Theft of Main Electric Cable from House on Secure Site

[UTBoro]

Looking for some advice please. We own a bungalow in a secure development in Thailand and last week somebody entered the site and has stolen the mains electric cable to our property. They disconnected it at the meter attached to a lamp post on the roadside  outside my  property and I’m guessing they got underneath the house and cut the cable where it runs up to the fusebox inside the house. The person who owns the development is trying to say that we have to pay for the cost of replacing the cable which I won’t be as I claimed that we pay a service charge which includes security of the development, which to be honest is almost non existent. Five properties on the same development were targeted,all of which were unoccupied at the time. If the owner of the site won’t budge I’ll just withhold next years service charge, that should cover the cost of a replacement cable, surely it can’t be that expensive? Anyone experienced anything like this? Cheers.

[flyingtlger]

Hire a Thai lawyer, you'll get concrete answers and advice than you would get here.......

[SAFETY FIRST]

3 hours ago, UTBoro said:

say that we have to pay for the cost of replacing the cable which I won’t

I hope you have plenty of candles, you'll be in the dark for a long time. 

 

Go solar, I can see this happening again once you buy the new cable. 

 

BTW, where are you located, I'll come around and help you finish off the ice-cream. 

 

Edited March 18 by SAFETY FIRST

[OneMoreFarang]

4 hours ago, UTBoro said:

a bungalow in a secure development

Are there no cameras? And if not, why not?

 

In general, in case you don't know, many burglar jobs are insider jobs. The security people know which places are not occupied ... 

 

I have no idea about the legal situation. But I imagine it shouldn't be too difficult to find out who is responsible for the cable (or any part of that cable) which goes to your property. 

[UTBoro]

3 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I hope you have plenty of candles, you'll be in the dark for a long time. 

 

Go solar, I can see this happening again once you buy the new cable. 

 

BTW, where are you located, I'll come around and help you finish off the ice-cream. 

 

Thanks for your advice mate, really useful👍🏻

[UTBoro]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Are there no cameras? And if not, why not?

 

In general, in case you don't know, many burglar jobs are insider jobs. The security people know which places are not occupied ... 

 

I have no idea about the legal situation. But I imagine it shouldn't be too difficult to find out who is responsible for the cable (or any part of that cable) which goes to your property. 

Yes there are cameras and they have a good image of the thief and I am aware that it could well be someone who works there, including the security guard. Just wondered if anyone knew who would be liable for replacing the cable in this situation, not really bothered about who took it.

[SAFETY FIRST]

28 minutes ago, UTBoro said:

Thanks for your advice mate, really useful👍🏻

I wasn't being a wise guy, I was being fair dinkum.

Not sure how long you've lived in Thailand, things are different here. 

 

You say it's a secure development, that just means there is a security guard asleep on site somewhere, or perhaps it was an inside job, the security guard organised the theft.

 

Once you get the cable replaced put in your own security, steel enclosures for the cable, CCTV cameras etc. 

Why is the house unoccupied? 

Get it occupied asap. 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 18 by SAFETY FIRST

[Mike Lister]

With holding the SC for this reason is unlikely to be lawful and will probably cause even more expensive issues downstream. Similarly, retaining a lawyer to fight your corner will probably cost more than the cost of the cable. There's no good news on this. Best answer I think is to learn from the experience, replace the cable now (unless you really want to cut off your nose to spite your face) and then put in CCTV camera's.

 

 

[marin]

8 hours ago, UTBoro said:

We own a bungalow in a secure development in Thailand and last week somebody entered the site and has stolen the mains electric cable to our property.

Sadly no you dont. That's why you have a problem. 

[impulse]

I hope the OP will post back with his/her result.  Interesting question, but I suspect that many variables will figure into the result.  Like location, political clout of the parties, what's in the agreements, etc. 

