Never despair! Mark’s cherished Italian road bike was recovered after nine months.

Marks' prized Fausto Coppi road bike was stolen from his apartment garage in Richmond, Victoria, in March this year.   Holding little hope that his much-loved custom steed would be recovered, he reported the theft to the Richmond Police, where a diligent Constable referred Mark to also lodge a report on BikeVAULT.

As days, weeks, and months went by, Mark like most victims had basically given up all hope of seeing his bike again, which quickly changed on Sunday night when he received an unexpected call from BikeVAULT, advising that his bike had been found. 

There is always hope when there are honest people willing to do the right thing!

What makes this recovery and others like it special, is that it relies on the honesty and the good nature of people to do the right thing, even at their own expense!  George, (aka Nice guy and Good Samaritan in the chequered shirt) purchased Mark's bike after it was advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $150. 

Whilst bargains are there to be had on Facebook Marketplace, after collecting the bike and bringing it home, George had some doubts, that his bargain buy may be too good to be true.  His doubts were confirmed when a friend referred him to the BikeVAULT website, where a quick 'Make' search revealed the only listed stolen Fausto Coppi on our website, was a direct match to the bike he just purchased.  Without hesitation and wanting to make good, George contacted BikeVAULT on Sunday night, putting the wheels in motion to this recovery, resulting in Mark and George meeting up at the Richmond Police station on Monday, where the bike was handed over and the police notified.

The police now have a lead that will hopefully result in the thief and/or a knowing handler being prosecuted.  

Below is a screenshot of the advert on Facebook.  

From Mark ..........

There are wonderful honest buyers who later check online and find their (so cheap!...) new purchase on BikeVAULT - and call it in.  Grazie mille to George and thank you to BikeVAULT for your great community service!

Protect your bike ID and ownership with FREE registration on BikeVAULT!  

Much more than just a simple database to store your bike details, BikeVAULT (part of PropertyVAULT) provides a secure free portal to comprehensively register your bikes details and ownership history, benefitting from:

• Full lifecycle bike identification, ownership, and provenance tracking with blockchain encryption.
• When selling your registered bike, utilise BikeVAULT’s registered bike sale report that can be linked to online selling platforms.  Like a VIN check for a car, the sale report enables a buyer to conduct due diligence, and can potentially lead to higher sale price, when competing against bikes with no discernible history in the crowded second-hand market, littered with stolen bikes.
• When a registered bike is sold, the registration and logbook can be transferred to the new owner, providing peace of mind to the new owner and ensuring the bike's provenance remains intact.

In the unfortunate event of theft, BikeVAULT comes to the fore providing:

• A tailored public and police accessible stolen report designed to maximise the odds of recovery;
• Proven to work - tips, tools, and resources, to aid recovery;
• A custom stolen bike search portal for the public and police, enabling anyone in Australia to search and identify a stolen bike, regardless of where and when it was stolen and is later found;
• Social media connectivity and support from BikeVAULT’s large online community, who actively search for and report stolen bikes that are advertised for sale;
• Support from BikeVAULT's police trained admins, who are experts in bike identification and skilled in asset tracing techniques.

RELATED: Why bike identification is key to combat profit-driven bike theft

Start protecting your bike and all your assets vulnerable to theft today

Sign up for your free PropertyVAULT account today and click the ‘ADD TO VAULT’ button to begin registering and protecting all your assets (including pets) vulnerable to theft!