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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Loft hatch wifi burglar/poo leaver? Help me through the night please.

358 replies

Thattwatoverthere · 05/04/2018 22:43

There was a thread similar to this a while back that I can't find now but I promise I'm not a copy cat troll!

Last night i noticed that the loft hatch was open in the babies room. I definitely didn't do it, OH says he didn't do it. The cupboard under the TV where the electric and wifi box are was open yesterday, again, neither of us had opened it.
I called the police to report this last night and explained that I'm often alone with an 8 week old baby and that the house is really not secure (rental). Their next steps were to raise with their team manager and to contact me within 24 hours if they felt they needed to take it further, put it on record if not. Presumably this would be useful when I've been murdered in my sleep but whatever.
I've called the lettings agent who would get someone round to look at the locks that aren't locking.
I've heard nothing back from either. My life has no value clearly.

I've been blamed twice in the last fortnight for leaving a poo in the toilet by OH when I definitely, definitely haven't. Clothes have gone missing presumed lost somewhere and the wifi speed has dropped significantly over the last few weeks.

I'm concerned.

I have a CCTV style baby monitor that wasn't being used that I've set up in the living room to monitor anyone getting in which I thought was a pretty genius idea but forgot that you can talk the other way too. Tonight I'm pretty sure someone was talking through it. OH is working away but swears that it wasn't him. I need to be brave enough to get close enough to unplug it now.

There is access through the lofts from the other houses and only one key was given from the lettings agent so presumably another key is somewhere else out there. I can always hear footsteps from the houses either side of me which used to be reassuring when I was by myself. NOT ANY MORE!

Tomorrow I'm permanently closing both loft hatches, changing all locks and learning self defence. In the meantime help me get through the night. What can I do to make it as safe as I can? or channel Kevin from Home Alone And can I do anything on the wifi to see if someone else has signed up to mine?

I was a lot braver in the daylight...

I've got my baby asleep on me and I don't think she'll be much use if I'm confronted.

OP posts:
cueominousmusic · 07/04/2018 00:48

QuimReaper: I actually laughed out loud at the end of that terrible movie adaptation of The Woman in Black, the directors really didn't understand the law of diminishing returns

It's a pity. I saw "The Woman in Black" performed by a small, but very imaginative, theatre company and it was absolutely wonderful. Almost no stage setting, largely just a few boxes that the actors moved around as needed, and one of of the biggest frights I have ever gotten.

Totally compelling.

I vaguely remember the 1989 version as being okay, but that was a long while ago.

RunMummyRun68 · 07/04/2018 01:04

No update from op! Shame

seasidelife · 07/04/2018 01:07

Where is op? Hope everything is ok

LagunaBubbles · 07/04/2018 01:15

Sounds scary!

Justaboy · 07/04/2018 01:30

My grandad's telly used to pick up local taxi drivers talking. They were definitely not loft dwelling taxi drivers either

Thats easly explainable its called RF breakthrough or accidental demodulation but its happening less nowadays as Taxi firms use smartfones and digital radios.

OTOH Loft spaces that are open from house to house are a very large fire hazard. in a terraced house I once owned we had to have a dividing wall built to act as a fire barrier!

If you do think that someone is cominhg through the loft then put some sliding bolts on it so it can only be opened from below as it were, and ask the landlord to change the locks, all sounds a rather rum do all round!

lostjanni · 07/04/2018 01:35

Wow strange. But can all be explained as previous posters have done. But hope you ok.

Livedandlearned · 07/04/2018 02:09

To check who is using your WiFi you can get an app for your phone

whatwouldkeithRichardsdo2 · 07/04/2018 02:15

Nothing to lose by calling the police. Think it's justifiable.

Original poster
Thattwatoverthere · 07/04/2018 07:15

Sorry for the lack of update, my OH came home and I had wine and an early night!

I had a missed call from the police yesterday evening checking if anyone had been to see me yet, as I'd been at my mums all day lying on the sofa accepting cups of tea I have no idea so have emailed back to ask if they can come round today. I've no idea what they can do but I'm glad they've taken it seriously. The agency/my landlord haven't bothered to call me back so they're clearly not arsed that potentially someone is able to get in. I'll bill them for bolts and locks etc rather than hang around.

