BSC Open - unfortunate experience

[unbelman.livejournal.com]

BCS in Davis is now open. It's a pretty small space and I wonder what it will be like after the new year (resolutions and all) and during peak hours.

I went today at about noon. I worked out for about 10 mins and then needed to use the rest room, when walking past my locker I noticed the lock was missing. My credit card, debit card and diver's license were all gone. Oddly, my watch and the money (about $60) were still there. The staff was sympathetic but not much they can do.

Luckily the debit card was with Wainwright so I just walked on over and they did everything. And I had literally cancelled the credit card right before leaving the house because of another issue. Not looking forward to the trip to the registry.

The staff recommended a key lock as opposed to a combination lock like I had.

All in all, it could have been worse...

Comments

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

So are the lockers in a public space? That's not great. If a private space, do you have to go past check in or something? Do you register your presence when you go in? If so there can't be many suspects. Seems lame if anyone can just go in to the locker area and bust a lock.

[countlibras.livejournal.com]

I didn't go today, but if I recall correctly, you have to go past the desk/entrance first. The lockers are in the back of the complex. So, it would have had to be a staff or a member.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's pretty bad, on day 1? You might be able to get some kind of refund or something, if you feel like being a dick about it. Call corporate and tell them you're pissed? Sounds like you're not doing that though.

Can you speak to how crowded it was? I'm assuming it will be hopping for a while, between new years resolution people and just the new and shinyness of the place.

[ron_newman]

This really sucks. I'd also be interested in the answers to righteousness_1's questions.

[shana-lyons.livejournal.com]

The lockers aren't in a public space. You need to check in at the front desk, walk through the workout floor and in to the locker room hallway to get to even the most accessible of them. Checking in at the front desk involves scanning your membership key tag, so they do know who was there then.

[gigantor-nc.livejournal.com]

This assumes that the employees (who may or may not be morons) are able to ensure that everyone that walks in, checks in. Which is obviously their job, but they were supposed to call everyone when they opened, which is also their job, and for me, they didn't do.

[ron_newman]

Is there any kind of turnstile or gate that will open only by scanning a membership tag?

[gigantor-nc.livejournal.com]

Not when I was there to check the place out. There are two, fairly wide, routes past the desk. I haven't been yet since they've officially opened, but I kinda doubt this has changed.

[syntheticnature.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was there on Thurs. and it was as you describe it.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

also assumes it wasn't an employee that stole the stuff to begin with

[cold-type.livejournal.com]

Crazy. I hope you call both the police and BSC headquarters to report it.

[cowgrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure you can order another copy of your driver's license online. Check the registry's web site.

[fanw.livejournal.com]

Yup! It's pretty cheap actually, so as long as you don't mind using the same photo you had on your last one, it should arrive at your place in a couple weeks. You can use your online order receipt as your ID in the meantime.

[clara-girl.livejournal.com]

was your combination lock locked, or was it "set" ?

::ugh:: i was just planning on checking out BSC tonight, too....

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

wow - that sucks. I also got a membership so I guess I will be somewhat cautious...

I don't see how a combo lock is worse than a key lock unless you didn't spin the dials to lock the lock.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

oh - did you file a police report? That would be a good thing to do just to have it on record.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

First off, most inexpensive combination locks can be opened faster and easier with an easily made shim than by twisting out the combination. A google search for the words tool open master lock brings up the following as the first hit:
http://sf.metblogs.com/archives/2006/09/howto_pick_a_common_master_loc.phtml
This of course will open many key based padlocks also. Similarly if you want to learn about how to pick tumbler based locks in general there's the imfamous MIT Lockpicking Guide (http://www.capricorn.org/~akira/home/lockpick/). While I'm decent at picking some locks, I've a few aquaintances who have no problems opening certain types of padlocks in only a bit more time than it takes for me to fumble with my keys. Also on that page is a link to a relatively new innovation to hit the tubes that with the proper tools makes "picking" most locks something approaching childs play.
What is the point of this posting? I mostly just want to say that no lock will do more than delay someone who is determined (but delaying is a good tactic) and most do little more than just keep honest people honest. Unfortunately it is very hard to determine what is a reliable lock with lots of marketing clouding the very little good published data. Furthermore, cost and guarantees aren't very good indicators either (look at the Kryptonite U Lock fiasco for a good example of a lock that was expensive, had good theft guarantees and was easy to open with a common Bic pen).

[ron_newman]

I'm still bothered by the fact that this theft occurred just a few hours after the gym opened to the public for the very first time. Shouldn't the staff have been more vigilant than usual on opening day?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

I don't know... when everythings new to everyone and there is no routine and you're hoping that everythings ready... In this position, I would think that something like a bank of lockers would be the least of my concerns.

