Bendigo bike theft victim visits Cash Converters for months until stolen bike turns up for sale

His beloved bike – a Christmas present from the previous year – was left at Girton Grammar overnight on November 6 after he went home sick.

The next morning, it was gone.

So, with the advice of Bendigo police, Alex decided to visit Cash Converters Bendigo and trawled Gumtree and sale pages on social media.

He went to Cash Converters almost every week for over two months to scan the row of bikes on offer, but it was not there.

The family was starting to lose hope until January 27 – two-and-a-half months after the theft.

There it was, on sale at Cash Converters for $495.

Fortunately Alex had left distinctive markings on the bike and it was quickly verified as his own and returned free of charge.

His father Justin Carr said they thought it was unlikely the bike would turn up, but he admired his son’s persistence and determination.

“The only time he didn’t check was when we were away on Christmas holidays, but the day we got back he went back in to have another look,” he said.

“I guess persistence pays off.

“I’ve spoken to the bike store in Bendigo and they say this sort of thing is quite common. It is Cash Converters’ business to sell second-hand goods though, and it would be difficult to stop the sale of stolen items.”

Bendigo police regularly advise the victims of theft to check stores like Cash Converters and online sales pages.

Senior Constable Holly Lembke said it was pleasing to hear of the positive outcome for Alex, and police recently made an arrest in relation to the matter.

“I advised them to attend Cash Converters in the future to check if his bike had been pawned,” she said.

“Investigations revealed who the offender who was and he was interviewed and will be charged by summons for theft related offences.”

In February, a Bendigo man appeared before the Magistrates’ Court after stealing boxes of headphones from Officeworks in Hargreaves Mall.

He stole headphones on two separate occasions, and attempted to sell them at Cash Converters Bendigo immediately after.

Cash Converters staff became suspicious of the man on the second occasion and he was reported to police, who made an arrest.

On its website, Cash Converters concedes that it is “not always easy” to determine if an item is stolen, and it holds second hand items for a period of time before placing them on sale to ensure victims of crime have time to track down their belongings.

It also shares its database with police to cross-check stolen items and requires 100 points of ID for people making a sale.