February Updates from GRH OYD
GRH RESIDENT ROBBED OF THOUSANDS OF POUNDS WHILST SHOPPING
Last week a GRH resident was coming to the end of her weekly shop when the day suddenly took on an atmosphere of something quite strange.
She was finishing her shopping at Sainsbury’s in Winchmore Hill and now remembers that as she paid her bill with her Debit card at one of the self check-outs people behind her felt a little too close.
She took her loaded shopping trolley back to her car but couldn’t get the boot open as the car behind was too near. She therefore put all the shopping on the front and rear seats.
She locked the car and took the empty trolley back to where the trolleys were stored. She returned and put her bag with phone and Debit card on the passenger seat.
She was about to move on when someone tapped on her window.
She opened the window and a smartly dressed man in a white polo shirt said, ‘You’ve left some things in your trolley.’ She answered, ‘No I don’t think so’. He insisted, ’No you have I was following and saw you.’
She hesitated as he walked off. But she decided to check and locking her car, kept the keys with her and went back to the trolley.
She went to her trolley which she had left in the middle of three rows. The man pointed to three pieces of shopping in a trolley in the right hand row. She said she had left her trolley in a different row and the items did not belong to her.
The man engaged her in a short conversation but did not look at her. She thanked him for being so kind and headed back to the car.
The handbag was now on the driver’s seat. She picked it up and immediately spotted that it was lighter than before. The phone and Banker’s card had gone.
She went back to Customer Services. No phone had been handed in. Back at the car she went through every piece of shopping.
She drove to a nearby friend’s house. Her friend came back to Sainsburys with her and began calling her number as they went around the store. No reply came.
They went back outside and continued their search in the car park and continued making calls. Suddenly, surprisingly and rather shockingly the call was answered. It was not the man who previously spoke to her. This voice was friendly and reassuring saying he had got her phone, was a delivery man, currently in Edmonton but would bring the phone back to the car park which would take about 45 minutes.
She sat in the car for two and half hours but nobody turned up with a telephone.
A FEW DAYS LATER…….
Talking at length after the disturbing events she told us that she preferred not to be identified at present. Referring back to paying her bill she said, ’I used a self service till but I was aware of someone close behind me. I presume it was here in a brief moment that they saw me use my pin number. It’s as easy as that really. All they have to do is look and remember four numbers.’
She also told us about the ‘delivery man’ calling her phone.
‘When the phone was eventually answered after a number of calls the so-called delivery man had a different voice but sounded kind and being helpful. He said he was bringing the phone back and I believed him so I waited. I feel that I was completely suckered.’
Only later did she begin to realise some of the mistakes that she had made:
At the till paying her bill she should have turned round when she felt that people behind were ‘crowding her.’
When she left the car to check her trolley on the advice of the man who tapped on her window she should have taken her hand-bag
When she realized her card was missing she could not have reported it as her phone had gone BUT she could have used her friend’s phone or a Customer Service phone immediately.
She did though let her family know what was happening and they were hugely supportive including her son who works in Brussels and booked a flight to London immediately.
Summing up the experience the woman says, ‘It took me hours to get everything finally sorted but I did get really good and helpful support from the bank that made sure I got all the money back, the police who were very supportive and EE for being very understanding. In future when setting up a really important ‘Ap’ I’ll make sure to use face-recognition and I’ll also make sure that all pin numbers and passwords are as tricky to break into as possible.
And finally…..what happened to the missing phone?
Meanwhile our resident’s adult children were trying to access her account in order to activate ‘Find My Phone.’ The password for this however was in her phone. The pressure was on with the likelihood that it would imminently die. Finally they cracked it and the phone was located at an address in Hornsey.
Although the police were informed, one of her sons decided to force the issue and took a flight from his home in Berlin and went directly to the phone’s location.
He contacted the police and told them that the phone seemed to be pinging off a car and that he was trying to find it. The police arrived and after a brief search found the phone in a drain underneath the car. The police decided there was nothing they could do, as retrieving it from the drain would be a council matter, leaving the heroic son slightly disappointed that there had been no showdown between the police and a criminal gang.
The next morning the resident called on another of our helpful GRH residents, with contacts in Haringey Council Highways Department. Within two hours the phone had been rescued from the drain (see photo) and, unbelievably, was unscathed and in complete working order.
Six days after the upsetting incident, the bank had refunded all the stolen funds, a new sim was installed in the phone and all passwords, passcodes and face ID had been re-set.
A stern reminder of the importance of ensuring everything is as well protected as it can be. Bad things may still happen but there is nothing to lose in making it as difficult as possible for thieves and scammers to profit. As the resident said ‘it all could have been far worse and I have been very lucky this time. We don’t want to always be looking over our shoulder and fearing the worst but there are some situations where we need to remind ourselves to be extra careful.’
