Help- cleaner drank my gin!

[kayde12]

Hi all,
I’m new to mumsnet, but would really love some advice!

I’ve just signed up to a cleaning company and had my first clean, which I was thrilled about.
Then I noticed that half of my bottle of pink drink has gone!
I only got the bottle given to me as a gift last week from my sister in law.
My Dh doesn’t drink and I have my two ds in the house.
It was the cleaner definitely!
The company have been awful at getting back to me and sent me a poor email saying she said she didn’t drink it and was too early in the morning.

I feel really gutted and not sure how to move forward or get some sort of justice!!

I’d be searching your sons room for his weekend stash of drink with his mates. It’ll be in an empty juice bottle somewhere. Voice of experience speaking.

My DD at age 14, once pinched half a bottle of her dad's Xmas present of Jack Daniels and put it in a water bottle. She did not drink it herself but gave it to some teenage boys she knew from school. We only found out because one of their Mum's came round to complain their son got drunk, was sick and she blamed us for that. After that we locked the JD that DH was given at Xmas away in a cupboard.

The lesson we learned was never leave booze around when teenagers might get hold of it.

MimiLaRue

Mums net to the last tee. Brilliant!

You said it's "unlikely" that it was your 13 yo, so you know that there's a possibility it wasn't the cleaner and you may have falsly accused somebody who came into your home and did a decent job for you? Wow. Just awful.

I'm surprised anyone would think it's the DS. I'm not sure half a bottle of pink gin would do much for his street cred

And you keep going on about trust, trust, trust. Do you think that perhaps the cleaner trusted that she could do her job and you would not try to get her sacked with no evidence at all? Trust goes both ways.

08BallerinaTutu, maybe you're out of touch?

Why would the cleaner risk their job with cameras and stinking of gin? Nonsense.

I’ve had two cleaners steal from me, one from a very reputable company. One stole money and one stole a camera. I’ve also had cleaners that would never dream of stealing. Cleaners aren’t some homogeneous group of beings with higher morals than everyone else, so I don’t know why they’re treated as such on MN. Neither are all 13 year olds untrustworthy and Into drinking alcohol/stealing alcohol for friends. It could have been the cleaner, it could have been someone else in the house, unfortunately you’ll never be able to prove it either way.

Do you want u write for the Mail or the Sun op?

@messolini9 you can’t seem to make any worthy, valid point without throwing in insults

You’re the one that’s behaviour like some kind of bully. who cannot do that, is not worth listening to.

You’re behaving this is a personal things against YOU.

How strange!

I accept most comments for and against, stories and laughs included but you’re just hitting below the belt.

Are you the moderator of this board? Maybe I’m missing something

I actually like that OP is giving her son the benefit of the doubt. I was wrongly accused of all sorts by my parents while I was growing up and I still feel annoyed by it. Not every teen is the same - I would never have dreamt of taking my parents alcohol at that age... But I certainly would have been blamed.

Lots of typos last post

But @messolini9 behaving like this is something personal against HER.

I would definitely have a word with your 13 year old. My son is 15 and I know that some kids at his school have taken alcohol from their parents house before, without their knowledge and that's going back 2 or 3 years!
Teen years are when they start experimenting!
If your cleaner was to blame, half a bottle of gin in 2 hours would suggest someone with a real alcohol problem. I doubt the cleaning would be up to the standard it was.

Oh your poor cleaner OP!

@messolini9 you can’t seem to make any worthy, valid point without throwing in insults

You may be confusing facts with insults OP.
For example:

FACT: - OP rang her cleaning company & categorically told them that her cleaner had committed theft.

INSULT: OP did not care that there was no proof, OP did not care that there were other potential explanations of the theft, OP did not care that cleaner could lose her job over unfounded accusation, OP did not care about reputation damage of unwarranted accusation to cleaner.

HTH.

Could your son have been made to steal it for someone at school?

Hi 😊 I'm a cleaner and the amount of things I have been accused of stealing is shocking. At one point I was having messages every week off the same three customers. Thinking I stole a ring . Fit bit . Purse . The list is endless . It does get really annoying and has made me want to quit my job because I was afraid that if they didn't find them they would continue to think I done it and in an odd way I would feel guilty next time I would go to their house even tho I didn't do it . Everything does get blamed on the cleaner . For the sake of my job no way on earth would I jeopardise my house , car stability for my children for half a bottle of alcohol. I'm not saying she didnt do it . I have come across one or two in my time that have drank and eat food that didn't belong to them . But the majority I would say no. Ask her face to face youl be able to tell from her reaction x

With a teenager in the home, that would be my first suspicion. That said, one of my colleagues with infant age children has noticed everything from gin to mayonnaise to shower gel going missing and she has started marking the bottles. Only possible explanation is the cleaner as there is no other adult with access to the house and the children really wouldn't nick shower gel or mayo

I wouldn't rule put the 7 year old. Mine would love anything pink coloured and would use it to make "potions"or "perfume"

OP I agree with previous posters. It may have been the cleaner, it could have been your DH or your son. You were wrong and careless to make a complaint about the cleaner, no matter how strong your convictions are, without a shred of evidence. Especially as the repercussions for said cleaner could have been (and still may be, for all you know) quite huge. In future please lock away your alcohol and valuables, or invest in a nanny-cam.

@madparrotlady12 that's tough, and even though my post suggested the cleaner I that case may be responsible, it really wouldn't be my first assumption. My cleaner reference was related solely to my friend's situation where there was no other explanation

Your 13 year old has most likely decanted and taken into school or down the park with his mates, it’s part of growing up

I don’t get why everyone is so quick to blame the 13 year old!

I’ve known cleaners who have helped themselves to drink and food from the fridge. Also don’t understand why people are suggesting she couldn’t of drank all of that in one go, my first thought when reading was that it could of be decanted into something.

A friend had a cleaner who was a unknown to her a recovering alcoholic. She only found out in a similar situation to the OP. The cleaner had been decanting spirits into her water bottle to take home with her.

I think the significant clue is in the fact that the half-bottle was left. An adult or a smart 13 yr old would think ahead to someone spotting a previously full bottle of gin and seeing it was half-empty. They would top it up, surely.

The 7 yr old might not make that connection and leave the half bottle.

OR a cleaner who didn't know that one adult in the house never drinks might gamble on both adults assuming the other had taken it.

twirls Poirot moustache