What appear to be stolen goods spotted for sale online.
A retailer who lost more than £80,000 worth of stock in a burglary is appealing for help to trace the stolen items.
Thieves broke into a stockroom at The Riding Habit, in Queensbury between Halifax and Bradford in West Yorkshire, at around 1.30am on Tuesday, 16 July.
“They smashed through a laminated door with triple glazing,” said Diane Verity, who with her partner Andy has run the store for more than 20 years.
Much of the stock the thieves took was still boxed up, making it easy for them to handle.
The haul includes 45 pairs of Le Chamaeu wellies, Pikeur clothing, Racesafe body protectors including the new Motion 3 model, Regent and Tredstep boots, Eskadron saddle cloths and Ariat clothing.
They also got away with power tools, pressure washers, a bike and a nearly new driving harness. Diane, who is dealing with her insurer, reckons the total value of retail stock is around £80,000.
The Riding Habit is a popular, busy store selling equestrian clothing, equipment, feed and bedding. Diane and Andy work there six days a week.
“We try so hard to run a good business, and the stock that was stolen is a big chunk of my pension fund,” says Diane. “Now it feels like these criminals are making money from my hardship.”
Have you been offered suspect goods?
Diane believes the stolen goods are still circulating – and has appealed for help in tracking them down. “People have been so kind and supportive. But I want justice and my stock back,” she adds.
Last week, a customer alerted her to listings on the online selling platform Vinted which appeared to be advertising some of the goods taken from The Riding Habit.
“She [the listing was apparently placed by a woman] was selling Ariat garments that exactly matched the ones taken from us,” said Diane, “and I noticed that they were still on the Ariat branded hangers which we only use in the shop and don’t give away to customers.
“The thieves had taken our entire Ariat sale rail. And no-one would have these hangers unless they were an Ariat stockist.”
Diane is urging anyone with information about relevant online listings or who may have been offered items potentially from her stolen stock to contact her or the police.
“I believe some body protectors are in quite short supply, so someone out there might be offered my Racesafe ones,” she added.
“Honest businesses need protection”
Diane believes more should be done to protect honest businesses from thieves who sell stolen goods via online selling platforms.
“The trouble is, it’s so hard to prove the stock is yours,” she explained. “When they took the Le Chamaeu wellies, they took them out of the boxes which still had our name and address on because they’d just been delivered.
“To see [what I believe is] my stock coming up on Vinted is so distressing. It’s so frustrating to watch this going on in front of your eyes after all those years of hard work.”
Diane says the person she believes to be the seller of her stolen goods is listing a few items at a time for reasons such as “no longer have horse” or “unwanted gift”.
“These online companies should be more responsible about who is selling what and where it came from,” she told ETN. “I’d hate to see more people like me having their life’s work taken away from them.”
ETN asked Vinted about its ‘stolen goods’ policy. The company told us: “Due to security reasons, we cannot provide any information about another Vinted member.”
- Anyone with information about goods taken from The Riding Habit can contact the Police on tel 101 quoting crime reference number 13240383279.
