Somebody used my 210 and broke it!

[sandnsnow]

We had a job going in Wahington state and I had my operator leave our 2008 Kobelco 210lc sitting on the job until we could haul is away with our lowboy the following week. It was sitting on private property, fenced in but it was open to the next property where there was work going on.

The next day I get a phone call from the owner of the excavation company who was working at the site next to ours. He tells me he had to move our machine and while doing so he decided to pile brush with it. While he was piling brush he managed to blow the end off the thumb ram?? I havent seen it yet so I cant tell you exactly what happned. He told me Cat came out and they removed the ram where they had to take it back to the shop. It would not be ready until tuesday the following week.

I was shocked and told him I was glad he called me and told me. I could hear the shakeing in his voice as he told me this story. I still do not know what to think. I feel bad for him but on the other hand I otta go down there and kick his a$$. I called the Cat dealer and they told me he had given them his credit card number and they told me the bill was going to be about a grand. I just can't imagine someone jumping on another companys stuff and using is. What is this world coming to. ointhead

 

[Grouser]

If you know the guy is one thing if not then I would call the cops. This guy has no respect for others. Would he have mentioned he was using your rig if he had not broken it?

 

[sandnsnow]

If you know the guy is one thing if not then I would call the cops. This guy has no respect for others. Would he have mentioned he was using your rig if he had not broken it?

Ya I have never met the guy. I was thinking was calling the cops but what could or what would they do?

 

[Grouser]

It will teach the disrespectfull SOB to think before he borrows without asking. That phone # was just as easy to dial to ask . . .

 

[joispoi]

Do you seriously believe that it was in any way necessary for him to move your machine? Is it possible that he decided to get free rental with free fuel? Charge for the hours he racked up on your machine.

 

[spitzair]

That guy has some nerve to just go ahead and use your machine! Probably wasn't the first time he did this either... I hope he learned a valuable lesson! I agree with joispoi, charge him for the hours he put on the machine and then some!!!

 

[spitzair]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, charge him for the downtime and lost revenue on the machine too!!!

 

[CM1995]

I know the feeling. I have a similiar story.

Back in 2005 we were working on a redevelopment site downtown. I had my CTL, D5G, 953C and 420DIT on the job. We parked them on Friday in a row, machines close together. There was a chain link fence all the way around the property, except for a short section taken down where the sanitary sewer line was being extended onto the property.

I decided to take a ride down Sunday afternoon with my wife to take a look at the project. As I turned down the block, my heart sank to see there was a machine missing out of the lineup- the 420DIT. (It was in the middle of the line up with the CTL.) I pulled up on site and immediately went ballistic, as this was the only piece of equipment on site that was paid for. The nightmare of dealing with the insurance company and fighting to get replacement value, etc.

I immediately called the cops which was frustrating, as they were not very helpful until I demanded they send someone out to write up a report. Remind you we were already downtown 10-12 blocks away from the main police station and they took 20 minutes to get there.

Trying to keep my blood pressure down and waiting for the cops, I send my wife around the block to see if we could find it close - no luck although there was some underground fiber optic installation going on in the area. Standing there on the corner fuming, I hear my machine and then see it coming over the small hill back towards the jobsite. As soon as I see it, I start jumping up and down, waving my arms in a "get your ass over here now" type of motion. There was a crew cab pickup following it, probably to pick the "operator" up after he dropped of MY backhoe. After seeing me acting like a lunatic on the corner, the guy in the pickup turned left and shagged out, leaving the guy on the backhoe coming towards me.

Still the cops have not shown up. The guy finally gets to me and after some choice words I had to say to him (none of which are suitable for this forum), he explains that they are a contractor out of Atlanta installing the fiber optic lines trying to get finished up, away from home, blah, blah, blah. His Case backhoe broke on Saturday afternoon and couldn't find a rental house open so he decided to take the better, more profitable route of borrowing my backhoe and fuel to complete the job. He wanted to just say "Hey buddy sorry, I am out of here" but I demanded that he stay until the cops showed up.

After I gave him a rather large piece of my mind to this smuck, the officer finally shows up. I explained the situation to the officer and say that I want to press charges for theft (I was still extremely pissed off). This is what really made me mad- The officers says "There has really not been a crime committed and I don't believe we need to fill out any paperwork"!:Banghead So I guess in the City of Birmingham I can "borrow" anyone's equipment as long as I bring it back and park it in the same place. After realizing and succumbing to the overall sad state of our society, I gave in - might as well I was getting nowhere with the officer and my machine was back.