 

Sadly, I'm not forecasting good news.  Seems like any case of burglary, where the OP's homeowners insurance would be the normal recourse.  Then the insurance company can seek reimbursement (or not)

 

 

[doosyhindleg]

This is a common issue in Thailand. Copper has value hence the reason clowns knock them off. Recently some cable that runs a large water pumping station supply to the village was removed so no water available till new underground cable could be installed ( lesson learned  buried cables now in place). Also aware of a vacant house in a northern village was broken into for the sole purpose of removing cable. Walls & ceilings smashed in to extract the cable whilst white goods & other items left alone. Nothing of surprise of what you experienced just a downright disgrace & nothing you can do about it unfortunately. 

[sirineou]

They claim to provide security, not to make the place totally secure, or provide insurance against theft.

They will not pay for your electrical cable, because if they do , they will establish precedent  and could be responsible for all thefts. 

[Crossy]

@UTBoro Is your cable underground or overhead?

 

If it's overhead, replace it with a size larger aluminium cable, it's far cheaper than copper and very much less likely to wander off in the night.

 

If underground you're stuck with using proper underground rated copper cable

 

Have you spoken with your insurance company?

 

[topt]

3 hours ago, Crossy said:

Have you spoken with your insurance company?

Even if he has insurance (have you OP?) if left unoccupied for more than a certain period he would probably not be covered.

[UTBoro]

10 hours ago, marin said:

Sadly no you dont. That's why you have a problem. 

My wife is Thai,she owns  the house and the land it’s built on.

[UTBoro]

10 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

I wasn't being a wise guy, I was being fair dinkum.

Not sure how long you've lived in Thailand, things are different here. 

 

You say it's a secure development, that just means there is a security guard asleep on site somewhere, or perhaps it was an inside job, the security guard organised the theft.

 

Once you get the cable replaced put in your own security, steel enclosures for the cable, CCTV cameras etc. 

Why is the house unoccupied? 

Get it occupied asap. 

 

 

 

 

House is unoccupied because we live overseas, that’s our holiday home, hence the reason we bought in a secure development. We’ve owned it for 15 years without any problems at all. Insurance is invalid if property is left unoccupied for more than 30 days. 

[Seeall]

18 hours ago, UTBoro said:

Looking for some advice please. We own a bungalow in a secure development in Thailand and last week somebody entered the site and has stolen the mains electric cable to our property. They disconnected it at the meter attached to a lamp post on the roadside  outside my  property and I’m guessing they got underneath the house and cut the cable where it runs up to the fusebox inside the house. The person who owns the development is trying to say that we have to pay for the cost of replacing the cable which I won’t be as I claimed that we pay a service charge which includes security of the development, which to be honest is almost non existent. Five properties on the same development were targeted,all of which were unoccupied at the time. If the owner of the site won’t budge I’ll just withhold next years service charge, that should cover the cost of a replacement cable, surely it can’t be that expensive? Anyone experienced anything like this? Cheers.

Yes 8 minutes was taken from the box to the house three detectors investigated the investigation is ongoing one year now then nothing has turned up of course

 

[UTBoro]

9 hours ago, doosyhindleg said:

This is a common issue in Thailand. Copper has value hence the reason clowns knock them off. Recently some cable that runs a large water pumping station supply to the village was removed so no water available till new underground cable could be installed ( lesson learned  buried cables now in place). Also aware of a vacant house in a northern village was broken into for the sole purpose of removing cable. Walls & ceilings smashed in to extract the cable whilst white goods & other items left alone. Nothing of surprise of what you experienced just a downright disgrace & nothing you can do about it unfortunately. 

Thanks mate. It is a pain but not a lot we can do to prevent this unfortunately. I presume that the local authorities install the cable so not sure what say we have on the way it’s installed or if they can make it anymore secure.We know a good electrician out there who has worked for us for years so we’ll ask him.

There’s a lot of unemployment in Thailand post Covid and the economy is suffering and I think this is just a knock on effect people are getting desperate and resorting to crime to make money.

