A-Plan and Ring working together to fight against tool theft
We know that we’re probably preaching to the converted when it comes to talking about theft of tools and how much of an issue it can cause people in the trade. We’ve written a number of blogs on to protect your van and tools, and as an insurance broker, when you need to make a claim, we’ll be by your side to get you back to work as quickly as possible.
But what else is being done?
You don’t have to go to far to find a story whereby someone has had either their van or tools (or both) stolen. In fact, a quick google search and you’re pretty much guaranteed to find a daily story about this very topic. Screwfix highlighted in an article from December 2021 that a whopping 66% of tradespeople have had their tools stolen or their van broken into. Similarly, Ring carried out research with 485 professional installers with 63% having had their tools of van stolen at least once. So this is not old news! Added to that, Screwfix also highlighted those 66% lost at least a day’s work.
Ring also highlight that since 2016 over 43,000 vans have been stolen and a further 117K were broken into, costing businesses over £60m. Sadly, Ring also state in their research that the average cost for tradespeople to replace tools is over £5k, and financially, can take them between 6 weeks to 2 months’ worth of wages, causing further strain on them and their business.
Interestingly, only 40% of tradespeople had CCTV cameras at home and only 25% had additional security measures on their van. So, whilst around half of your take your tools out of your van at night, we appreciate that that’s not always practical. So those additional security measures are vital if you want to protect your tools and your livelihood.
But that brings us back to the question, what else is being done? Last April the House of Commons discussed the issue of tool theft and the impacts that it can have on businesses, with the intention of passing a Bill “to require persons selling second hand tools online to show the serial numbers of those tools in searchable advertisement text; and for connected purposes”. This Bill has been sponsored by Conservative Greg Smith MP of Buckingham and is currently awaiting it’s second reading at the House of Commons. So there are still a lot of stages yet to go before this goes to the House of Lords and signed off into law.
Whilst tool theft can and has been seen as a victimless crime, we know that it’s not. It’s affecting you and your business and causes an incredible amount of financial and emotional strain.
A-Plan working with Ring
We care deeply about our clients and are passionate about this particular topic, so that it’s not seen as a victimless crime, the impacts it has on people’s lives, as well as helping our clients get back on the road and out to work if they’ve been impacted by tool crime.
That’s why we’re working with Ring to raise more awareness around tool theft and help you with your security.
As highlighted earlier in this article, only 40% have a CCTV camera, so there’s a lot of you out there that could still up your security measures and deter the would-be criminals. And to support you with that, Ring are offering Tradespeople a huge discount off their Ring Floodlight Cam Plus – usually retailing at £179, you can get this for £99 using the link below. You’ll need to enter their competition in order for them to send you a discount code Van Tool Theft Campaign – Learn More (hubspotpagebuilder.com).
And what’s more, Ring is the only CCTV manufacturer approved by Secured By Design, which is the official police security initiative owned by the UK Police Service!
In the meantime, here at A-Plan, we’ll continue to keep you posted on the latest stats and updates in tool theft. And remember if you’ve not got your tools insured, give your local A-Plan branch a call to find out how they can help you.
