It’s the perfect match. You need a short term van and go to a van rental company. Unfortunately, not everyone has legal intentions…they intend to be illegal.
Criminals that is, who are renting vans all around the country as a way to carry out their activities without being caught by the cops. Many are getting away with it as well, but the owner of one particular van rental company is fed up.
Andrew Tindall who runs Foxy Rentals in Hull has recently commented to the media about criminals who rent his vans to do illegal activities, and he is not impressed.
“Criminals are using my vans to go on stealing sprees,” said Andrew. “You are only one insurance claim away from closing down,” he went on to add.
In other words, it’s these criminals who are putting his van rental company at risk, because if they keep on using the vans to do things such as armed robberies, shoplifting, smuggling, home theft, crash for cash and drug dealing, then the van insurance company could make his policies more expensive, to the point where it would be almost impossible to make a profit anymore.
While the vast majority of people who rent vans are above board and legitimate people who just need a vehicle to do things like move goods from one house to another or pick up some stock for their business, the problem is that finding the criminals is not easy.
The requirements to hire a van are quite limited in the UK, where people only need to be 23 and have a driving licence that has no more than 6 points on it.
Any criminal with bad intentions can tick these boxes and hire a commercial van with ease, and then be on the road in minutes ready to commit illegal acts of crime that would certainly interest the Police.
Not only that, but many people seem to think that driving in a hired van makes them above the law when on UK roads, with Andrew commenting that “there are some people that will not accept responsibility. They get in somebody else’s property and think they are invincible from the law.
This includes drivers speeding, driving in bus lanes, avoiding tolls, and splashing innocent members of the public with puddles.
Also, let’s not forget that many van drivers have been known to take part in a bit of road rage, with this past Summer being known as “The Summer of Rage.”
Things seem to have quieted down a bit on that front, maybe because it is getting too cold to get out of the van and start throwing punches. Van drivers are wrapped up in blankets and sipping a hot cup of tea, only leaving their vans to do a bit of work before going back to have a sandwich
The one piece of advice I can give to van rental company owners is to always use a comparison website for your insurance.
Yes, you might be getting more expensive rates because of criminals, but if you compare then at least you can get some better quotes and save yourself some money.