Yodel delivery driver opened my front door..

[harboromummy]

This is the second time in two weeks! Same guy!

I went to go into the hall way to go upstairs and the delivery man literally came up to the door, didn't knock, opened my front door and went to put the parcel on the stairs!! He about pooed himself when he saw me then asked me to sign the thing.

The first time I heard the front door go went to check and he had done it then too!!

😡😡

Also about half the posters on the thread have said they don't always lock their doors so it seems it's quite common. No one that doesn't lock their doors is telling those that do lock their doors to change their habits due to risk of being trapped in the house with a fire or paramedics struggling to get into house if you have an accident and can't reach the door after using mobile to phone 999 - so maybe possibilities all for each individual to weigh up.

So many*

We live in crime central and wouldn't dream of leaving any door unlocked during the day let alone at night.

Sneak thieves are rife at the minute but recently we've had blokes letting themselves in after seeing kids in the house. When approached they say they're looking for their friend. One guy did over ten houses one teatime,thank God for Facebook, as word got round, he wasn't caught though.

We've had Postie's push things through small half open front room window before.

Don't think he should have entered your house though op without being invited.

You don't need to explain to me at all kaytee. But you may have to explain to your insurance company. "Yes we were in the garden and a burglar opened the front door, strolled in and picked up the phone and the car keys and drove off but it's OK becase we we are hardly ever there!" Good luck with that! I'm guessing (may be wrong) that you've never been burgled or had to deal with the fallout for people who find themselves "uninsured" because ofleaving their door unlocked or having a crap lock "bumped". It's really distressing I can tell you. And it's especially distressing when the people were in when it happened. And they often are

I'm simply explianing how I see it from my professional viewpoint and save you the upset of having to pay to replace your stolen items yourself, along with greatly increased insurance premiums

AS for being able to be seen from jst across the road, Iassumed that you meant that it was a fairly limited field of vision.

No ta1kin she wanted him to knock on the door, not leave it in the rain or walk straight in.

And I have covered the issue of fire safety Kaytee - I agree it's equally important. But security and fire safety are not mutally exclusive at all.

Like I say, I have a professional interest and it makes me goggle eyed at the "it'll never happen to me" attitude I see all the time

Our door doesn't lock automatically on closure. From the outside it needs to be opened with a key, from the inside it's a rotating knob that locks it. No key required to exit in an emergency.

Also about half the posters on the thread have said they don't always lock their doors so it seems it's quite common.

Not an argument that would hold any water at all with insurance companies.

The problem of leaving the house if there's a fire is easily solved by having a Yale lock. As for access for paramedics - they're perfectly used to breaking in if they have to. The risk of burglary is far higher than the risk of someone being unable to answer the door to paramedics.

But no one asked for your professional opinion? Plenty of people make 'stupid decisions' in my opinion but unless I'm asked I wouldn't comment on it.

Of course I wouldn't, I would expect him to knock the door be wait for me to answer.

Oh, come off it, Kaytee, it's perfectly legitimate for BOOP to point out the adverse financial consequences of failing to keep your door locked. Since when did we all have to wait to be asked before putting our viewpoint on MN?

Erm, I'm commenting on the thread . I can't help the fact that my opinion is based on my professional experience, any more than you can help basing yours on your experience.

I was only addressing you because you addressed me.

Look, it seems I've hit a raw nerve so I'll leave it there and hope that it's never a problem you have to encounter

Just wondering why it's only me she's pointing it out to when half of the other posters do the same.

kaytee I can't speak for bitoutofpractice but I know from my own experience (both as a victim and professionally) that noone expects to be a victim, and most are overwhelmed at the sheer enormity of the emotions they feel.

Look at the OP. She is angry and upset - and that is at someone she was familiar with, and could identify, who entered her home without permission to leave her something she was expecting. How much more distressing if it was someone she wasn't familiar with, couldn't trace and who had entered for a criminal purpose!

By taking simple precautions, the risk of a walk in burglary happening to you and your family is eliminated. It doesn't matter how big or small the risk is - it can be completely prevented. I'm not sure what possible benefits of leaving a door open would outweigh the damage done if that risk becomes a reality.

