Think plumber has stolen knickers

[Washingbasketchair]

WWYD in this situation.

I am having my boiler replaced. A three day job. I have used the plumber before and he seems lovely, is recommended by others too.
He was here yesterday whilst I was at work for most of the day and he was alone in the house. He is coming back today.

I have just come out of the shower to get dressed, and can’t find the knickers I planned to wear today. They are a specific pair that I wear with the dress I will wear today.
The matching bra is there. And the knickers were there the other day. I wore them last week, and remember putting them back when I put the washing away. I have checked the dirty and clean laundry and the washing machine and they are not there.

I know it’s ridiculous but my mind has now moved to the possibility that someone has taken them, and the plumber is the obvious suspect. I have zero evidence apart from the missing knickers. But the thought is obviously sickening as is the thought of him rifling through the drawer (which doesn’t just have underwear in it 😬).

WWYD? Am I being mad? I can’t lock the door to the room or put a camera in there in the 45 mins between now and when he is arriving. I can’t confront him with no evidence. I can’t stop him from coming. Argh! They are nowhere to be seen and a man has had access to my house alone.

This happened to me years ago. I found out because a mutual friend of the tradesman told me about it.

I guess you will never know but I'd just let him finish the job. A few weeks ago I "lost" one of the pillowcases that matches my duvet cover. It hasn't been out of the house, I know I put it in the washing machine but when I took everything out of the tumble dryer it wasn't there. I reckon the sock eating monster was hungry and decided a sock wasn't enough and why does the sock monster always leave me with odd socks. Can't he take a pair?

Ooh Miss Marple plan. Good idea.

Those saying it only takes one day maybe theirs did.
Our new boiler last year took three days, the plumber had said 2 until he found a mystery pipe hidden in the wall with his drill and had to do a repair.
Day one he took out the old one and got the new one in place, day two he was connecting it all till the pipe leak, day three he opened the wall repaired the pipe and hooked it all up and ran and tested everything.
I'd see if you can get someone to be there today. I also like the idea of a note in the drawer, if he knows about the note then he's been rooting about and shouldn't have even opened your drawers.
But you're in work already and have a picture or the drawer. I hope you come across your pants in a pillowcase or a folded sheet or something. Good plumbers are hard to find.

I am praying these knickers are big suck me in control pants

If the OP is in rented accommodation - especially Social housing - this type of job can take several days.
I seem to remember it being at least 3 days, with gaps Inbetween when my mum had a new Boiler/change location and full
radiators.
They knock off earlier and are doing other jobs simultaneously.

OP, I would definitely take a photo of your drawer.
Just a thought, wouldn't he have been more interested in any knickers still in your laundry basket (if there were any? 😬)
Take a photo of that too, to see if it's rifled on your return.

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How old are your kids? Could one of them have taken them?

🤣🤣🤣

There was a thread recently where the OP’s night dress had gone missing in similar circs and the handyman was suspected.
Can’t remember the outcome but a poster wrote an ingenious ditty to the tune of ‘The Sandman’ if anyone remember that?

Me too!!! I'm glad I'm not the only person thinking this!!!!

Dirty knickers 🤮. Luckily there are none in the washing basket now although there were yesterday. Vile.

My kids are too small for them to fit. Plus they’ve not been around since Saturday. I checked their drawers to see if I’d mistakenly put them in there, but I hadn’t.

I can obviously technically wear the dress without those knickers, I just prefer it with them. The dress is light coloured, as are the knickers, and for whatever reason the shape and fit and stitching of the knickers just makes them pretty much invisible and makes me more comfortable, even compared to other knickers of a similar colour and the same style.

It’s also annoying because normally I have two pairs of knickers per bra, but this one is a single pair so if the knickers are lost for good it would render the poor bra an orphan 😢.

Whereas when we had ours done it took 3 days. There’s always someone trying to accuse a tradesman of either ripping them off or now stealing bloody underwear.

It wouldn’t surprise me. Judging by what I have read on Fabswingers, this happens more commonly than you’d think.

You've now made this the oddest part of the thread, never mind how many days it takes to change a boiler how many posters are so regimented with their smalls 😂

@Washingbasketchair
Mumsnet can issue you a note to wear non matching bra and pants.

As for the plumber, when he's on the doorstep leaving then say "Oh did you move a towel off the bed to mop up any spills? I thought I'd left one there"

Then you're not accusing him of having your pants but something much more innocuous.
Get someone over if you're in any way concerned about him though before you say anything.

I just like to be confident and smart at work 😬

I must admit I live alone and all 5’ nothing of me follows a trader from room to room and boring as it is I just stay nearby them. Luckily though I also have an understanding employer who accepts that I may be offline for a while as I do this.

Oh I can imagine that some men would do this to be honest, he was there alone and has access to other rooms in the house , so a real chancer would be in their element.

Where do you work that people notice your underwear?

Could you go commando?

OP states she had quotes and accepted his quote as it was £50 cheaper and because she had used him before.

Which suggests she is a home owner - not a tenant.

He's probably used them to lag the three way valve.

I didn't realise so many Mumsnetters were qualified gas/heating engineers 😂Just because your boiler got changed/fixed in a day, doesn't mean everyone's will. This bloke has been accused of being a cowboy, scammer and a knicker stealing perv all in 3 pages 😂

@Washingbasketchair feel his bum to check is he is wearing them!!! seriously though, did you leave him in the house alone???????