Any Gas Engineer who has had their tools nicked out of their van will be glad to hear about a new online petition aimed at stamping out the issue.
Ever since ‘Lockdown 3’ was eased in April 2021, more than £46 million worth of tools have been stolen from vans, according to numbers from Direct Line.
A new petition is calling for a parliamentary committee to be created to bring together police, politicians, van and tool manufacturers, insurance providers and society leaders to discuss the issue of tool theft and propose solutions.
More than half of tradespeople (59%) don’t have tool insurance and it usually takes them a full working week to replace if they fall victim to tool theft.
Tool theft hotspots:
- London (12,769 reported cases)
- West Yorkshire (400)
- Northumbria (233)
- Kent (217)
£245,000 worth of tools are stolen every day – but just 1% are recovered, and convictions are few and far between.
Clive Holland, one of the hosts on Fix Radio – a radio station especially for tradespeople, believes nothing is being done to tackle the problem.
“Police are overwhelmed, politicians don’t care, and better security features on vans or tools isn’t a priority with manufacturers,” he says.
“Tool theft is not a victimless crime – it attacks the livelihoods of the UK’s two million tradespeople. It means work is lost, earnings disrupted and plunges many tradespeople into debt just to replace tools just so they can go back to work.”
Sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/602211
We’re looking for Gas Engineers throughout the UK to join AO.
You’ll be able to work a ‘four-on, four-off’ pattern.
And you can keep your gas card, so you can carry on working for yourself.
Visit our jobs page and enjoy a steady income with AO – the destination for electricals.