They went through my skip!

[IncognitoUsername]

Is this a thing? We have a skip outside as we have been doing some decorating/clearing out. I heard a van outside the house which seemed to have stopped so I looked out and two blokes were rummaging in the skip! I went downstairs to ask what they were doing but they had just left. I noticed some metal items had gone out of the skip.
Is this normal? Do people just drive round looking for skips to have a nose in? I’m not bothered by them taking stuff out but surely it would have been polite to ask?!

I should have also said. It didn't bother me people helping themselves. It was mainly off cuts of wood etc. Random shapes and sizes. But obviously use to someone.

Yes. I saw a guy going through the skip opposite. It's cold. It's winter. I made him a hot drink. He was happy.

If they throw everything on the floor then I don't make them one. He was tidy.

I’d happily put a sign on it with ‘ help yourself’ . If someone can use what we don’t need then I’m all for it!

Why is it rude if they leave it tidy ?

It's normal to ask if the skip is on your drive. If it's on the road then I guess it could belong to anyone but I would expect anyone coming onto my drive to knock on my door and ask.

We have a real problem with them around here. Its one set of men who do it, same van and same siren to announce that they are in the street if you want to bring anything out.

Its understood that if you leave something in front of your house, with a note if its on private land, that they can take it. They get scrap to sell, you save a trip to the tip....all good.

Except that they dont just do that.

They will go into entries and gardens and take anything metal, stealing it even when it obviously isnt scrap.

The worst one was around the corner. House was gutted by a fire, so bad that the family had to move out for nearly a year. The day after their belongings were being emptied and most of it was chucked on the front lawn to be sorted out as to what could be saved. While they were having a break, these fuckers started picking through their stuff!! It was perfectly obvious it had been a house fire.

Unluckily for them this is a very community spirited place and I think that it was only because the police arrived just in time that it didnt end worse for them than a bloke taking the keys out of their van so they couldnt drive off while the neighbours retrieved what was left of their belongings out of the back.

Police did nothing as they claimed they didnt realise it had been a fire (the smell alone gave that away along with smoke and fire damaged furniture on the lawn), and the people got their stuff back. Just gave them a warning to check in future rather than just taking stuff although apparently it was obvious that the police know that they are thieving shites.

Bastards.

As long as people left no mess when pulling stuff out the skip, I wouldn't mind at all.

That must have been an uncomfortable night's sleep.

<grabs coat>

Normal here. We did it when helping pils have a big sort out. We underestimated on skip size and filled it fairly quickly, but by next morning the skip divers had half emptied it. Repeated daily for the week we had the skip!! A few people did ask if we were outside when they passed and if they were polite and we had extras waiting in the wings so to speak we'd see if they wanted that. It was amazing what they would take.

I know someone who went to bed IN a full skip once, not sure that counts though as he was still there the next morning so obviously the totters didnt want him!

It's fine since you don't want what you put in a skip, though if they're having to come on your property to do it, it would be polite to ask.

It's the people who dump their own rubbish in your skip who are rude - using up space you have paid for.

Never had a skip but my neighbours had this with theirs. Delivered late on (say) Thursday ready for their clear out Friday (was a renovation) and by the time they got up it was full!

Quite common according to local FB groups, although it is getting less so since Ring doorbells became a thing. The footage of "Anyone know who this cheeky fucker is?! Tell him to come and get his shit out of the skip he dumped it in last night" and without fail someone (ususally several people) will name the culprit ....... becoming more fun than the parking batshittery posts or the "flooded" roads that are actually just a bloke washing his car.

I once had a skip outside my house and had put an oak coloured double glazed window in it. Someone knocked on my front door and asked did I have one in white 😳😳😳

Don't be silly they knew you was fucking it off plus they've made more space for you

Normal round here... including taking metal that isn't being thrown out... the polite ones will knock on the door and ask

YANBU wondering what they were doing but it's not really custom skipdibers ringing and asking for permission either. Often a skip is outside an emptynhouse, at least after working hours. Be glad they took some stuff! More room for your old stuff!

It’s not just skips. When we had our kitchen renovated the old kitchen was put in our back yard with all the rubbish which was being collected at the end of the week. I was woken early one morning to rummaging. It seemed that it was the scrap man rooting through for metal to take. I was a bit annoyed as he didn’t know if I already had it earmarked for someone else. But apparently it’s a free for all.

Not the first post I've seen like this. I think it's so weird to be possessive and outraged about your literal trash. Why on earth wouldn't you want someone to take something and save it from landfill just because they haven't 'asked permission'. You obviously don't want it so why should they bother you by ringing your door bell?

I put my old fridge and freezer outside on the pavement. Was gone the next day.

They are doing us all a favour tbh. Saving us money.

Just curious- what’s a besting table?

Am thinking thats a typo and she meant ‘nesting’ tables?

This is definitely a thing. My Dad used to do it all the time. As soon as he saw a skip, he'd pull his van over and start rummaging in it. It was embarassing at the time, but looking back, he got some good things that would have otherwise ended up in landfill.

As for asking, if it's in a skip, it's obviously been thrown. Seems a bit strange to expect someone to ask permission to take stuff you've clearly discarded, unless they are entering your private property. Personally, I'd just be happy that what I had thrown was of use to someone, and I'd rather them not bother me or feel like they have to ask permission.

I think it's also important to bear in mind that people looking in skips may do so due to poverty. Therefore, it could be really embarassing and degarding for them to knock on someone's door to ask if they can take and reuse their waste.

Because half the time the cheeky bastards don't just take what's in the skip, they seem to think anything nearby is up for grabs as well!

What happens if someone hurts themselves rummaging in a skip? When we cleared out DM's house we threw a lot of glass and crockery on the skip which obviously smashed. Presumably if you rummage through other peoples' rubbish it's down to you to be careful?

We skip the skip and just pile stuff in our horrible front garden (not really a garden, just badly laid astroturf courtesy of the previous owners, but it’s proving useful as a dumping space. We never call waste collection right away: why pay for someone to take our crap when people will haul it away for free?

Anything worth selling I sell on eBay, vinted, FBM etc but that’s a ballache and there’s stuff that to me seems worthless: onto the astroturf it goes and minutes later someone in a van takes it. Saves an absolute fortune in waste clearance fees and every penny counts in a reno, why begrudge it when I didn’t want it?