Coin Pirates in Portsmouth

[Bever.vw]

Last year we placed during our visit to the UK a coin in a cache in the south. It travelled around but was lost after it was dropped on the 17th of june 2010 in Portsmouth int. TB Hotel. After some time we got a message from the CO that our coin was missed. On the 24th of april 2011 we got a strange grabbed message from team 'Pirates of Penzance' who found the coin. After that nothing happened. :confused:
I looked on the site of this team and found out that they were on the 20th of june by the TB hotel. I also found out that they are handling always in this way. Until now 24 coins are registrated on there name. They take a coin, don't registrate it and wait many many months until it is missed for a long time and than grabbed it. All the 24 coins are still in there hands. :mad:
Does anybody know who this guys, operating in the area of Portsmouth, are. Perhaps can somebody talk with them and ask them to replace the coins. They are not reacting on my email. Thanks for any help. Greetings, team Bever.vw, The Netherlands

[Jacaru]

I have been looking at this for you. I have contacted the cache owner to see if they know anything.

It seems that the Pirates Of Penzance regularly cache with two others:~

coolkez, not a premium member with 64 finds and

the borgs, these are premium members with 263 finds. It may be worth you contacting them especially to explain what it happening and to see if they can throw any light on who the pirates are and ask them to move coins on. Although you probably wouldn't get very far you could also mention that your coin is personal property and the fact that it is being kept amounts to theft.

After reading some of the logs on the coins that they have in their hands, they make it pretty clear that they have every intention of keeping the coins. I also noticed that they don't pick TB's up.

Hope this is of some help to you.

[Jacaru]

Just looked a little further and these are regular comments from the Pirates of Penzance.

pirates of penzance (https://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=d38aecb9-7212-4ac1-bec6-abb5ae7ee622) grabbed it oooaaarrrr only place this is visiting is me treasure chest oooooaaaaarrrr

I have now contacted all 24 coin owners giving them the same information regarding their caching buddies. Hopefully something will start happening and coins will move.

[JellyBeanJan]

I am one of the 24 coin owners who got the Pirates message and who has kept my coin. I also received no response to my 'polite' email.

This was my first Geocoin and it has made me reluctant to release any more. This guy needs to be stopped as he is spoiling the experience and giving honest geocachers a bad name.

What is is problem? He isn't just a common thief he seems to enjoy bragging about it. He's also a coward for not responding to emails and just a really bad person. I think everyone in the Portsmouth area should be very wary of him and if you know him, please pass on to him the bad name he is getting.

I do fear though that even these blogs may be the notoriarty he is aiming for in some perverse way so we may be feeding his enjoyment.

Anyone got any practical suggestions to get him to release our coins??

JellyBeanJan

[martybartfast]

Re


It seems that the Pirates Of Penzance regularly cache with two others

Could it be that PoP is a sock puppet account for one of those other accounts? that (s)he uses just for grabbing coins?

[DrDick&Vick]

They have one trackable of their own and have the cheek to have this as it's goal:
to return to the pirates of penzance. at all costs.
Shame they can't have the decency to do the same.

[Jacaru]

I sent an email to the borgs this morning and received this reply half an hour ago.

"dear sir

thank you for your email

We went cacheing with them for a while.
and i must say that Sadly that we intoduced them to geocaching.
"We did explain all the rules to them properly"

around xmas time we fell out with them after an argument
they showed us a coin and said they liked it and was going to keep it.

We told them they where not for keeps
but they insisted they where as theres a "move to my colletion" section

and we ended up haveing quite an argument over it as i was really angry and annoyed about it and havent spoken since.

i really hope other geochaers dont think its anything to do with us
as our profile shows we always move coins about
and have even rescued 2 from the tb rescue site.

we are more then willing to try and get them to place them

but this really does place us in a difficlt postion.
as we really want to distance our good name from them.

the borgs

kerry and doug"

I also contacted the cache owner from where they seem to visit to take the coins. I haven't had a reply yet.

[Predictable Bob]

:(

Given that it's theft and those responsible are known surely the Police can be informed ?


:confused:

[Mrs Blorenge]

I've just seen this topic and have had a look at the long list of geocoins they are holding.

The recommendation from one of UK Reviewers (Graculus) is to report this matter, with details, to Groundspeak.

contact@geocaching.com

(It might be worth asking the borgs whether the details they give in their email response could also be passed on, as it gives some background info.)

[Jacaru]

Mrs B,

Thanks for that, I have just emailed the borgs again and asked whether that would be possible. I guess there won't be a reply until this evening.

[Mrs Blorenge]

This sentence from the borgs reply concerns me:

"We told them they where not for keeps
but they insisted they where as theres a "move to my colletion" section.."


There is SOOO much confusion about this whole issue of "What does Collectible mean?" when referring to trackables. Groundspeak have been told that their wording and expanation is very poor and there's a Feedback forum suggestions about it.

See here, please add your comments to keep the issue active:

Wording Clarification needed re. Collectible / Non- collectible trackables (http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75775-geocaching-com/suggestions/1749157-wording-clarification-needed-re-collectible-not)

[Jacaru]

This sentence from the borgs reply concerns me:

"We told them they where not for keeps
but they insisted they where as theres a "move to my colletion" section.."


