Help! What do I do? Potentially stolen car key

[lomplan]

Yesterday DS and I arrived home and my hands were full so he unlocked the front door, as he often does. We always put the keys in a little bowl on the stairs. This morning they weren't there.

Quite literally turned the house upside down, can't find them. DS says he definitely put them in the bowl. I had to book a taxi to take DS to breakfast club, and then me to work.

In the taxi, DS sheepishly admits that he left the keys in the front door and had forgotten to take them out. They are 100% not still in the door.

It's obviously completely my fault for not checking, he's only young.

What do I do? I don't want to call the police for no reason. My spare key also won't work for some reason.

Eh? They were left outside all night and not they’re gone. What odd advice.

I'd say this is an emergency, You need to secure your house and car. Others have suggested how to do that. The world's not going to end if you have to leave work to do this but your insurance probably won't pay out if you get burgled or your car is stolen. Sorry this has happened to you.

Easily done, I've opened the front door and found my keys more than once...

For next time...consider an air tag (or other) well worth the investment.

Regards, Captain hindsight ...

What would you do if your own child had an emergency and you had to leave work?This is an emergency I’m afraid, your house is at risk of being burgled and your car stolen, with no insurance cover. You will have to find someone to cover you.

Is the spare key that no longer works your physical house key or battery operated car key ?

Physical locks and keys wear during use, if a spare is left seperately for some time the lock and main keys will gradually wear together leaving the unused/rarely used spare key slightly out of alignment.
You may be able to do some wiggling and get it to work, but it’s just as likely to be too far out

Spare car keys fail when the battery runs out, and it may or may not work from a battery change. If it’s been out of use too long it’s coding may fail and the car won’t accept it

Some electronic car keys have a hidden physical key inside, and the car may have one physical lock. Look up your car model/key type to see if you can do this

Such as my key type here:

The next thing is replacing your home locks, a locksmith will do this - but if you were able to then most locks can have just the key mechanism replaced - which means identifying the type/size and getting to a DIY shop - it will cost a bit more but far quicker and easier to get it done in one go by the locksmith if you do ultimately need one to get access

If your car does not have physical locks (including hidden ones in remotes) then the locks do not need to be replaced but the coding reset to clear out any missing keys
Ask your dealer/garage/an auto locksmith

Some locksmiths can do the whole range of hose and car locks & keys

Hope you sort it @lomplan
I’ve done the same- kids and keys 🙄
PP have given you good advice about securing the house locksmiths etc.
The following is a psa for everyone else- OP don’t read as the horse has bolted!!

Know your neighbours!! In similar situations neighbours have texted me to say are you in? Your keys are in the door/ I’ve posted your key through the door/ do you need the spare? And vice versa. I’ve called neighbours to check if the house is secure or been asked to block a car in etc. I literally can’t understand not knowing having neighbours to help. Even living remotely someone needs keys, your contact details etc.

Update: they were inside one of his bloody wellies!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much everyone, I am so sorry for wasting your time.

Yay!! So pleased for you that’s where mine were onc of three hundred of times I’ve lost keys!

Phew! Did you go home and find them there?

This happened to me. I left my office door keys in the lock (outside) when I went in. Didn't realise. I went to the loo and heard someone knocking on the door and ringing the bell, but didn't get to the door in time so I tried to open the door to see if there was someone walking away to shout them back, but it was locked! I hadn't realised what I'd done, so was searching my pockets and all over the office for the keys. Trouble is there wasn't another door, so I was trapped! I rang the firm next door to ask someone to come and see if my keys were in the lock or on the ground outside, and they came but couldn't see anything. I ended up phoning hubbie to come with the spare keys to let me out.

A few hours later, a client phoned me to tell me he'd tried to come, but he saw I'd left my keys in the door, and I wasn't answering his knock, so he "thoughtfully" locked the door and put the keys under the wheelie bin round the back!! He genuinely thought he'd done the right thing and was pretty horrified when I told him he'd trapped me in there all day!!

So, OP, have a good look outside, under plant pots, etc., and go ask your nearest neighbours each side if they've picked them up.

Thank goodness

Glad you found them! I have a Samsung smart tag on my keys so I can find them when I lose them. It's prevented many panics! Although this reminds me the battery is flat.

That's such good news. What a relief!

So not a waste of time! Glad you found them and updated with a happy ending.

Get a tile key ring for your keys, it’s a tracker for smart phones. Like an AirTag essentially but only Cost about a tenner on Amazon

Phew......

DH once lost his keys for weeks.
I found them inside an umbrella.
I didn't then use the park and ride car park he uses to go to work and move his car a few spaces. No, that would have been mean.
All our keys have AirTags on them now!

Separate your keys. That way you'll only ever lose one set in future. I have one set of house keys and one set for the car. It also means my DH can't take the car and look me in. He did that once and I had a parcel arrive and the delivery man had to push it through a small window 😂