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?!

People are funny - imagine getting bent out of shape because someone was taking something you’d thrown away AND saving you skip space in the process. 😅

I think people are complaining because the skip was on their property. Do you not have a problem with people going on your property without invitation?

@wombat15 people go on my property without invitation all the time.

Postman
Leaflet distributers
Charity bag delvery
Charity bag collectors
Local political party's canvassing

Do you invite these people?

@puzzledout @wombat15
people go on my property without invitation all the time
Postman
Leaflet distributers
Charity bag delvery
Charity bag collectors
Local political party's canvassing

Do you invite these people?

actually as matter of law, there is an implied licence for the postman and people with legitimate business to walk up the path to your front door. So strictly there is an invitation of sorts - it's an implied invitatinon by custom. Skip dippers are not in that class.

You can expressly state that you do not want any of these people (excluding the postman) by stating that there is no permission for them to be on your property.

It's why you sometimes see "No Junk Mail Permitted" or "No Canvassers Allowed" or similar signs on garden gates. The effect of that is to make clear there is no implied licence for these people and then if they step on to your property, they are now a trespasser. Obviously in reality, people ignore these signs and you'd have to be both quick, have evidence and identify them as well as being really bloody minded to do anything about it!

But to answer your post, these are not people who 'go onto your property without invitiation' in the same way as a skip dipper because anyone coming to the door to deliver post/leaflets/over a service/canvass has an implied licence unless it's revoked. People stealing from your skip or bin on your property is not in that class.

It's really not stealing.... but if you want to call the police and prosecute... then good luck!

Totally normal to rummage through skips here. People look for things that they can use or sell. Furniture, metal, anything really.

@puzzledout

It's really not stealing.... but if you want to call the police and prosecute... then good luck!

Personally, I wouldn't suggest calling the police or prosecuting at all - waste of time - but in law it is stealing. People have been prosecuted for this sort of thing - see the link I posted above.

That is a different point though from your previous post which I was answering about trespass/implied licence.

There is an implied invitation for delivery and they can only walk up the drive or path to deliver. What would you say if someone used your drive for another purpose? My skip wasn't in the drive or pathway. It was in the front garden.

Doesn't bother me.. I don't want it, can fit more in, it's getting recycled. So many positives

@IncognitoUsername

It's rude but it happens all the time. It's worse when they put stuff IN, taking up valuable space!!

But they don't tend to help themselves to other people's property (and I'm not referring to just whats in the skip)

I'm happy for the postman to come. I'd much rather have the scrap metal collectors than any of the others who leave junk instead of taking it.

It’s rubbish you don’t want. Can’t imagine why you would want someone banging on your door asking if you mind if they clear out some space in your skip for you. We go skip diving quite often for wood for the log burner.

You can't imagine why people might want you to ask before you hang around on their property?

When we have skips round here we leave any metal outside the skip and it goes overnight. Anything except a fridge.