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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect a least a knock on the door before taking stuff.......???

28 replies

morethemerrier · 20/09/2011 12:13

that they have decided that I dont want off my property???

Twice in the last week I have had items removed from my property that were admittedly destined for the charity shop or tip but shouldn't it be up to ME to decide to whom, and when the items are disposed of?

I had sorted out a large bag of clothes for my favourite charity shop,placed in an unmarked bag and left IN MY PORCH to be put in my car on my way out.My porch has a door (just wanted to clarify that it wasn't left on the doorstep!).

As I was in the kitchen I heard the door go, and pressuming the post had been delivered went to collect it only to see a random Charity Van driving off and the bag had gone!!! Didn't get chance to see the details.

This could have been my washing FGS!?! Why cant I leave items in my porch without fear that someone will choose to remove them, I was under the impression that these companies should only take their own bags from THE EDGE of your property?

My charity has now lost out. And it has put me off donating from my doorstep in future.

This morning as I am sat in my front room, I have just watched my wrought iron bed drive past the front window! This has been taken fron the side of the house, admittedly destined for the tip,but again why do people think it acceptable to just help themselves?!?

It is the underhand way it was done, very quietly, I didnt hear a thing but it was carried from the side around my car down the drive without so much as a clang!

Yes they have done me a favour,but why not knock on the door first and check? To me thats just theft.

Or am I being unreasonable????

OP posts:
squeakytoy · 20/09/2011 12:14

Not being unreasonable at all if it was in the porch. You need to keep the door locked perhaps.

whostolemyname · 20/09/2011 12:14

er, that is theft!

NotSuchASmugMarriedNow · 20/09/2011 12:15

YABU

Are you also one of those people who puts things on freecycle thatyou can't be bothered to take down the dump and then expect a poor person to grovel with grattitude because you so graciously allowed them to take it Wink

SoupDragon · 20/09/2011 12:16

Even the scrap metal men round here ask before carting off any scrap metal you've left on your drive. Provided you are in, otherwise they just take it.

SoupDragon · 20/09/2011 12:17

although, TBH, I prefer them not to bother me.

Original poster
morethemerrier · 20/09/2011 12:17

Cant lock the porch as there is no letter box! We live in a rented house so we are not allowed to erect a post box so have to leave it open!

OP posts:
SardineQueen · 20/09/2011 12:20

We have been having some work done on the house and scary men with vans come and wander around on our drive quite regularly picking through stuff even when I am standing at the window eyeballing them.

My mum's neighbours are having some work done now and people keep going through their garden to get to the neighbours house to pick through stuff.

One lot round here I rang the police.

So I am with you on the point that people should not be wandering onto your property and helping themselves to your stuff.

YANBU.

DorisIsAPinkDragon · 20/09/2011 12:20

If you saw it drive past why didn't you get the van details and report the theft to the police?

oh and Lock your porch door!!

It is theft and you should be reporting it to the police on the non emergency number. If it's happening to you no doubt it's happening to others. Without the report the police will not know what is happening.

Stormwater · 20/09/2011 12:21

If someone had taken something from the side of my house, or out of my porch, and I had seen them driving away, I would have taken their registration and reported the items stolen.

Just because something is outside doesn't mean it's going to the tip, how do they know you're not moving house/awaiting collection from a buyer/just about to load it up to go somewhere/whatever?

It's theft, and even if you don't mind too much this time as you were actually getting rid, the next person's stuff could be far more important.

Stormwater · 20/09/2011 12:22

Oh, and I reckon if you tell your landlord that something was stolen out of your porch, they would have to be very unreasonable not to fit a lock for you.

DamselInDisarray · 20/09/2011 12:22

What do you do abou getting mail if you're out? Confused you need to ask your landlord to supply you with some kind of mailbox because it's not ok to have you leave the door open for that reason.

Original poster
morethemerrier · 20/09/2011 12:33

Far from it Notsuch, with three children we are regulars at out local Recylcing centre, just would have appreciated the same courtesy that I pay others.

You must have me confused as a twin set pearl wearing stuffy middle aged snob doing her bit for the poor mites less fortunate.

I am actually a 35 yr old mother of three, expecting No4, just a bit peeved that people think its acceptable to remove items they choose, I had a bike 'removed' from the side of the house early this year, the police said that was theft how is this any different?

Only exp Freecycle once, couldn't stand all the grovelling I had to do for a tatty old settee! Wink

OP posts:
ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs · 20/09/2011 12:48

YANBU. It is theft.
Would the same metal thieves be interested in a large blue piece of metal that I can't afford to MOT or insure. It's just sitting idly outside my house?

