Results 1 to 1 of 1

Thread: copper water pipe theft

  1. #1
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    2,346
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 254 Times in 209 Posts

    copper water pipe theft

    this has become a major problem for both domestic and industrial premises...and is costing my customers thousands of rands to replace...not to mention the water wasted when their pipe is cut on a friday night and left running till monday morning...when they get back afte rthe weekend....here something that is gona blow your mind...considering it is friday afternoon

    i go to the scrap yard today to sell my off cuts and scrap steal...while waiting for my turn i notice some brass fitting...like the ones used for water pipes being weighed...i think nothing of it...the next person has a complete brass water meter with the stop valve and copper pipes attached...you can see it has been chopped off...so i watch howe this is handled...expecting the scrap yard dealer to either chase the person away or report it to the police...but instead quite the opposite...the scrap dealer takes the whole setup...puts it into the mechanical cuttoff machine and cuts the meter off the piping and hands it back the the person trying to sell the whole lot...then puts the stop valve and piping onto the scale...so now my blood starts to boil...i take out my cellphone and start recording this whole episode...take pics of the person whole is trying to sell the stuff and the scrap yard dealer cutting off the meter...by now there is a que of around 8 people...all with backpacks of stuff to sell...and guess what the next person pulls out...yip you guess right copper pipe...brass water pipe fitting (ones used for joining polycop and copper piping) and small piles of burnt copper wire.

    so while i am waiting my turn the management/owner arrive and get aggresive with me and start demanding my phone which i used to take pics...because they use cctv cameras to monitor the people at the tills and scales...so they saw me taking pics and told me i have no right to take pics on their premises...which at first i told them to fly a kite and call the police so they can arrest me for taking the pics...then i thought about it...i have been dealing with this company for a long time...i had a pile of scrap i needed to sort out...so i agreed to delete the pics which i did...then i asked them why they were accepting stolen property...their response..."how do we know it is stolen" surely you are not that stupid...a brass water meter with a stop valve and chopped copper pipes ...

    then i ask about the water meter...the response " we dont buy the brass water meters...the joke they cut the brass water meter off the pipes and give the water meter back to the sellers....eeeeeiiiish

    so now you are asking the same question i am asking myself why have i not gone and reported the whole incident to the police...well it is simple have you been a witness in a crime recently...if not ask somebody who has and they will explain why i havent...another thing is how would me reporting this incident to police solve the problem...

    so if anyone wants their copper water pipes or brass awater meter back you know where to go get it...the scrap metal dealers...you buy stolen goods they will keep stealing...then the scrap dealer goes on to tell me they stole his water meter and other piping on their premises...well hello you buying the stuff.
    Last edited by murdock; 27-Jul-12 at 10:29 PM.

  2. Thanks given for this post:

    Dave A (28-Jul-12)

Similar Threads

  1. Copper theft
    By Dave A in forum General Chat Forum
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 16-Aug-11, 09:30 AM
  2. aluminum or copper
    By murdock in forum Electrical Contracting Industry Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 14-May-10, 04:25 AM
  3. FREE ENTERPRISE, A PIPE DREAM?
    By sgafc in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 29-May-09, 01:26 PM
  4. Western Cape copper exports to China!
    By Dave A in forum General Business Forum
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 24-Jun-07, 09:13 AM

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •