We all know tool theft is on the rise in the UK, with thieves going for bigger hauls. But what about the other associated costs?
A new survey by Simply Business found that nearly a third of tradespeople who’ve been victim of tool theft ended up losing over £1,000.
And that’s before you even consider the cost of replacing the tools – the £1,000+ just covered the time spent being unable to work because they didn’t have their equipment.
Over half of tradespeople left unable to work because of tool theft
Over half of the tradespeople who’d experienced tool theft weren’t able to work afterwards, with time off ranging from one or two days to more than a fortnight.
On top of that, being unable to work cost at least £500 for over half of respondents, and 14 per cent actually lost a staggering £3,000+.
The news comes after May research, which found that the average value of tools stolen rose by 15 per cent over the course of a year. With some claims as high as £11,000, some tradespeople could find themselves over £14,000 out of pocket from just one theft.
Tool theft has a 50/50 chance of striking twice
If £14,000 seems like a lot of money to lose out on, imagine it happening more than once.
While nearly a third of those polled had experienced tool theft, half of them had been stolen from on more than one occasion.
Even tradespeople who hadn’t had their own tools nicked were over 70 per cent likely to know someone who had, showing just what a prevalent issue these thefts are.
Impact of tool theft goes beyond monetary cost
While tool theft has obvious monetary implications, it also affects tradespeople’s health – and the health of their customer relationships.
While 54 per cent reported being left unable to work after a theft occurred – and a further 60 per cent said they’d been hit by additional security costs – the biggest impact was on wellbeing.
71 per cent of respondents said that having their tools stolen had caused them stress or anxiety. On top of that, one in ten reported that the loss of their tools had caused reputational damage or affected their customer relationships.