[UTBoro]

1 minute ago, Seeall said:

Yes 8 minutes was taken from the box to the house three detectors investigated the investigation is ongoing one year now then nothing has turned up of course

 

Yes, Police attended apparently but I have no doubt that’s all they’ll do, no hope of finding those responsible.

[UTBoro]

10 hours ago, sirineou said:

They claim to provide security, not to make the place totally secure, or provide insurance against theft.

They will not pay for your electrical cable, because if they do , they will establish precedent  and could be responsible for all thefts. 

I understand what you’re saying but we pay a service charge for a non existent service, security staff on the site have been cut in recent years just to save money , even though they’re only paid a pittance and may as well not be there to be honest as anyone can enter the site at anytime. Frustrating as there’s not a lot we can do.

[sirineou]

Just now, UTBoro said:

I understand what you’re saying but we pay a service charge for a non existent service, security staff on the site have been cut in recent years just to save money , even though they’re only paid a pittance and may as well not be there to be honest as anyone can enter the site at anytime. Frustrating as there’s not a lot we can do.

I understand what you are saying and sympathize with your frustration .

I am just trying to provide a realistic view from the outside,, and hat is rather what we would want it to be, 

Perhaps the theft in your property, and other that might have happened  could help to galvanise your HOA to take steps towards the management. IMO you might have more success than going at it alone.

  If others realised that the could be next it might be incentive to join forces, 

Perhaps a newsletter delivered to each dore, because many might not be aware of what is happening

,Good luck  

[UTBoro]

11 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

With holding the SC for this reason is unlikely to be lawful and will probably cause even more expensive issues downstream. Similarly, retaining a lawyer to fight your corner will probably cost more than the cost of the cable. There's no good news on this. Best answer I think is to learn from the experience, replace the cable now (unless you really want to cut off your nose to spite your face) and then put in CCTV camera's.

 

 

Thanks for your reply. You are probably correct in what you say with regards the SC it was just a thought really but probably not a good idea. CCTV would be ok until the power cable is cut then you’ll lose coverage. I know you can use a UPS but they’re not that reliable really.

[UTBoro]

9 minutes ago, sirineou said:

I understand what you are saying and sympathize with your frustration .

I am just trying to provide a realistic view from the outside,, and hat is rather what we would want it to be, 

Perhaps the theft in your property, and other that might have happened  could help to galvanise your HOA to take steps towards the management. IMO you might have more success than going at it alone.

  If others realised that the could be next it might be incentive to join forces, 

Perhaps a newsletter delivered to each dore, because many might not be aware of what is happening

,Good luck  

That would be a good idea and it had crossed my mind as I’m certain we could provide a better service all round than we get from the current management company.

[brianthainess]

19 hours ago, UTBoro said:

that should cover the cost of a replacement cable, surely it can’t be that expensive? Anyone experienced anything like this? Cheers.

Aluminum cable is about 14b a mt

[kidneyw]

UTBoro at least they did not break into your house as well. Small consolation I know.

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, UTBoro said:

There’s a lot of unemployment in Thailand post Covid and the economy is suffering and I think this is just a knock on effect people are getting desperate and resorting to crime to make money.

Actually copper theft is not limited to Thailand.  It is very common in USA and expect has more to do with need for quick drug money than lack of employment.

[UTBoro]

Same all over the world sadly and yes they thieve for all sorts of reasons, drugs included.

[UTBoro]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Aluminum cable is about 14b a mt

Copper cable must cost a fortune then  otherwise there’s no point stealing it, we shall see I suppose. Hopefully it’s as easy to install as it is to steal.😄

[Crossy]

Is the cable underground or overhead on poles??

 

[JBChiangRai]

You own the cable from the meter to your house.

 

Imagine, they broke in and stole your TV, would you expect the development to be responsible?

 

Security is a deterrent but it doesn't replace an insurance policy.

 

I am very sorry but it is your responsibility to replace your cable.  If I were you, I would be worried about it being stolen again, you have to do something to stop that from happening.