Forum Topic

Theft of catalytic converters from vehicles in Putney

Had the catalytic converter from my Honda Jazz stolen last week.  Parked in Ruvingne Gardens and stolen this week.  Watch out if you are the owners of a Japanese vehicle. This is happening on a massive scale in London apparently and takes minutes. Big article on this in the Evening Standard on Tuesday 11th Feb.

Hilary Fenwick ● 2461d10 Comments

Yes Hilary I also read the article, it's putting up your insurance as there is so much of it going on. It was a few years ago spare wheels started being taken from under the back of your car and you were advised to put spare wheels in the boot. My other half had all his hub caps taken, people are then putting on E-bay.

Barbara Stevens ● 2460d

Apparently you can have a cage fitted so that you don't lose another.  It seems it only takes a couple of minutes for two people sometimes in fluorescent jackets to jack up the car and take the catalytic converter.

Philippa Bond ● 2460d

Isn't owl.co.uk operational in Wandsworth?

Philippa Bond ● 2460d

Two residents in our road had them stolen - both from Honda Jazz vehicles. The upside is that a guy was crushed trying to remove one from a car garage recently because the handbrake wasn't on after he jacked it up and got under it. I don't apologise for my delight when I hear something like this happens to these toerags.

Roy Robart ● 2456d

I'm going to ask a stupid question!Why do people steal these things?...to sell on as a spare part? It used to be hubcaps.

Simon Knight ● 2456d

Roy - thanks for this. As an owner of a Honda Jazz I am very tempted to go and release the hand break at night. Would this be effective?

Jane Carter ● 2456d

The neighbourhood watch site Owl seems to have helped the police with catching some of these people recently. A car was caught on camera having its plates changed ready for going on a catalytic converter hunt.

Philippa Bond ● 2456d

Hello Simon,Apparently, to extract precious metals in the catalytic converters...Here is a link to a good article.  It also gives a listing of things you can do to avoid their theft and/or identification of the car they belong to.https://www.motorquotedirect.co.uk/car-insurance-blog/why-do-thieves-want-to-steal-catalytic-converters/

Ivonne Holliday ● 2456d

Sorry to hear that Hilary!We had our car stolen from a driveway on Erpingham Rd in September. Obviously stolen to order by a gang but we heard nothing from the police. 3 weeks later we had the insurance payout just by providing the reference no of the crime report we made on the Met Police website.

Mary Walker ● 2455d

If you just leave it in gear (provided you're not on a slope), the rocking as the car gets jacked up should discourage a would-be thief.

Roy Robart ● 2455d