To think you don't just keep ringing the doorbell if no one answers?

[Sparrowlegs248]

I'm at home, was putting my two small children to bed. Ive been really under the weather all week, so we all had a bath, got in pjs and were going to bed. My doorbell rang. I ignored it (2 yr old not quite asleep and would have got up and fully woken up if I'd gone downstairs). It's cold, dark, and I was in my nightshirt. The doorbell continued to be ring repeatedly. It's really quite loud. I went downstairs and unplugged it in the end.

Surely if the house is in almost total darkness and there's no response, you stop? Everyone along the road (rural, about 7 houses) knows I have young children and it was 7.30pm, bedtime.

Aibu to think give up after a couple of goes??

I agree OP. I work from home and so even though I'm home, I'm sort of not. I'm often on Skype meetings with clients etc. Insistent religious types and salesmen are the bane of my life. They knock and knock (especially if they hear or see movement in the house). FUCK. OFF.

I don’t always answer if I’m home alone and not expecting anyone.

Add in that it was DC bedtimes, they’d been crying, you weren’t dressed properly not to mention it’s dark now at that time.

I wouldn’t have answered either.

I was raised not to answer the door

That's just weird. You never answer the door for meter readers, postal deliveries, friends, relatives, your partner, the police? Why?

October "I wouldnt answer the door in my current house when its dark (Country, in the middle of nowhere, pitch black dark outside, long drive way, no reason for any body to come down the drive, you cant see us from the road and actually not many people know theres a house down here) .."

There always a poster who says this and for some reason it makes me think of the film Mothman Prophecies.

Beveren my post was too short, the next one explains more.

So many times on MN the advice is to actually go and speak to the neighbours about something not leave notes. And yet what’s the point because nobody is going to answer the door?!
Writing a note to say they have left their car lights on? Wake up in the morning to a piece of paper on the doormat and a flat battery.

People are weird.

I really want to know who it was.

The escaped pony hangry for treats is awesome!

@BertrandRussell. Yes, if they were fully committed to making contact! Otherwise they could just go away when the door wasn’t answered. If it’s important, on the householder’s head be it. It’s still their decision whether to answer the door, just as it’s their decision whether to take a phone call.

Fit a spy hole, or better a camera. Better still a 'nest' doorbell or similar, so you can see and talk to the visitor over the internet ( even if you are not there).

What no one on these threads (and this topic comes up a LOT) has ever been able to answer is, what do people do when the person whose doorbell they’re ringing is out? All these examples of ‘My neighbour’s shed was on fire, I banged on the door for hours and they still didn’t answer, eventually I phoned the fire brigade’ - wouldn’t you do that first? The same for ‘Ohhh, but what if it was some vulnerable woman on labour on her own and you didn’t answer!! ’ - if there was no reply at door number one, maybe she’d have the sense to try door number two? Or would she say to herself ‘Well those bastards aren’t answering; I’ll have to squat down on the kerb and pop it out here’?

a person in need of help wouldn't have her number?

So what would the person in need of help have done if the OP had been out at work, down the pub, visiting friends? Presumably if you’re that desperate for help you’d try every door on the street?

I did think that actually, the lights that were on were the lights I'd have left on if I went out. Also, I'd got out of the bath about 5 minutes earlier. I could have been in the bath, or as is the case this morning stuck in the bathroom vomiting.

Still don't know who it was! Cat is accounted for, chicken is alive, ponies are not escaped!

I would ring a doorbell more than once. It wouldn't occur to me (or wouldn't have before Mumsnet) that someone would hear a doorbell and not answer it. I'd assume the reason for no answer was that either there was no-one there or that whoever wasn't there hadn't heard the first time

I wouldn’t answer whilst putting children to bed. I’m not available. Just like I wouldn’t answer the phone.

Hope your door bell is okay.

@PettyContractor but how would you know they were in? If you rang 2 or 3 times to no answer, would you then ring it repeatedly (upwards of 30 times I think) ?

This is clearly a cultural thing. I’ve only ever heard of this on MN (I’m not in the UK). I’ve never known anyone not to answer their door.... even bathing DC I’d shout from upstairs or something. Strange.

I’ve always told my DC if there’s an emergency and something happens to DH or me, to ring for help then run and bang on a neighbours door.

I've repeatedly rung someone's doorbell cos dc opened car-door and caught their car (windy day).

Saw movement inside. Kept going until they appeared.

It was all about my anxiety to get their opinion about the scrape and what we needed to do. I needed to confess fast and wanted to get it sorted as quickly as possible, so I could get to sleep that night.

YANBU. You're entitled to ignore your own front door, esp if you're not expecting anyone, and wearing a nightie in the middle of the kids bedtime. If it's someone you know they can call you. If I lived rurally I wouldn't feel obliged to answer the door after dark, and wouldn't expect it of other people.

People are recommending Ring doorbells but I have my doubts about these. The adverts suggest you can deter a burglar by being able to speak to them through the doorbell and make it seem you are at home. Surely if a burglar wants to break in - you shouting at them through the doorbell isn't going to stop them? Ok you can phone the police but by the time they get there the burglar will still have had it away on their toes with ipads/laptops etc?
Am I missing something?

Police at the door shout. open up it’s the police

Well they'll be on camera, dobby, so identifiable?

But isn’t it just a live camera? I doubt the footage is stored.

Yeah, looking at it now, looks like you pay an extra subscription to be able to record footage. What a rip.

More annoying is that delivery people do not ring the bell but seem to put parcels behind the bin and never leave a note.Recently I have had some that were left when the rain was torrential,I had beeninall day.
Didn't find it until the next day as I spotted the collapsed cardboard as I got in the car to work.

Our doorbell rang last night at about 10.30. I was getting ready for bed so looked out of the bedroom window and saw four policemen outside. Apparently DH had somehow messed up setting the burglar alarm and had triggered a 'duress' call.

I was glad I answered before they got to the battening stage, and I was very apologetic and embarrassed at having wasted police time, but they were very kind and understanding.Thanks, Police!

You have every right to not answer the door.
If it was important they would have shouted through the letter box.
Hope your feeling better.