CRIME PREVENTION ADVICE
SOME GOOD ADVICE
The first of the following two sites includes what to do to avoid ‘Distraction Thefts’ and the second one ‘How to protect your phone’
Crime Prevention Advice: Beware of Distraction Thefts - Met Engage
100 CHURCH STREET- THE STORY SO FAR
As mentioned in our most recent newsletter the new development at 100 Church Street is no longer available to most of those interested in purchasing one of the 78 ‘attractive, new top-end flats’.
The problem is that those who may have been interested in the new property are suddenly not interested as both the two blocks are, ‘Car-Free Developments’ and residents would not be allowed to apply for a ’Residents Parking Permit’.
Two years ago the Council gave permission for the development but only if it was designated as a ‘car-free’ development to keep up with the Council’s Clean Air Policy.
With no real interest from anticipated buyers the flats are now being made available for Social Housing.
As far as we know the buildings are still ‘Car-Free’.
THE STORY CONTINUES……..
We at GRH think it’s our responsibility to be aware of what might happen if the ‘Car-Free’ restriction is lifted. If that were to happen the nearest parking permit area would be the GRH area along with Chase Side.
So we wrote to the Council suggesting that GRH Residents ought to be able to purchase a 24 Hour Seven Day Parking Permit. This would eliminate all problems with evening and weekend parking.
The Council replied saying, ‘At this stage, there are no agreed proposals to amend permit hours. However, officers will monitor parking conditions in the area as the development becomes occupied and resident’s feedback will help inform any future review of parking arrangements’.
We’ll now wait and see whilst keeping an eye on what is happening.
If the ‘Car-Free’ description were to change there is every indication that this could become a long campaign and all opinions from GRH residents will become highly valued.
PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK :
THE CURRENT GRH PARKING PERMITS
We contacted the Council to determine just how many Parking Permits have currently been issued for the GRH area.
The actual real figures we got back are:
GENTLEMAN’S ROW 16 permits
HOLLY WALK 7 permits
RIVER VIEW 15 permits
We estimate that in Gentleman’s Row the actual number of vehicle spaces is just 35 :
BARNEY’s BRIDGE END 15
EDGE OF THE GREEN 13
IN FRONT OF VARIOUS HOUSES 7
In addition most of the properties in Gentleman’s Row from the Roundabout to Registry Office have private pieces of land in front of their properties used for parking.
When this notice appeared on a wall in Enfield Town Centre recently it caused lots of different reactions including anger, confusion and opinions about who put it there.
It was more confusing because it wasn’t a paper poster but a well produced sign fastened to the wall. It appeared between the old phone boxes on Church Street. Nearby on a bench there was another saying, ‘This is a bench not a bed’.
All was not as unpleasant as it seemed at first glance though.
At the bottom of each sign apap took responsibility –
All People. All Places
It’s a local homeless charity based in Enfield and Hackney.
‘APAPs mission is to tackle homelessness as it presents locally by addressing issues of poverty and marginalisation’
It’s a registered charity that was founded in 2010 to:
PROVIDE respite to those rough sleeping
SUPPORT individuals through & beyond housing crisis
PREVENT people from experiencing the devastating effects of rough sleeping
To find out more about this local charity just contact: allpeopleallplaces.org
NOBODY WANTS THE PHONE BOXES
For the second time in just a couple of months the four unused telephone boxes on Church Street went to auction again last Thursday.
We got in touch with Strettons the auctioneer company and for the second time the four bright red, rather neglected phone boxes failed to reach their reserve price – this time £21,000 for all four together. The first time they were auctioned the reserve price was £28,000.
KEEP IT FREE – MAKE IT TIDY
The Great British Spring Clean has been running years now and each year hundreds of thousands people get involved on behalf of their community.
This year it runs March 13 -29 and GRH have decided to get involved by having our annual Litter Pick on:
SUNDAY MARCH 22nd
So put it on the calendar and keep just ONE HOUR free that Sunday morning.
BASIL STONY FACED AT TERRIBLE WEATHER
Basil is a 4 year old wire haired fox terrier
He lives in Gentleman’s Row and loves long walks
He hates being washed and dried after a muddy walk
Loves going long walks at Forty Hall
Looks forward to sleeping on the sofa after a long walk
Gets annoyed with rainy weather if it stops him going out
AS ALWAYS PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE:
Ideas on how to improve things
Stories you would like information on
Issues you would like to know about
Just write to us at the below address.
STAY IN TOUCH
EMAIL: grhresidents@live.com
WEBSITE: www.grhresidentsassociation.org
INSTAGRAM: @grhenfield
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/grhenfield