Warning to electric car owners as gangs of thieves target home chargers, keeping motorists £700 out of pocket
- The chargers and cables are easy to carry and can retail for hundreds of pounds
- Hungerford City Council’s transport committee noted a spate of thefts in the area
A warning has been issued to electric car owners as thief gangs are now targeting home chargers, which would leave motorists with a £700 bill.
At a meeting on the Highways and Transport Committee of Hungerford City Council in the Thames Valley, Councilor Alistair Fyfe noted that he had heard a spate of thefts from residents of the city’s new Lancaster Park project.
Gangs are beginning to turn their attention to stealing electric car chargers that motorists plug in at home to avoid going to public pay points where they can face long queues.
Many people simply plug their cables from their car into an outlet in a garage or on an outside wall while relaxing indoors, often leaving it plugged in overnight.
Thieves have realized that the chargers and cables are easy to carry and they can sell the cable on the second-hand market for up to £200 – and the scrap value for the copper in the cable alone for around £50.
Motorists could pay up to £700 for a brand new replacement charger.
A warning has been issued to electric car owners as gangs of thieves now target home chargers, leaving motorists £700 out of pocket (file photo)
At a meeting on Hungerford City Council’s highways and transport committee in the Thames Valley, Councilor Alistair Fyfe noted that he had heard a spate of thefts from residents of the city’s new Lancaster Park project (file photo)
The cables are sometimes stolen from the trunk of the vehicle, but can also be removed at a charging point if the car is left unattended.
Councilor Fyfe told the meeting that up to 15 chargers have been stolen from Lancaster Park alone.
“Some were stolen from garages and others from vacant properties,” he explained.
“Four or five were stolen from a particularly dark room, and one or two residents were unhappy about how dark it was.
“Maybe the developer Bewley Homes could look into lighting – they all pay a service fee to a management company to take care of the property.”
Hungerford Mayor Helen Simpson told the Newbury Weekly News that she had been made aware of the problem and raised it with the local district police team.
“We need to make people aware that it’s happening.”
Motorists’ organizations recommend installing CCTV where possible to deter thieves from stealing electric vehicle chargers from homes.