To top the whole deal off, there was a rental Deere 310 open ROPS next door at another jobsite without a fence, siting there in plain view. This jackass had to maneuver my hoe out of the equipment line and across a sewer ditch to get it out. My 420 has enclosed ROPS, A/C and radio so I guess if you are going to "borrow" something get the most comfortable. The following day a battery disconnect switch was installed in the battery box and a new master lock on the battery box, instead of a Cat lock.

 

[special tool]

Holey Moley, Batman - that guy gas a lot of brass hardware!
I would never seriously consider that for a second.

Sandnsnow - you really should charge for hours and lost income - MORE than reasonable of you, without PUNITIVE action, I would say.

 

[special tool]

I know the feeling. I have a similiar story.

Back in 2005 we were working on a redevelopment site downtown. I had my CTL, D5G, 953C and 420DIT on the job. We parked them on Friday in a row, machines close together. There was a chain link fence all the way around the property, except for a short section taken down where the sanitary sewer line was being extended onto the property.

I decided to take a ride down Sunday afternoon with my wife to take a look at the project. As I turned down the block, my heart sank to see there was a machine missing out of the lineup- the 420DIT. (It was in the middle of the line up with the CTL.) I pulled up on site and immediately went ballistic, as this was the only piece of equipment on site that was paid for. The nightmare of dealing with the insurance company and fighting to get replacement value, etc.

I immediately called the cops which was frustrating, as they were not very helpful until I demanded they send someone out to write up a report. Remind you we were already downtown 10-12 blocks away from the main police station and they took 20 minutes to get there.

Trying to keep my blood pressure down and waiting for the cops, I send my wife around the block to see if we could find it close - no luck although there was some underground fiber optic installation going on in the area. Standing there on the corner fuming, I hear my machine and then see it coming over the small hill back towards the jobsite. As soon as I see it, I start jumping up and down, waving my arms in a "get your ass over here now" type of motion. There was a crew cab pickup following it, probably to pick the "operator" up after he dropped of MY backhoe. After seeing me acting like a lunatic on the corner, the guy in the pickup turned left and shagged out, leaving the guy on the backhoe coming towards me.

Still the cops have not shown up. The guy finally gets to me and after some choice words I had to say to him (none of which are suitable for this forum), he explains that they are a contractor out of Atlanta installing the fiber optic lines trying to get finished up, away from home, blah, blah, blah. His Case backhoe broke on Saturday afternoon and couldn't find a rental house open so he decided to take the better, more profitable route of borrowing my backhoe and fuel to complete the job. He wanted to just say "Hey buddy sorry, I am out of here" but I demanded that he stay until the cops showed up.

After I gave him a rather large piece of my mind to this smuck, the officer finally shows up. I explained the situation to the officer and say that I want to press charges for theft (I was still extremely pissed off). This is what really made me mad- The officers says "There has really not been a crime committed and I don't believe we need to fill out any paperwork"!:Banghead So I guess in the City of Birmingham I can "borrow" anyone's equipment as long as I bring it back and park it in the same place. After realizing and succumbing to the overall sad state of our society, I gave in - might as well I was getting nowhere with the officer and my machine was back.

To top the whole deal off, there was a rental Deere 310 open ROPS next door at another jobsite without a fence, siting there in plain view. This jackass had to maneuver my hoe out of the equipment line and across a sewer ditch to get it out. My 420 has enclosed ROPS, A/C and radio so I guess if you are going to "borrow" something get the most comfortable. The following day a battery disconnect switch was installed in the battery box and a new master lock on the battery box, instead of a Cat lock.

:lmao:roll

That one's good too....at least he didn't wreck it.
I can't believe these stories.

 

[gasfield315c]

something similar happend on my job just this past week, we left on friday with the hoe and dozer parked side by side on the location and there is a guard shack with a guard in it at all times like 200 yards from where we are workin it they cant see it but they can hear it and we have to go through there on the way in, they know my pickup...but the woman said she didnt see or hear anything...well we came in monday morning and both pieces had been moved around...tracks caked with mud...so i knew somethin was up, first thought was oh no...they have busted all the windows, stole my sirius sat. radio, stole the batteries, fuel, put dirt in the motor oil...but luckily all they did was get on it and play, they took the hoe down in the pit and patted one wall down and took the dozer and just pushed some dirt up in a pile...well next day we come in..same thing, all they did was play on it...but longer this time, ticked off 4 hrs on the hoe and 1/4 tank of fuel, but no harm done...so that evening at quittin time we trammed to the guard shack and parked up...rediculous how some people see equipment setting and think hell there's noone around i need some free lessons

 

[JonesBros]

I know the feeling. I have a similiar story.

