How I stole my own bike
I came back to my bike outside an overground station last weekend and found that someone had put their own lock on it.
I'd never seen this before, but after Googling it I found it's apparently a fairly common theft tactic. The idea is that they stop you taking your bike home, then come back later with the tools to steal it.
I looked into getting it removed, but the only locksmith I spoke to wanted £120. The bike is insured, but I had no idea whether they'd cover the cost of a locksmith, so I decided to deal with it myself.
I went back with a crowbar and eventually managed to break the extra lock off. I'm sure it looked pretty dodgy to anyone walking past, but nobody said anything. Maybe nobody noticed there were two locks, or maybe people just didn't fancy confronting someone with a crowbar.
I'd never heard of this scam before, so I thought I'd post it here in case it helps someone else.
Has anyone else had this happen?