My OH is adamant that he's not talked to me through the monitor but can only see me and him logged in. Interference is the only reasonable explanation and for the sake of my sanity I'm going with that. Wifi doesn't seem to have given any info either so passwords changed and I'm contemplating changing the name of it to get the fuck out of my loft as an extra deterrent.

We didn't get the new locks fitted yesterday but I feel a lot safer just having him home again so we can do that today once the police have been round. Now it's daylight again I'm feeling brave and will have a look up in the loft to see what's actually there. I'm terrified of lofts so this is a big deal for me!

I'll report back once the police have been.

OP posts:
expatmatt78 · 07/04/2018 07:27

Slightly off topic but the dear David thing is known to be a creative project and not real
However it is really unnerving so do not read it until this is sorted ha ha

Queenio24 · 07/04/2018 08:59

About the phantom poos, where I used to work the water pressure wasn't good and the drains were old. Solids used to 'float back around' overnight, so when we opened up in the morning there would be a random poo in the loo, that had prep been flushed but randomly reappeared.
Very glad to hear dear David was a creative project, it really freaked me out yesterday and woke up thinking about it- don't read it OP!

MsHomeSlice · 07/04/2018 09:18

my first house was a terrace, with the whole open loft along the row fandango, and we had a retention on the mortgage until the gap was fireboarded/bricked. This was in the early eighties. And it was a fire safety issue, so presumably like all these modern day fire door regs for loft extensions and the like

I simply cannot understand how so many of these houses are STILL open, surely as they come on the market and get bought and sold modifications MUST be being made???

sonjadog · 07/04/2018 09:20

I've just read the Dear David thread now. It is really obviously a made up story. I think it is really well done until he starts to take photos of the doll - that is a step too far! But I like the way he puts a scary spin on every day occurrences at the start and the way he just gives enough information and the right intervals to reel people into the story.

64BooLane · 07/04/2018 09:30

Thanks for updating OP!

peachypetite · 07/04/2018 09:34

Wonder if you'll find anything in the loft!

Motoko · 07/04/2018 12:01

read the Dear David story - thought it was a little too convenient that the guy is a writer, and really - if you could ask 'it' questions, you wouldn't exactly start asking how they died,

Well, he asked those questions in a dream, and the girl in the library was also a dream!

The doll spoiled it. The videos of the cats were good though, especially the one with the cat standing on it's back legs swatting an "invisible" entity, that was most probably a fly, but if you suspend your disbelief, you could imagine the cat seeing something that we can't.

I also thought the video of taking the polaroids of his brightly lit hallway, which came out pitch black, was also well done.

sonjadog · 07/04/2018 13:07

I agree that the polaroids were well done. I also liked the empty warehouse. It is the kind of place that people can easily relate to and that can seem a little spooky, and he played on that very nicely.

RunMummyRun68 · 07/04/2018 13:36

Yes it's clearly made up but I like how it's done, it's a bit different

Never really bothered with Twitter before I read the thread last year

Ariela · 07/04/2018 14:28

If your monitor is the same as the one I had, I could pick up my friend chatting to her son in the pub she ran (7 minutes walk away), she had the same monitor and it was clearly working on the same channel

Whywonttheyletmeusemyusername · 07/04/2018 14:50

Blatant placemark for the police update. As a pp said...big dogs...work a treat !!

BettyBaggins · 07/04/2018 15:24

Placemarking too! Ta!

ohfourfoxache · 07/04/2018 16:05

I really hope you get to the bottom of this - sounds pretty scary Shock

PictPerfect · 07/04/2018 18:09

Nice when someone updates ~ thank you

Hawkmoth · 07/04/2018 18:19

Clearly not a fan of Luther then OP? Bit tooooo calm....

N2986 · 07/04/2018 18:55

Haha @hawkmoth I thought the same thing! Bloody love Luther!

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