To think I might have been burgled?

[Kittensat36]

Having a bizarre and upsetting 48 hours. Just need to vent really.

Got up yesterday morning and was preparing to leave for work when I realised that my handbag was not in the hall. It normally sits on an ottoman I have, which is about 10 feet in. I know it was there because I remember taking my phone out of it the other night to send a text

Had to have an emergency day off , expecting to find it any minute - my flat is very untidy, but I expected to find it at some point. I even checked the washing machine in case I had taken it into the bathroom and scooped it up with the washing I was about to do.

But how on earth did it happen if I was burgled? The front door was shut, the back door was locked and the only open window opens onto a secure garden (and you would have cross my bed to get in).

I have to say that my bag is not the only thing that has disappeared over the last couple of weeks. My pill container for my meds disappeared from my living room, I thought that the cats might have bapped it somewhere, but they aren't talking. A batch of paperwork is also on the missing list- a receipt for a large purchase I made recently and a prescription for flea meds. All highly useful (not), but a bit odd as laptops were in the same room and were left untouched.

A ring doorbell/cameras would have been useful and I will have to get some. But I have nothing now. I suppose that if they put something through the letter box, they might have been able to get the door open, but isn't that a bit risky in the middle of the night? Wouldn't it have been easier to get in while I am at work?

Thank goodness for my marvellous upstairs neighbour lending me some cash, or I would be really stuck.

Got to go to work to sort out getting a new workphone and getting my locker broken into to retrieve my work kit. Then sorting a new barrel for my front door lock...

Thanks for reading my rant.

I know you trust your neighbour, but she may have had a visitor who lifted your spare key.

Do you think it doesn't happen?

It is uncommon, but it is a known and reported crime.

It was the Hook, thru the letterbox. Very popular technique.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.examinerlive.co.uk/news/west-yorkshire-news/police-warning-car-thieves-using-20749146.amp

I hope you get sorted.

I do this all the time, leave my bag in the car, put it in the boot by accident when getting shopping out, DH has found it on the doorstep when i've put it down to open the door, i've found it in the cupboard. Put my purse away in the fridge or the tin cupboard. If its a bit messy maybe it's not standing out.

But, i would still change lock in case prev resident has a key - front and back.

If you have a loft hatch, check up there - you here stories of people living up there and some older houses have ways to get from one loft to the other (not to scare you)

Got home unexpectedly one day and heard him climbing back, then saw him running away! He didn't actually live next door, he was a relative of theirs. It WAS terrifying, I had terrible things going on in my family at the time and I actually thought I was having a breakdown. Apparently others find my post hilarious, but as my Gran used to say, some people would laugh if their ease was on fire.

Police tell you to never leave nags and car keys by the front door.

Yeah be careful with that. I read about a man who woke up to three masked guy around his bed with a just boiled kettle ready to put in his legs unless he t gave them his car keys. Leave you stuff downstairs then if you do get burgled they will just hopefully take the stuff (it is just stuff in relation to your life and wellbeing) and leave you safe.

Wow that’s awful. Did he get punished at all? I don’t think it’s funny at all…

Hi OP,
I hope you find your bag but if you do change the locks don't give the "trusted" neighbour a key. Sometimes it can be the most unexpected people that for example steal from their work or a position of trust in a charity.

Give a copy of the key to someone else you trust for example a relative even if they live a little further away. If the neighbour doesn't see your locks being changed then they won't even notice or if they do notice and ask if you would like them to hold a key again just say "It's ok my sister has the spare but thank you". It's not that I think that the neighbour is necessarily guilty but it's a shame to go to the trouble of getting the locks changed and then create the same situation - just in case.

Leaving a hidden camera inside your home could catch the neighbour if they are coming in but it might freak you too much to do that.

If you think your bag has been stolen as opposed to lost, then contact the police.

If its a standard yale lock its easily bumped - see you tube - why its important to have better locks in place than that - we found that out when MIL was burgled a few years back

A make up was stolen from my car, it had make up and tampons. There was a bank card left in the car, a work phone and an iPad all untouched. It would surprise you what some people steal.

I don’t think phones are a super desirable thing to steal? I could be wrong though as I’m not a thief, but I am into tech. Most smartphones are paperweights one stolen because of all the anti theft features like Apple activation lock

I hope you manage to find answers and at least get your locks changed, but it may be worth putting a dusting of talc or something a few feet inside of the doors/windows or sellotape above the door and window frames. It's a pain in the ass having to clean it etc but it's a good way to see if they gets disturbed.

You say the front door was shut. But you don't say whether it was locked.

Mark the door with a tiny bit of paper in the between the door and the frame as you shut it. If anyone opens the doors it drops out, also take a picture so if anyone does enter and knows about marking and puts it back your picture will show exact place and you can refer. Personally definitely change to locks and get a ring door bell.

Strangely my friend was burgled and the police advised against this. They said to leave your belongings downstairs/not near you to avoid the risk of being assaulted or worse over handbags and car keys. I don’t take mine upstairs.

I’m fairly sure that this is the opposite of what you’re supposed to do. I leave my handbag in the hallway overnight because if a thief is after my purse or even my car I’d rather them find what they want without coming upstairs to where my 1 and 3 year old are sleeping.

Don’t faff around doing dumb shit like the paper thing. A tiny bit of paper could easily be mistaken for lint, even in photos, so it’s not categorical evidence. It could get dislodged by itself with gravity. It’s an odd thing to suggest all around.

It won’t do anything to benefit your case if someone has been entering your property. You need to speak to the police and invest in proper home security. If might be the case that the people you gave your keys to started off small and once they realised you didn’t notice/get authorities involved/ask for your key back, they ramped up to more visible things.

Sounds like someone’s got a key. Happens quite a bit - I would change locks today. We have these clamper things on the back of our doors as well so even if they can use a key they still couldn’t get in.

Plus you may need to report this to the police depending on your work’s policy regarding your work phone

That's the whole point, dm wasn't slamming the door but the ndn accused her constantly of doing so because he was a knob.
Therefore she was trying to not make even normal door closing noise.
Hence one night it didn't close properly.
He moved eventually and no other ndn had issues with dm and noise.

Just go through your flat top to bottom and tidy and sort and you will most likely find everything that has disappeared. If it's untidy enough for you not to know whether or not you have been burgled then it needs some serious tidying I'd think.

Fingers crossed you find the things OP 🤞