Fuzzywuzzywozabear · 20/09/2011 12:56

I had 5 sacks of clothing stolen off my doorstep which was destined for the school charity collection. I also arranged the council to collect our climbing frame. When I got home from work neighbour told me some woman had knocked to ask about it. Neighbour said "oh I don't know if you can take it" said woman took it anyway. what neither of them knew was IT WAS BROKEN!

OP YANBU

smoggii · 20/09/2011 13:54

What you describe is theft. Even if you have stuff in a skip, if it is on your drive it is your property and taking it is theft. If people want something they should knock and ask.

We have spent two years doing up out house and every time we have a skip the scrappers come, knock on the door and ask politely if they can have a dig through. They are of course welcome to but i appreciate that they ask, as they should.

CoffeeDog · 20/09/2011 13:54

We have a white van drive round our road once or twice a week ringing a VERY loud bell... teanage chaps come wandering around the side of building 'looking for stuff'.... Twice they have picked up 2 car wheels (with alloys) which were agaisnt my back door (which is at the side of my house) the would have had to have walked along drive past front door down the length of the house to spot them.
They are also prone to picking up kids scooters/bikes if left agaisnt the shed door or out in the fenced front garden's.
Drives me mad that i have to make sure EVERYTHING is locked away when they would have to trespass to 'check' if anything was there in the first place!!
Despite me telling them this is my property and they are NOT welcolme to wander about on it they still come to 'have a look'

Original poster
morethemerrier · 20/09/2011 14:16

Do you know I am more cross now at myself for not being on the ball as a lot of quite rightly pointed out that even though on this occassion it 'suited' me, it is obviously a fairly common problem reading some of the comments!

We do have a Rag and Bone van that comes around playing the 'any old iron' song very loudly, that is how it should be done.

I ve come to the conclusion that there are a lot of blatent criminals helping themselves sometimes at our expense!

Thanks for letting me know Im not the only one, and we are actually renovating a house soon so its made me more aware that we could have lots of problems reading some of your comments as we will have a lot of building materials etc around! Never even thought of that.

OP posts:
moondog · 20/09/2011 14:23

OOOh I'd love a rag 'n bone man!
Thought they'd gone for good.
Staggered at cheek of teenagers helping selves to owt that moves.

SnakeOnCrack · 20/09/2011 14:40

We've got a skip at the moment and some fucker has just dumped a couple of massive bags of builders rubble in them, spilling it all over the drive in the process. Oh THANKS for that!

TakeThisOneHereForAStart · 20/09/2011 16:39

YANBU.

We had a skip in the front garden once, set back from the road, and realised someone had been taking things from it.

We then realised that they had gone through the side gate and had a look in the back garden too. Things had been moved.

I didn't mind them taking the stuff, but it gave me the creeps to think someone had been prowling around the garden just helping themselves to things (issues with stalkerish family members). It wouldn't have killed them to knock and ask. Even the scrap metal people knock and ask politely.

Can you put up a sign saying you will report anything else to the police and ask your landlord if you can put up an external mail box and fit a lock to the porch.

paisleyII · 20/09/2011 16:51

we have rag and bone man in a van who drives up the street ringing a bell once a week however the last few months i have spotted many times two eastern eurpean types in an old van who drive up and down in the early hours (seen their reg plate) as i go to work early, i ahve seen them helping themselves to stuff from peoples front gardens INCLUDING MINE - i tapped on his shoulder, he pretended he couldn't speak any english, i didn't mine him taking the item but he should have asked, he looked really shocked to see me appear, i feel sorry for the rag and bone man as his seems to be a legit' business, local policeman on beat said this is a real problem in our area now

Honeydragon · 20/09/2011 16:55

YANBU, my side gate is bolted, doesn't stop people trying to open it.

My Cargo bike is also chained to the wall out the front of the house, as well as having a motorcycle chain on the front wheels and an ABS lock to immobilise it. Yet still I have opened the front door to the surprise of the van owners on my driveway. To which they go "you getting rid?" or some other excuse Hmm

BlueKangaroo22 · 20/09/2011 17:07

Put a sign on your front door stating 'Anything removed from this porch without owners permission will be considered theft and legal action will be taken against offenders'

nickschick · 20/09/2011 17:13

Can I leave ds2 in your porch for a bit Grin.

Bootcamp · 20/09/2011 17:26

Yanbu. Theft. You could have left that bed there for a number of reasons.