Back in 2005 we were working on a redevelopment site downtown. I had my CTL, D5G, 953C and 420DIT on the job. We parked them on Friday in a row, machines close together. There was a chain link fence all the way around the property, except for a short section taken down where the sanitary sewer line was being extended onto the property.

I decided to take a ride down Sunday afternoon with my wife to take a look at the project. As I turned down the block, my heart sank to see there was a machine missing out of the lineup- the 420DIT. (It was in the middle of the line up with the CTL.) I pulled up on site and immediately went ballistic, as this was the only piece of equipment on site that was paid for. The nightmare of dealing with the insurance company and fighting to get replacement value, etc.

I immediately called the cops which was frustrating, as they were not very helpful until I demanded they send someone out to write up a report. Remind you we were already downtown 10-12 blocks away from the main police station and they took 20 minutes to get there.

Trying to keep my blood pressure down and waiting for the cops, I send my wife around the block to see if we could find it close - no luck although there was some underground fiber optic installation going on in the area. Standing there on the corner fuming, I hear my machine and then see it coming over the small hill back towards the jobsite. As soon as I see it, I start jumping up and down, waving my arms in a "get your ass over here now" type of motion. There was a crew cab pickup following it, probably to pick the "operator" up after he dropped of MY backhoe. After seeing me acting like a lunatic on the corner, the guy in the pickup turned left and shagged out, leaving the guy on the backhoe coming towards me.

Still the cops have not shown up. The guy finally gets to me and after some choice words I had to say to him (none of which are suitable for this forum), he explains that they are a contractor out of Atlanta installing the fiber optic lines trying to get finished up, away from home, blah, blah, blah. His Case backhoe broke on Saturday afternoon and couldn't find a rental house open so he decided to take the better, more profitable route of borrowing my backhoe and fuel to complete the job. He wanted to just say "Hey buddy sorry, I am out of here" but I demanded that he stay until the cops showed up.

After I gave him a rather large piece of my mind to this smuck, the officer finally shows up. I explained the situation to the officer and say that I want to press charges for theft (I was still extremely pissed off). This is what really made me mad- The officers says "There has really not been a crime committed and I don't believe we need to fill out any paperwork"!:Banghead So I guess in the City of Birmingham I can "borrow" anyone's equipment as long as I bring it back and park it in the same place. After realizing and succumbing to the overall sad state of our society, I gave in - might as well I was getting nowhere with the officer and my machine was back.

To top the whole deal off, there was a rental Deere 310 open ROPS next door at another jobsite without a fence, siting there in plain view. This jackass had to maneuver my hoe out of the equipment line and across a sewer ditch to get it out. My 420 has enclosed ROPS, A/C and radio so I guess if you are going to "borrow" something get the most comfortable. The following day a battery disconnect switch was installed in the battery box and a new master lock on the battery box, instead of a Cat lock.

Whats w/ people and using others 420D's :beatsme I was building a road back in 06 for the state about an hour and 20 minutes away from out shop. Well we scouted out the area and found a very small excavation company that the owner lived on the road we were building. The state was hauling all the dirt and trash there so it was also our parking spot. Of course we asked the guy was it alright if we parked there and he said sure. My 420D is an 04 w/ ~900 hours on it at the time and I take damn good care of my machines. Grease regularly and always kept a bench broom with me at all times in whatever machine to sweep the dirt out. Towards the end of the project one morning I noticed that my boom lock had been undone. Now..I ain't no green horn leaving the boom undone so I got a little suspicious. The next day, I look..its undone AGAIN, and there is clay on the bucket. So, I knew the owner of the land was building a house and I guess he figured since he let us park our stuff on his property that he could use it anytime he wanted. Well, hell flew into me.. I wanted to go and crawl up one side and down the other on him. Then it dawned on me that i'm over an hour and 20 minutes away from home with nowhere else to park my stuff. So.. I just took 3 dumptrucks and boxed it in and stuck my gradall out in front of it. Needless to say, the next day it didn't get used. I'm just glad that nothing was really messed up other than the dumbass didn't know how to remember to lock the boom.

 

[GGDOZERINC]

Well my story is with a Deer 200c that had 150 hrs on it at the time. We pulled up on the job at 6 a.m. to go to work and a group of kids were on my machines trying to pull one of their trucks out of the reteintion pond we were digging. I was crazy mad. One of them worked for a contractor and had a key. The machine was almost stuck in the bottom of the pond. The cops showed up but didnt want to do the paper work either. we forced the issue and the kids were charged with criminal tresspassing. The next job was clearing land and was the same machine with 400 hrs now. Job was done and machine was waiting to be moved. Surveyors were stuck on the site and used my machine to get their truck out also. A neighbor told me about it later. I called the company and gave them a piece of my mind but what good does that really do. Now all of our machines have steel covers with master locks covering the door laches and all have vandal kits. It just makes you so mad that people are so quick to just jump on somones elses iron.

