A very unpleasant experience.
Pleased to hear that you are ok.
Glad you are ok, awful to read but could have been much worse.
Was close to a mugging in Amsterdam a few year back, but escaped at the last second. Can only imagine your shock at the events.
Started working near KGX recently & my first time working in London; already not wearing anything nice to commute with, and nothing I have is anywhere near as nice as your loss.
A very unpleasant experience.
Pleased to hear that you are ok.
Not a nice thing to go through. Hope you are ok.
Also hope they are caught soon.
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Sorry to hear this. Glad you are ok. what is the country coming too.
Good you got off relatively unharmed, these type of events really make you think, be safe.
Scary stuff. Glad your ok, London is full of monitored cctv unfortunately the scumbags do seem to care. Your probably not wrong about how you were targeted as well, as I said scary stuff.
Sorry to hear this mike. Glad your not badly hurt. Its bang out of order
What a horrible experience, so sorry you had to go through this Mike. You sound very calm about it all, even on the day it seems - well done you. I hope they find your watch and punish those b’strds.
Glad you're ok, but an unpleasant experience all the same. Hope they get some karma back sometime.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
Glad you are safe now, Mike. A VERY scary experience, I am sure. I hope the authorities catch the low-lifes while still in possession of your AP.
Safe(r) travels!
Hi Mike, so sorry to hear about this, but glad you're OK.
Hugely frustrating, scary and also a useful consideration for us all - not just in London but anywhere. I regularly go through Selfridge's and it's sad but helpful to be aware that we can all be watched in these places - Bond Street et al.
Take care.
As others have said glad you’re ok. It could’ve been much worse and no watch is worth losing your life over. Take it easy over the next few weeks.
Selfridges must have CCTV of those scumbags.
Sorry to hear about that, Mike. At the end of the day it´s good you weren´t injured. Karma will visit those lowlives at some point.
That’s awful to hear
I still believe London is a safe place but criminals seem to be targeting individuals for specific items now.
I hope the Police catch them
That is extremely disappointing news. I hope they catch the feckers.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Very sad to hear and makes me angry. Glad to hear that you’re ok - that is the main thing.
Hope life catches up with these lowlifes very soon.
Take care of yourself.
Mike glad you are okay. Bad news about the watch though.
Really horrible experience, very glad you are safe physically - I hope the mental impact doesn't linger for too long
Really sorry to hear this has happened, but the important thing is you’re ok. I worked in that area for 20 years and always wore a decent watch. Never had an issue, but moved away a few years ago and sadly London seems to have turned into the Wild West. Take care and have a good Christmas, don’t let the events get you down
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Sorry to hear that !! Bad times. I regard London as bandit country these days eventhough I lived and worked there for many a year.
Genuine question Mike; were you offered counselling by the police ?
B
Even if they catch the scum a severs talking to is probably their fate, birch the bastards then remove a hand with a blunt blade, make them and others think twice, second offence, deportation to somewhere like Antarctica.
Really sorry to hear this Mike. Glad you are ok. Try to not let it bother you long term, the main thing is you weren’t stabbed etc.
Stories like this is why I’m paranoid about security at the Mcr GTGs.
Take care everyone!
Shocking but it s becoming more common certainly in London and what with the recent death of someone outside harrods for a Rolex it does make you wonder if its worth it???
A few years ago I bought a camera and collected it from an address on Great Cumberland Street in London
I drew the cash out from a Bank branch on that street and as I was walking along to collect the camera a guy tapped me on the shoulder and indicated that I had some stains on the back of my coat, a woman approached with a tissue to wipe what turned out to be cosmetic cream off my coat. They indicated that I should take my coat off......... this was in broad daylight on a busy London Street.
Fortunately I figured out what was going on and refused to take my coat off.