There is SOOO much confusion about this whole issue of "What does Collectible mean?" when referring to trackables. Groundspeak have been told that their wording and expanation is very poor and there's a Feedback forum suggestions about it.

See here, please add your comments to keep the issue active:

Wording Clarification needed re. Collectible / Non- collectible trackables (http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75775-geocaching-com/suggestions/1749157-wording-clarification-needed-re-collectible-not)


Just logged my comments.

[Palujia]

Added me tuppence worth on GS !

[thekennelat79]

I reported this sorry tale to Groundspeak (contact@geocaching.com) back on 26th May, and enquired whether GS could/would take any action.

They thanked me for the information and promised to investigate the matter.
By 22nd June, I had heard nothing further, so I asked Groundspeak for an update.

I received the following reply.........
Thank you for your response. I do not have anything further to report. It doesn't looks like the player has logged onto the site in over a month. Hopefully a warning was all they needed.
If you have any further issues with this user, please do let us know.


So, if all 42 coin owners were to e-mail Groundspeak, then "something" just "possibly" "might" "perhaps" be done.
But don't hold your breath!

[DrDick&Vick]

I actually can't see what Groundspeak can do about the situation other than cancel the users account, then all they would do is re-join with another name.
Peer pressure is probably the only way to get a solution but as the friends who introduced them to geocaching are no longer on speaking terms I can't see anything much coming of all this.
It is a sad reality of life that there are people like this who can only play games to their own self invented rules and therefore spoil the enjoyment of other players

[thekennelat79]

My understanding is that Groundspeak have the power/ability to block an IP address, as well as an individual's e-mail address.

So, while I know that it's not foolproof, they can stop the majority of people simply re-accessing the site by means of a brand new account.

[Jacaru]

Good news.

Just had an email from one of the coin owners..

"Hi Daryl [Jacaru]
Great News - with many thanks to you for getting this going, Pirates of Penzance has today released my coin into a cache. This is all thanks to the borgs who, despite having abuse when he went round to confornt the Pirate, sent me the following email....
Dear jelly bean

we had visit today while eating a bacon sandwhich in the garden.
and had quite a long chat.

it seems he has been doing some reading and checking (at last)

turns out because it said collectable at the top of the page he really thought he could keep them

and when i told him he couldnt and to place them in a cache he thought i wanted him to place them so i could grab them for myself, as on my profile it shows a big list of coins (the ones i have moved) and he thought i had those coins.

which is when we fell out.
so it would appear that it was all a rather unfortunate missunderstanding.

maybe partly my fault for not being more patent and educating them more

he says he will place them all in a cache.

Well he has now dropped it as I confirmed although I am a bit sceptical about whether he was actually that naive on the basis I emailed him and explained that holding on to coins was theft so if he thought he was in the right, why didn't he respond? Not just to me but others too. Nevertheless we got the result we needed so I'm hoping the others have been rewarded too.

Thank you for your research and help, it's good to know there are geocachers out there like you who are willing to help."

[pennine rambler]

Have the Borgs (Kerry and Doug) any idea where the Pirates of Penzance operate from? I ask because I have been looking into their stats and according to their finds by distance I believe that they operate from somewhere in the Cullompton area of Devon. This could be purely pie in the sky if their home location on their profile page was made up. I would like to know if anybody can shed any light on this possibility.

[martybartfast]

Have the Borgs (Kerry and Doug) any idea where the Pirates of Penzance operate from? I ask because I have been looking into their stats and according to their finds by distance I believe that they operate from somewhere in the Cullompton area of Devon. This could be purely pie in the sky if their home location on their profile page was made up. I would like to know if anybody can shed any light on this possibility.

Well all their finds are within a few square miles round Portsmouth, so maybe they made a typo on their home co-ords.

[thekennelat79]

22 of the "missing" trackables have been logged into one of my Portsmouth area caches (The Dog's Tale).

I will visit the cache tomorrow (Saturday), and will report back on this thread following my visit.
Would other cachers please leave the cache alone until I have had a chance to check things out?

Rod

[thekennelat79]

The cache was visited at 9 am this morning to check things out.

I'm pleased to report that all of the 22 Trackables that were listed as being in the cache, were in fact present and correct.
I have brought them all home with me, and will place them around other local caches during the next few days.

The Pirates of Penzance had made no entry in the cache log book, which is rather strange.
This reinforces my view that POP is a sock puppet account for a previous finder of this puzzle cache.

[DrDick&Vick]

That's really good news for the coin owners.
My only worry is that another Sock account is used to pick them up when you drop them and they drop off the radar again.
I am happy to drop some out in Cornwall if you fancy posting a few.

[Jacaru]

So glad that this got sorted after a slow start. I too would be happy to move some northwards if you fancy getting some to me.:cheers:

[thekennelat79]

Thanks for all of the kind offers to move these coins along.

They have been dispersed as follows.........
5 to London via Amberel
6 to Cornwall via Dr Dick&Vick
6 to West Hampshire via Mario McTavish
5 to East Hampshire via myself

Let's hope that, following their recent trauma, these coins have a safe journey.

[DrDick&Vick]

Arrived in Cornwall and 3 out and about already