to be mad that a complete stranger just opened my front door?

[Truffleshuffler]

Was sitting in my living room this evening with DS (22 months) asleep on my lap when I hear a knock at the door. Dogs start quietly barking and I start panicking. Should I open the door holding sleeping child? Should I run upstairs and put him in bed and then go to door? All the while dogs are getting louder impatient. Am worrying that dogs will wake up DS. DH is out.
I take DS upstairs and mystery caller decided to ring doorbell. At this action dogs in their excitement manage to escape from kitchen and stand at front door. Hurry downstairs to see the front door being opened by complete stranger to be met with my 2 barking dogs so he quickly closed it. I get to the front door and see man walking away.
He tells me that he is a friend of PIL and is here on business and called to visit my DH.
AIBU to expect:

1. Visitors to phone first
2. Strangers not to open my front door

Yes, really, because the alternative is staying in for a day to wait for the parcel or driving to some godforsaken industrial unit on the other side of Glasgow. My door leads straight into my kitchen, so it's not like I'd be sitting there naked.

When I was in the UK, my front door was always "locked" because the yale lock always shut. So a key was always needed for the front door - but I only locked the Chubb lock (mortise) at night, because of burglars (paranoia having been broken into 3 times before)

In Australia, the back door is mostly unlocked during the day but no one would just walk in and we have a long back path so I can usually see people coming (single storey house). If I were to take a bath or something, I would drop the catch on the back door. Even MIL always knocks! and waits for us to answer before coming in, unless she's expected in which case she will come in if we don't answer, because she knows we know she's coming.
The front door is always locked and rarely used.

I don't lock my door during the day, occasionally the postman has stuck a parcel in my porch for me which is fine, but a person who has no business opening my front door would not leave without thinking better of it in future.

MadamDeathstare No wonder you keep yours locked.

I've never lived anywhere where the door is rountinly left unlocked - maybe because I'm in London!

YANBU. Your front door is your front door, not some cheeky weirdo's. I would have called the police.
And why would a friend of your PiL come to see your DH and think it reasonable to just walk in? If someone did that to me I might have to twat them with an umbrella first and ask questions later :o

Our door is always locked, due to cheeky toddler DS.
When I watch films and TV where neighbours etc just walk into people's homes, I'm sat there thinking "feckitty feck, I'd scream at anyone who did that"...

All my doors and windows are unlocked - and I live in London!

Why the over reaction and calling the police? what the hell would you say? oh someone tried my handle and askedfor my DH? Can't quite see an offence myself. It's not breaking and entering.

I had a surveyor let himself in once. It was a rented property and the LL was selling up. I was ill on the couch and ignored the door thinking it was a neighbour/friend. He just opened the door and came right in to be met with me in my PJ's saying 'who the hell are you' He was really arsey with me when I told him to leave. He kept saying 'but I'm here now, I may as well....' It took me ages to get him to go.

I still don't lock my door until bedtime though.

He shouldn;t have let himself in - but I am baffled by people not answering their doors or panicking if somebody knocks. What's that about?

"our front door is your front door, not some cheeky weirdo's." Eh?????

And i wold expect a friend or neighbour to knock and enter - calling out as they do. Isn;t that just normal?

People walk in here all the time - it's a bloody thoro' fare!

Porch door is always wide open - the inner door is never locked - I expect anyone and everyone to stick their heads round!

best one was:

Mummy! there is a random old lady in our back garden!!!

YANBU. I hate it when people do this.

Even if PILs know who he is, if he knew he wasn't expected and decided to try the door when it looked like you weren't in he could have had bad intentions. Probably just badly lacking in social skills though but yanbu either way!

You should not have left the door unlocked, I can hardly believe that anyone would do that. In fact after a particular bad experience I would not even be comfortable being in the house behind a normal door on the latch, as they can be very easily kicked in (this is what happened to us :().

I would never, ever answer the door to someone I didn't know either.

Seeker it is what it says. Your front door is yours to let in or keep out whomsoever you choose. It is not for some cheeky weirdo to just walk through uninvited. I would take a very very dim view of someone who did that and put them on my eternal shit list in my bad books.

And I myself would panick and get police-y due to being stalked/harassed in the past. That and the fact that, well, letting yourself in to a stranger's home is just not on. Round these parts, well...It's cheeky. And weird. :o

My nan learnt the hard way that being in the house doesn't stop a burglar walking in through an unlocked door and helping themselves. Our ecops are always sending mails out telling people to keep doors locked when they are in due to the high number of opportunist thieves who help themselves to keys, bags, phones and laptops from houses they can just stroll into. Despite all that we were fairly lax about it until my 18 month old let herself out for a walk down the road. Since then locked doors have become an ingrained habit!

Still doesn't excuse a stranger opening your door though. Glad you had dogs!

Do people really not awnswer the door?

Ok - there are always people who have had bad experiences and that's understandable - but if you haven't - really?

And the Op started panicking when the knock happened - not when the door was opened.

I understand what she meant, I think - the "shit shit shit, hold on, hang on, let me just..." flustery type panic.

seeker - I'm with you. Unless someone has had a really bad experience why the hell wouldn't you answer if someone knocked your door? Odd, very odd and yes, friends, family, neighbours - knock & enter

I'm "knock and enter" too at friends houses, and they are at mine. My door used to be really squeaky, so I could hear them, but now they have to shout loudly.

I remember being amazed at a thread on here when loads of people said they didn't answer their house phones if they didn't know who was calling.

I feel sorry for people who have been burgled or had another awful experience in their homes.

In the UK though, most front doors are surely of the "if it's closed, it's locked" type?

As for phones...I'd do without one if I could. This is why I like the internet. It's not because I'm antisocial, I just like company when I like it, and don't when I don't. The great thing about conversing with internet wrongmos on the internet is that I can dip in and out as I feel :) Plus I'm developing hearing problems so the phone is a PITA for me.