers of attorney for paperwork at the Department of Internal Affairs and the insurance - after all, the car was registered with a legal entity.
SECOND DAY
Passed in collecting pieces of paper.
DAY THREE
Documents, keys and key rings delivered to the insurance company. A request was received at the Department of Internal Affairs for confirmation of the initiation of a criminal case.
A WEEK LATER
I’m going to my native police department, I find an investigator and I get a document confirming that a case has been opened on this fact.
THE NEXT DAY
Again in the insurance, give the paper and hear that they will now check us …
ANOTHER FIVE MONTH HAS PASSED
After several calls to the insurance company, they finally found out that we were not suspected of malicious intent and fraud and now they will calculate the amount of the insurance payment.
ANOTHER AFTER A WEEK
Look like that's it! 12 thousand dollars with a tail will be transferred to our account within a month. All that had to be done was to sign a paper stating that if, after paying the money, there was still a car, it would become the property of the insurance company.
TWO AND A HALF MONTH AFTER THE HIT
Phew! Everything! Money came to the account. A story that started poorly can be considered happily completed.
Of course, we went through a lot of hassle, even considering that everything went without unnecessary complications. Lost time, a long period of horselessness … Having received the money, we will buy a new car and … Again we will guess: will it be stolen or not? Garages are now more expensive than another car. There are not enough parking lots for everyone either, and they are located in such a way that you can get to work faster by metro than you reach the parking lot on foot. Find stolen cars infrequently. So, again in the insurance - to issue a CASCO policy.
WHY DOES THE “INTERCEPT” PLAN DO NOT WORK?
We hear regularly from time to time that Interior Ministry officials announce plans for “Interception”, “Barrier” or with even more menacingly sonorous names. And the result? One of the reasons why criminals manage to bypass all posts with impunity is revealed by Sergei SERGEEV, head of the traffic police of the Moscow Region:
- Every day, in hot pursuit, we manage to detain up to 20% of stolen cars. The main reason that the traffic police find only every fifth car is in the delay in information from the owner of the stolen car. They steal at night, and the owner discovers the loss only in the morning. Naturally, having several hours of handicap, criminals easily manage to not only get lost on the roads of the Moscow region (that's 40 thousand kilometers!), But even leave the territory of the region. If the information about the disappeared car reached the traffic police service, the hijackers will not be able to cross the border in the stolen car - all the "border" stationary traffic police posts are equipped with the Barrier and Potok systems that can detect the vehicle you are looking for. So we advise owners to report that their car is gone as quickly as possible and not waste time doubting.
MAGAZINE COMMENT “DRIVING”
In fact, everything is far from simple. The automated systems "Barrier" and "Search" are able to electronically control the flow of cars … only by state registration numbers. And only in fine weather; dirty numbers they will be difficult to "read." And if the criminals managed to change signs? Kill the numbers on the engine and under the hood? Indeed, professionals work in this business …
So all hope is not just about technology, but about wanted professionals. The fact that information about the hijacking will instantly reach all traffic police officers and they carefully examine all similar cars, carefully examine documents and license numbers … Alas, there are doubts.