Which bright spark sold my tools?
A CHARITY shop worker accidentally sold an electrician’s box of tools worth more than £200 for just £1 while doing a free job for them.
Andrew Bickel lost his prized equipment when he momentarily left the shop to go out to his van.
When the self-employed electrician returned he was told his tools had just been sold for £1.
Mr Bickel explained: “I was actually doing the job as a favour.
“They said they had a faulty light switch so I said I’d change it.
“I left my tools on a bookcase and went to my van to get a switch.
“But when I came back my tools had disappeared.
“I asked if anyone had seen them and a customer said someone had just bought them.
“We went outside but apparently the man had got into a white Audi and driven away.” Even though he accepts it was an honest mistake by the volunteer, the 39-year-old believes the mystery buyer knew precisely what he was getting when he grabbed his bargain at the Catwel cat charity shop in Cardiff.
He said: “I think he will have known how much they are worth.
“He’d gone up to the counter and told the old lady they were in a bargain bin and they were sold for £1.
“There were professional screwdrivers worth £50 to £60, my pliers, cutters and testers worth £200.”
However, he said that despite agreeing to do the job as a favour he is certainly no animal lover.
“I hate cats,” he said. “They make me sneeze.”
Mr Bickel, of Heath, Cardiff, continued: “The shop people were so upset and they apologised.
“They offered to reimburse me but I said pay half and I will pay the other half. I didn’t want them to be out of pocket.
“I was fuming but I find it quite funny now. My wife and friends can’t believe it.”
Soon after the loss, Mr Bickel posted on Facebook: “Doing a love job in a charity shop.
“Put my tools down, went to the van, came back and the old lady on the till sold them for £1. Funny but fuming. Over £200 worth.”
After his post was shared almost 90 times an electrical company based at Ocean Way in Cardiff got in touch and offered him a new set of tools free of charge.
Mr Bickel said: “It was a really kind gesture by them.”