Somebody "borrowed" my tractor

[jinman]

Wow, Jim I hate to hear this story. It's bad when you have neighbors that you can't get along with( I have one too). Dad used to say "Good fences make Good neighbors". I hope you figure out a way to give you a little peace of mind with this situation.

We've just recently put an alarm system in the house to give us a little more security when we're away from the house. Hey I never had an alarm system when I lived in the Big City, and as a kid in Oak Cliff, Tx we never even locked the doors. But the Times they are a changin'. When we go to visit the Grandkids we set the alarm and tell the neighbors we trust that we'll be gone for the day. That's about all we can do.

Good luck

Charlie

Charlie, I have a neighbor who never leaves his house nor any of his outbuildings locked. He is hidden from the street and says that he'd rather come home to a house that's been robbed than a house that's been robbed and now has a busted door or window. Anyone who breaks in here is going to do it whether or not the doors are locked. Living on a dead end road is one good thing we have. People have to leave the same way they drive in. The other thing about outsiders is that they don't know whether we have a dog or not. That said, if a neighbor watches you and decides to rip you off, there's not much you can do about it. I feel lucky to have my tractor back and even luckier that it wasn't taken before I made the hydraulic repair. If all the fluid was spewed out and the HST and main pump shot from overheating, you'd see a lot madder fellow than I am. As it is, all I have is circumstantial evidence and a gut feeling of what happened. Getting the tractor back in decent shape is something I should be happy about. However, if I knew for sure and had evidence of who took my tractor, they'd sure get an earfull from me and a visit from the sheriff to explain the definition of criminal trespassing.

 

[pacerron]

Wow, Jim I hate to hear this story. It's bad when you have neighbors that you can't get along with( I have one too). Dad used to say "Good fences make Good neighbors". I hope you figure out a way to give you a little peace of mind with this situation.
Good luck Charlie

I don't have any close neighbors, but sometimes I can't get along with myself.
Ron

 

[Johndeere3720]

What I would do is set up a game cam, keep the key in the house in a safe location, and unhook the seat switch. With the seat switch disconnected if it does start it wont move, it will completely disable the tractor. :thumbsup: Believe me, i have experience with this, the wires to the seat switch corroded and lost connection, the tractor would start but would not drive since it thought the operator was not in the seat (JD error code 15).

 

[Mousefield]

I don't have any close neighbors, but sometimes I can't get along with myself.
Ron

Ron, your comment put a smile on my face. :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

 

[pacerron]

What I would do is set up a game cam, keep the key in the house in a safe location, and unhook the seat switch. With the seat switch disconnected if it does start it wont move, it will completely disable the tractor. :thumbsup: Believe me, i have experience with this, the wires to the seat switch corroded and lost connection, the tractor would start but would not drive since it thought the operator was not in the seat (JD error code 15).

Not sure our blue tractors work this way? If we get up off the seat a relay Kicks in a loud beeper but the tractor continues to travel. Have to try it.
There are so many built in "Have to be's already" it is surprising anyone not familiar with a blue could even start it with the key, unless everything was left in the ready to start position when last used.
Dennis mentioning house alarms might be an easy way to rig the tractor. If you put a loud schreaching alarm/siren in the tractor with a hidden switch it might discourage them or make them deaf for awhile.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Charlie, I have a neighbor who never leaves his house nor any of his outbuildings locked. He is hidden from the street and says that he'd rather come home to a house that's been robbed than a house that's been robbed and now has a busted door or window. Anyone who breaks in here is going to do it whether or not the doors are locked. Living on a dead end road is one good thing we have. People have to leave the same way they drive in. The other thing about outsiders is that they don't know whether we have a dog or not. That said, if a neighbor watches you and decides to rip you off, there's not much you can do about it. I feel lucky to have my tractor back and even luckier that it wasn't taken before I made the hydraulic repair. If all the fluid was spewed out and the HST and main pump shot from overheating, you'd see a lot madder fellow than I am. As it is, all I have is circumstantial evidence and a gut feeling of what happened. Getting the tractor back in decent shape is something I should be happy about. However, if I knew for sure and had evidence of who took my tractor, they'd sure get an earfull from me and a visit from the sheriff to explain the definition of criminal trespassing.

Maybe it was someone that was waiting on you to fix it so they could borrow it,and not worry about it breaking down while using it. They had to know you was gonna be gone for a long period of time,heck how did they know you wasnt gonna be gone 20min. then back. It's someone that knows you pretty good. I think the wife did it:laughing: j/k

 

[Redbug]

Jim,

It will happen again if you don't nip it in the bud. With neighbors like that who needs relatives? I think you know the score and what needs to be done.

I would never even think of doing something like that. I don't like borrowing other people's stuff and don't do it.


How come borrowing a tractor seems less of an issue to most other people than borrowing someone's car or truck? Whoever did that would scream bloody murder if you borrowed the car out of their yard...

 

[Looking4new]

I make it a habit NOT to borrow stuff. When it breaks I have to buy 2.

 

[two_bit_score]

I would make a report and confront the neighbor.
Not accusingly,but ask if they used it.

The repo'd tractor really gets me.
I would have told the sheriff it was stolen,because it was.
Repo companies have to do their due diligence just for reasons like this.
I would have told the repo company to get the tractor back in under an hour or press charges for theft,trespassing,vandalism,attempted theft of the other tractor.
I would have the bank charged with being an accessory since they were the ones that ordered it,as well as conspiracy to commit a theft with the other tractor.

Repo companies have a job to do,I understand that-I pay cash for everything so as not to be in that situation.
But they also must walk a very fine line,because theft and property ownership is subjective to state law.

They did not do their due diligence,and have broken more than a few laws because of it. This causes a hardship on you not having your equipment.
They,as well as the contracting bank responsible for the actions should be bending over backwards right now for you.
The repo co. Could lose their license pretty sure and all parties are more than likely susceptible to a lawsuit from you right now.
Local authorities should be within their rights to arrest them,mistake or not.

Sorry for the book,but that floored me.
Any updates on either situation?

I would be as mad as you if a bank and repo co did that to my tractor, too.

But, it's not a criminal act. It's negligence. They made a mistake, although a very negligent mistake. If it were me I'd be expecting some compensation. But I don't think criminal charges would go very far.

.

 

[pacerron]

Is there a way to appear "off-line" on this site other than signing out?