The people were foreign - I threatened to thump the guy if he did not p1ss off and after maybe a minute or so, all three vanished......... one had squirted stuff on my back ........ the guy came to point it out to me that someone from an upstairs window had squired the stuff, (causing me to look up so that he could grab my coat), and when this did not work, a women, who appeared not to be connected to the guy offered help ..... they were all well dressed and smart looking
They had obviously seen me walk out of the Bank and guessed that maybe I had money
I reported the incident immediately to a "community officer" and said that they were obviously around and planning such ........ he hardly took any notice
My Ł200 coat was ruined ......... but at least that's all that happened
Last edited by BillN; 14th December 2019 at 14:05.
The CCTV in Selfridges is crystal clear so maybe they can help identifying who PID you as a potential victim
RIAC
That must have been a shock. Sorry to hear that you experienced this. Hopefully the perps will get caught.
At least you want seriously hurt ,which you could have been, all the very best in recovering your watch and hopefully the scumbags will get picked up
Selfridges security were excellent. I went in on Thursday morning, and a security guard walked my route through the store with me, up to the door where I exited. He radioed the cctv monitoring station to pick us up on the nearest camera, and then said his team would go through the footage from the previous night to identify my tail and forward it to the Police.
My route was very well covered by cameras, and I approached a number of businesses, all of which agreed to surrender their cctv tapes to the Police, but due to data protection couldn't let me see their footage myself.
Whereas I hold little hope of recovering my watch, I'd be mightily pleased if the robbers could be apprehended.
MW
Sorry to hear this. Absolute scumbags.
^^ That is really good of Selfridges to help in this matter. Hopefully the gang get caught speedily.
Nothing will happen to the scumbags if they get caught, even if the police pursue the case, which I would think, with all their other work, is not likely. Maybe the watch will turn up as part of another crime.
Anyway Mike, really sorry, apart from the obvious anger, it's probably a shock that will be with you for some time.
Terrible really ........ I never go to London these days unless it is absolutely necessary, the place is just a "jungle" - well it was the last time I went.
What an awful thing to have happen. I’m glad to hear you are o.k.
Hopefully the police will put some effort into this, if not, perhaps the businesses will put some pressure on the police to do something.
Really sorry to hear this, and thanks for taking the time to share it. I certainly wouldn’t have been expecting anything like that in such an area, and your post is a real eye-opener to be very aware of such a possibility.
Very glad you’re physically fine, and hope things get sorted out.
Excellent cooperation from Selfridge, hope they get those responsible.
Sorry to hear this Mike. Glad you were not injured and hopefully they will catch the crims and recover the watch.
Not a great way to start the festive season.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Wow really sorry to hear that hope you recover from the experience and these twats get caught!!
What a wakeup call for us all!
So glad to hear that you were not injured or worse.
scooter
Sorry for your traumatic experience. Probably stating the obvious, but is this registered with The Watch Register?
That must have been a scary ordeal, but at least you are able to recount the tale here. With so many scrotes carrying blades these days it could have been much worse.
As to punishment if caught, I have worked in the justice system for many years and despair at what is going on. Punishment is a dirty word, focus on rehabilitation etc, there is no effective sanction, the CJS is totally "carrot" focused. And of course I am sure they would rely on their "mental elf" issues to dodge custody.
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Glad you are physically unharmed Mike, that's the main thing.
Re some of the comments around tough sentencing for offenders, some of you may remember my post around my Speedy Pro that was stolen in Thailand and the police solved the case. The perpetrator, a 32 year old female associate of the room maid got 14 years in prison. Whilst I feel really bad that a mother (she had 2 kids) will miss their childhood (as she has little chance of parole) I suppose it does act as a proper deterrent.
Really sorry to hear this, glad you are OK.
Sorry to hear this Mike, very unpleasant indeed. Thankfully you were not injured which is the most important thing at the end of the day.
Watches are just metal “things”, your health is far more precious.
Lawless societies are going to need vigilantes to take the law into their own hands. This needs to be dealt with an iron fist and zero tolerance with grave consequences.