 

[Raildudes dad]

It wasn't my machine but I knew the borrower. My mother's church put on a building addition. One of the members works for one of the big local contractors - owned by his uncle. They do roads, water sewer etc, don't own a manlift. Well "Joe" is doing the cleanup work around the church with his bobcat and mini ex and eyeballs the manlift. He was donating his services w/ his uncles equipment.- all on the up and up with his uncle (They let their employees do a lot of do"

Joe fesses up to his uncle - I "borrowed" the manlift and damaged it. Uncle makes a claim to the insurance company - the insurance company says he didn't have permission from the owner to use it (rental machine no less ) The insurance company says we will pay the claim but a stolen equipment report needs to be filed. Well, Joe will be found guilty of stealing the machine if this happens.

You can guess what happened, Uncle bought a slightly "used" manlift from the rental company. (about an $80,000 oops)

 

[stumpjumper83]

I'm in no way condoning the borrowing of the excavator. With that said, I think you need to re-act with caution. If the machine is down for a week and you need the thumb for the work you have planned for that week then by all means bill him for the down time, repairs, and use of the machine. Otherwise I'd bill him for the use of the machine and let him pay for the rapair of the machine like he has already set up.

If you throw everything you can at him, it might give him the idea to vandalize your equipment. What would a handfull of valve grinding compound do to the motor or the hydraulic system? Or even regular sand?

If this happens can you prove who did it? All I'm saying is while you need to teach this guy that his actions are not acceptable, you don't need someone out looking to destroy your equipment.

 

[CM1995]

If this happens can you prove who did it? All I'm saying is while you need to teach this guy that his actions are not acceptable, you don't need someone out looking to destroy your equipment.

I agree and that is why I let my particular situation drop after the initial blood pressure spike settled down. These guys were from Atlanta, if I pushed the issue and had the guy arrested, they had several machines to take their revenge out on. They could easily destroy my equipment and disappear across state lines. Likewise I can't camp out on the jobsite 24-7. Tough situation.

 

[JS580SL]

Had a time we went to pic a friends 580K up on one of our jobs, the form guys had moved it without permision. Ran it up a pile, parking brake left off, boom swung to the side, aimed at a house on a steep driveway.

Needless to say a few furious people that day.......

 

[JonesBros]

I'm in no way condoning the borrowing of the excavator. With that said, I think you need to re-act with caution. If the machine is down for a week and you need the thumb for the work you have planned for that week then by all means bill him for the down time, repairs, and use of the machine. Otherwise I'd bill him for the use of the machine and let him pay for the rapair of the machine like he has already set up.

If you throw everything you can at him, it might give him the idea to vandalize your equipment. What would a handfull of valve grinding compound do to the motor or the hydraulic system? Or even regular sand?

If this happens can you prove who did it? All I'm saying is while you need to teach this guy that his actions are not acceptable, you don't need someone out looking to destroy your equipment.

I agree 100% Which is why in my situation (not trying to hijack at all) I chose just to take the better action and just boxed it in.

I have always been told a table spoon of dust is all it takes to eat up the rings in a diesel. Internal combustion engines are a very fragile thing w/ tight clearances and no room for foreign material. Sometimes its best to just say well, at least the guy is paying for the fix and did call you once he damaged it. Look at it this way, it could have broke on you, then you would have had to foot the bill. In bad situations its always good to look back and say "well at least this didn't happen" to try and ease the pain.

Hope all gets fixed well!

 

[oriden]

my question is why is the battery key left in the machine which can be fine but why isnt the panel locked? its good hes paying for it though he could have just blamed it on vandilsum

 

[sandnsnow]

my question is why is the battery key left in the machine which can be fine but why isnt the panel locked? its good hes paying for it though he could have just blamed it on vandilsum

I agree I learned my lesson about the battery key. I know the key was not there because my operators will always take the keys with them.

I guess thats why I posted this. I would hate to have this happen to someone else. After I got mad and calmed down I feel this guy learned his lesson. I dont know if someone saw it brake or he just felt bad. It took some balls to call me. He just keeps saying he was sorry and he knew he was not supposed to be on it. I am based out of Idaho and that job was 6 hours away, he could have left it. I still cannot think of how the ram broke. The machine has alittle over 600 hours.