So, let's add locks to the other contentious issues on MN (like loo brushes and tea towels).

I couldn't care if you live in Fort Knox, that's your prerogative. I wouldn't want to, it is a mindset that is totally alien to me. But I respect your right to think I am an utterly cavalier loon who deserves her losses, should she ever be burgled.

And I realise those flowers look passive aggressive. They weren't menat like that, they were supposed to be a peace offering. I was trying to be helpful and was addressing all the people who leave their doors open to the outside, not just you

We renewed the policy over the summer and went over it very carefully then and yes we are covered if in the house, obviously not if we went out leaving the house unlocked.

Depending on time of day, temperature etc the second door is shut so once dark or once everyone is home from school etc and that is locked though you could break in by smashing the glass and then putting your hand through to open the lock iyswim. As a said during the summer the doors are often open if kids going in or out or as there will be this summer baby asleep in pram (unless they are like ds1 who never bloody slept...). Bizarrely the back door is more likely to be locked as we go into the back garden less especially in the winter.

Anybody in our house can see a person coming to the front door, I wouldn't see them.if I was upstairs in bathroom.but if I was taking a shower or bath then I would shut the second door which locks, just leaving front porch/hallway unlocked iyswim. There are seven of us though so lots of people milling around in the house which isn't that big so windows, doors to the front are visible it's not as if we could be in a back room and not see someone approaching the front door if that makes sense. Ie now I am sat in living room and can see out front, as is ds1. If someone came in now they would have had to come up driveway without being noticed then open front door, then the next door into the house where upon they would fall over dd (5) and Ds4(7) who are currently sliding around the hall entrance/dining room in cardboard boxes, plus dh is in the kitchen sorting dinner and kitchen windows looks out the front.

As I said in other houses with a different layout in other areas I kept the door locked one where front door opened right onto Street,another where the design of house and Garden meant it felt less safe. Big hedges, walls, quiter area just much easier for someone to come to the door without being noticed.

It's an interesting discussion and there are lots of factors that come into play. We all make different choices and risks assessments.

Regardless though the delivery driver should have knocked,mine would knock and leave in front porch, but they know I am Ok with that.

I don't think you should live in fort knox! I didn't say you should live in FK! The poster who says her door is locked on a Yale-style lock (ie one that locks as you close it and can't be opened from the outside without a key), supplemented by "chubb" locks at night doesn't live in Fort Knox. She just shuts her front door behind her as she comes in, safe in the knowledge that it can't be opened from outside by a random.

And neither did i say that you would "deserve" your losses. Christ. I did say that your insurance company would, in all liklihood, consider you to be in breach of your policy and therefore uninsured if you left your door unlocked to outsiders, whether you were in or not.

I realise this is unpalettable to some of you!

5mad which insurance company are you with? They sound fabulous - I'd love to find one without pages of exclusions !

To clarify for the poster that couldn't believe we don't have insurance, we have building insurance, just not contents insurance. Over the past 25 years we have saved tens of thousands in premiums. We really don't have anything worth thousands in this house, probably the sofa and the range cooker are the most valuable. I can't see them getting taken. TVs and other equipment aren't top of the range and could be replace for a couple of hundred max. Purses and car keys aren't kept in obvious places. Our cars are old bangers and obviously insured anyway. The most valuable things we have are our horses, which are a separate deal from the house anyway.

I'm not judging anyone for choosing to lock their doors or insure.

5Mad that is an increasingly unusual policy

What would you do if your house was flooded or burned down then honey?

YOu realise you'd have t pay for a new kitcehn, bathroom, fixtures fittings etc?

The house won't flood where we are and buildings insurance covers rebuilding from fire or accident. The contents are all that aren't covered..

well, the police advice about doors is that if you are upstairs, in the garden, have the radio on or using a machine (eg lawn mower or hoover), or asleep (eg teenager upstairs) then you should not have your front door unlocked, or even your back door if there is a side access.

Most house burglaries are through unlocked doors, by opportunist burglars