Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

For being cross with DH - £2,000 worth of cross!! He is a twat!

28 replies

Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 11:35

Went on our hols at the end of august and were having builders in whilst we were away - had some money out of the bank to pay them and had £2k left over which they were going to paid (+more) when we got back - DH left it on a dresser - out of view behind a box set of DVDs and we get back and it has gone - the builders must have pinched it - we have reported it to the police - who are actually taking it seriously now we live in the country - when it happened when we lived in London the police shrugged and smirked and said it was a silly thing to do (video camera went then along with tapes of DSs first few hours!) - they are at home at the moment fingerprinting the place as none of the workmen should have been in the lounge where it was taken from but don't hld out any hope of finding out who did it or getting it back really!

Am so cross with DH - he is angry with himself but keeps saying well it isn't going to brake us! Brake us - that is not the point the point is he is a stupid twat!! I just cannot believe it has happened again and we can't even claim on our insurance because the builders had a key - I keep thinking - wrongly I know - of the lovely handbag I could have bought with all that money!! Of course I wouldn't have had that much money to spend on a handbag but that is not the point and I am pretty angry with him being so dismissive - if it were me he would be mighty cross!!

OP posts:
cornsilk · 04/09/2007 11:37

I am always worried about this happening to us when we have workmen in, my dh thinks i'm being stupid. Hope you get it all back.

ConnorTraceptive · 04/09/2007 11:39

God what a dumb arse! sorry but i'd be livid.

Have you confronted the builders can you refuse to pay them anything else?

hanaflower · 04/09/2007 11:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Fireflyfairy2 · 04/09/2007 11:44

Oh jesus. This is my worst nightmare seeing as my dh is a builder. I'm always frightened if things go missing he will get the blame!

Actually one site he was on, he got accused of taking a radio belonging to a man he was doing an extension for. The man even wrote dh a snooty letter saying he was going to take action if it wasn't returned ASAP.

The mans daughter called dh the next day & apologised, said she had taken it with her to clear out a garage & had left it there. Dh never got an apology from the man himself.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is try & think of everyone who it would have been & everyone who has been in & out of your house in the time the money has sat there. Look everywhere for it, could it have fallen down somewhere?

Basically, builders have a reputation to uphold (That's if they came recommended in the first place?)& won't be going round stealing from people....unless they are crooked & of so, hopefully the police will get them before they steal off other people too.

BigGitDad · 04/09/2007 11:45

That's true, chances are if someone saw the builders they will walk in the house and have a look around especially if the door is unlocked. we had a laptop stolen from our office when the carpet fitters were in. It was a chance opportunity. We know it was a stranger as someone saw him leave.

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 11:48

Not sure what we do now to be honest - the work was contracted through an arcitect who got a firm of builders to do the work but they had sub contractors in. The boss builder is saying oh I hope the police can sort it out but part of me feels he should take some responsibility, they were afteral brought in by him.

Other than my aunt and uncle who would nothave stolen from us the builders were the only people who had access to the house!

We have searched everywhere to - DH may be a twat but he isn't forgetful when it comes to leaving things palces - unlike me!

I did not know he had left it there by the way - I would have taken it with us or given it to my uncle to keep for us!

Stupid thing is we have a wall safe from the 1600s in the house but don;t have a key for it - we were baulking at the £200 it would have cost to have it opened and a key made - don;t I wish we had now!

OP posts:
OrmIrian · 04/09/2007 11:54

A bit unfair to automatically blame the builder perhaps. If the house was open whilst builder were up on the roof (or whatever) it might have been someone else entirely. And if it was the builder he would have known that he'd be the first suspect so he'd be daft to do it. If the builder was my DH I'd be furious to think you were jumping to conclusions TBH.

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 11:57

But the front door was never open and we have electric gates to the side of the house so no one could have just walked in - they would have had to be in long enough to search the house if they did get in though - the money was on an 8ft high dresser - it was out of view and you would have needed a while to look around and then get a chair to get up there and have a look!

OP posts:
whiskeyandbeer · 04/09/2007 12:15

might be more productive to be angry at the people who robbed you rather than your husband.

slowreader · 04/09/2007 12:17

Have you looked down the back of the dresser?
Should be v loathe to blame the builders myself. The only time money went missing here it turned up in dd (age4)'s money box. She had sensibly 'tidied it up'.

sparklesandwine · 04/09/2007 12:24

have you asked your aunt and uncle if they took it to keep it safe for you? they may have seen it and taken it for safe keeping...

i really hope you get it back

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 12:26

Dresser is built in so not down back of there - DS & DD couldn't have reached it - Aunt and Uncle haven't moved it!

Am cross with builders too but cross that DH was stupid enuogh to leave that much money in the house when people we didn't know were going to be there!!

OP posts:
charliecat · 04/09/2007 12:26

Why on earth would the builder be looking up there?
Have you definelty looked and looked and made sure its not there?

Fireflyfairy2 · 04/09/2007 12:27

Tbh I doubt if anyone would be bothered to climb on chairs to look the top of a dresser on the offchance that there was £2000 up there

Surely if it was the builders there would be mucky footprints everywhere too? Believe me, I know how muddy my floors can get after dh is home from work!!!

LucyJones · 04/09/2007 12:29

do people really pay these amounts of money in cash?!!

BigGitDad · 04/09/2007 12:31

People pay alot more than that in cash to avoid VAT.

Fireflyfairy2 · 04/09/2007 12:33

I haven't had to go to a cash machine for about 6 months after an extension dh built!

Saves them both any bother that way... though not strictly by the book

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 12:34

We didn't want to avoid paying VAT or anything just needed some cash handy and as we have a listed house the VAT is waived for some things so wouldn't have needed to do that.

Half of me feels like saying to the builder - we are paying you £2k less - you find out who nucked it and get it back.

And it mush have been them there is no other possibility - I know it means whoever did it is very stupid as the finger of suspician would fall only on the builders but we have looked everywhere and DH is a twat for leaving it there but he knows he left it there!

OP posts:
Boco · 04/09/2007 12:39

Could it have fallen down the back of the dresser? [hopeful emoticon]

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 12:48

No its a solid unit with a piece of hard board at the back!!

OP posts:
slowreader · 04/09/2007 12:53

I really do not think the builders would be daft enough to take it. For a start the architect would never use them again.
I know someone who accused a decorator of taking a ring. She too informed police, made a big fuss etc. Then found it in her knicker drawer and THEN remembered hiding it there.

charliecat · 04/09/2007 12:53

And youve moved it and looked?

Kathyis6incheshigh · 04/09/2007 12:53

I don't know about being cross with your dh, but I think the police's reaction is out of order.
Their job is to catch people who steal stuff, not tell you off for leaving things around.

Original poster
Twinkie1 · 04/09/2007 12:56

Oh no this time the police are being serious - when we lived in london they just smirked at us - they are taking fingerprints today so hopefully will find something. The police seem to have come across it before so maybe all builders aren't that honest or that clever not to steal from people they are working for.

OP posts:
ninedragons · 05/09/2007 06:59

Oh dear, you poor thing.

A plumber nicked a diamond and sapphire ring when he was fixing my bathroom (I had put it in a bowl on the bench moments before I arrived, when I went to the loo moments after he left it wasn't there any more - it really couldn't have been anyone else).

Luckily I had paid him by cheque so I rang the bank and stopped it. The police searched the plumber's flat but never found anything. Never heard peep from him about the stopped cheque (which was worth more than the ring), so I assume he had a guilty conscience.

I can see why you're mad with your husband, particularly as he's being so casual about it. Perhaps he is castigating himself severely underneath.

Swipe left for the next trending thread