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

I prefer this tutorial (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/826835/hack_open_a_lock/) produced by a kid with an awesome voice.

"hack some locks!"

[ape-foolery.livejournal.com]

I wonder about two things...

1. What is BSC going to do to prevent this from happening again, being that there are a slew of new members that have pretty high expectations of what their gym experience should be.

2. What crook in their right mind would take the time to break a lock in a semi-public locker room with a pretty good risk of being caught and would not take the untraceable $60 in cash, but would opt for the immediately void credit card.

Really makes you wonder no?

[righteousness-1.livejournal.com]

Yeah, something fishy about that.

[gothic-ham.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about this.

I was at the BSC at around 8:30am to 9:30 am so I just missed whatever was going on. It was quiet and mostly empty when I got there. I only saw two BSC staffers when I was there - a girl was working at the front desk (she appeared to be fairly attentive) and a guy was coaching some women on the new weight machines.

There were at least 2 to 3 cleaning people there as well, and I think they might have gone into the locker rooms as I was heading out. That might be worth looking into.

Was your SS# on your lisence?

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

If so you should put a lock on your credit so no one can open any major loans etc. with your ID. If I had to guess why that was stolen and not the money was because they were most interest in your ID to sell.

[bobobb.livejournal.com]

AND....make sure you fill our a police report! You may need it in case someone does do shadey things with your ID.

Re: Was your SS# on your lisence?

[ron_newman]

Massachusetts no longer allows using a social security number as a license number.

[unbelman.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the advice. I ran around yesterday and cancelled everything. I needed to go to the registry. You can get a new license on line, but you need a ....... credit card to pay for it. I didn't have my SS# on my license, so hopefully nothing will happen there.

There were only a few people at the gym when this happened and I kinda made a point of talking about it loudly and telling the other people working out about it - both to advise them to check their stuff and if they were the guilty ones, passively let them know I've cancelled everything. Everyone there knows this happened. I'm hoping that would deter them from using my identity. It all happened in about 7 minutes - I had just arrived, worked out a little and then noticed the missing lock. Apparently identity theft is worth more than the fast cash they could have stolen.

Happens in every health club...

[red-liner.livejournal.com]

Really sorry to hear about your loss - but pretty much every health club has this problem. Some of the criminal element make it a speciality, as it's easy to blend in with the exercise crowd, relatively easy to break open most locks/lockers, and you can usually be sure that whoever puts their stuff in a locker and goes out to the workout room will be gone for 30-45 minutes. The Bally in Porter Square has had periodic rashes of this (actually, that club probably has a lot of rashes....), and so have several other places I've gone to.

It *is* impressive that the perp was ready and waiting so quickly, although speed is an important element of the crime. When it happened to me some years ago, I was able to tell from the credit card records that the person who did it was at an electronics store within 15 minutes and had a big-screen TV and a stereo before I'd finished on the elliptical.

Since then, I've just made a point of trying to not put anything in a club locker that would be useful to a thief (especially cards/licenses). Some clubs have little safe-deposit boxes you can use, but probably the best approach is to just leave your wallet at home, stashed in your car, or in the pocket of your gym shorts.

Re: Happens in every health club...

[teko.livejournal.com]

If BSC was smart, they'd know that everyone who's gone to health clubs has either had this experience or has seen it happen, and would trumpet their lockers as extra-secure -- say, with a card-swipe system to open with a membership card.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear this happened, but thank you for posting the warning. At Bally's, I routinely leave my non-valuables in a random locker with no lock at all, and have never had anything swiped. But then, there's nothing in there but my smelly street shoes and beat-up jeans, since I carry my bag with me to wherever I'm working out in the gym. I had thought to switch over to BSC for the convenience, but I don't think I will after hearing this.

[enochs-fable.livejournal.com]

See red_liner's comment above - if your gym is already having problems like this, switching won't make it any worse.

[peebers.livejournal.com]

If you haven't replaced your ID yet, head to the Chinatown RMV. It is the most efficient one I have been to as of yet. There is always a great deal of people, but they are organized and the lines actually move. It is right outside the Chinatown stop on the orange line

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

FYI - one thing to be aware of regarding identity theft. I once had someone use ONLY my name and address (I had no ID's stolen, and this information is easily obtained from nothing more than a phone book!) and set up a bank account. I was lucky because they did not have my SS# or phone # - it was more of an annoyance than anything else, and a worry that it would affect my credit report. I found out when I started receiving notices from lots of stores regarding bounced checks. The stores were good about it (it was relatively easy to prove it wasn't me), and I eventually traced it back to the bank. A police report is definately necessary because you may need it to prove to someone that your ID was stolen if you ever have to dispute any charges, fees, etc. It was time, and paperwork, and worry, but eventually, thankfully, went away. Good luck!