Viewer stole from my house?

[Calcaata]

I have a Diptique candle, 3 wick and cost £180. I’ve had two house viewings today, not done by myself but by the estate agent. I’ve come home and it’s missing.

Aibu to expect the estate agent to reimburse me?? I won’t be able to contact them now until Monday.

Maybe you should start a new thread on this?

It's not what this one is about.

OP make sure you report this. Ignore the envious and unintelligent ramblings of the fools on here and report this as the crime it is.

Thefts can feel very intrusive, regardless of the cost of the item stolen. I am sorry this happened. I have to say, my first thought would be, what else have they taken 😐

Do you have a ring doorbell or do any of your neighbours that point to your house?

You might be able to see one of them leaving with it. (Could alsO have been the estate agent rather than a viewer).

I produce it Dip..ya..mum

My god the chippy comments are so tedious, yet so predictable on here 🙄

OP, I love and appreciate an expensive candle, and would be gutted by this.

Whoever took it, knew its value.

I would report it immediately and let the EA know what you intend to do.

Yes speak to the EA and get a reimbursement

What a bitter attitude have…sad really and yes, completely unreasonable.

Maybe the fact that in order to have £180 to spend on a candle the poster has probably paid £130/150 in income tax, and a further £20 in VAT on purchase. That’s £150/£170 towards public services that you haven’t paid. I’d put good money on them also giving more back in charitable donation/work than you do anyway, since those that criticise the most generally do the least ;)

@Calcaata Completely off topic, but which website do you do teach online reading with please as I'd love to do something like that?

Op- report to the police.

It's theft and the agents need to be spoken to as well.

Accompanied viewings mean that- being aware of what is going on.

Tell me about it. No more pocket money for that kid.

It's pronounced Dipteak.

Me too. This thread has sent me straight to the website, and screenshots have been sent to my DH. He appreciates present suggestions.😁

@Calcaata think about this...

How many viewers looking round would firstly be looking at a candle and secondly know what a £180 candle looks like?

So my guess is that the EA had clocked it on a previous visit then taken it this time.

I would contact the EA tomorrow morning and tell them the candle needs to reappear in 24 hours otherwise the police will be notified and they will need the name/address of the viewer and the agent that did the viewing as one of them stole it.

Gosh that took me down a wikipedia rabbit hole!

As a PP pointed out, lots of people wouldn’t think anything about spending this amount on a night out so not sure why spending it on a candle is different.
Diptyque candles are lovely, way nicer than other brands even the « fancy » ones.

@Calcaata awful behaviour from EA/viewers - I hope you get a resolution from them. Am also liking your responses on here!

However, am sorry to say I’d never buy a candle like that. Not because of the cost, indeed I don’t have any candles in the house because I have very fluffy big cats and one set herself on fire by walking over a candle. She was fine, flames extinguished, not even sure she noticed tbh. So its fake battery operated tea lights for us now!

Yes, good quality candles diffuse their scent further and if maintained properly they burn much more slowly and without smoking. The scent component derives from natural ingredients rather than synthetic and Diptyque, for example, are excellent parfumiers.

Of course branding and marketing play their part as they do with almost everything. You can sit on your sofa, run, chill and whatever in a £16 tracksuit from the market but a lot of you will still buy your kids Adidas/ Nike/ White Fox etc. when they ask for them. The quality will almost certainly be better from the brands but not so much so as to fully justify your choice on purely economic grounds.

You say you are genuinely curious but so many people are piling on about the £180 candle. The amazement, false or otherwise, genuinely amazes me. Have these people failed to notice as they move around the U.K. that some people live in small houses and flats and other in big detached houses or luxury flats; that we don’t all drive the 21st century equivalent of a Trabant? I bet at least some of them have got one of those massive Stanley cups and other shit we don’t need that costs more than alternatives. Almost of us have things we are prepared to spend a bit extra on and as people become more prosperous they often upgrade across a range of goods compared to what they bought when skint.

The subtext is very much that if the silly cow can afford to waste £180 on a candle then I’ve no sympathy for her and that is a really horrible and damaging mindset.

I would speak to them in person and follow up by email, and give them a very short deadline. Something like two hours. If they are part of a wider chain, demand they provide contact details for their head office who can be copied in.

Those criticising the choice of spending by the OP are missing the point, the estate agent has enabled theft. Remind them of the law of joint enterprise.

Maybe don't judge other people's spending choices?

@Calcaata When you appoint an estate agent and give them permission to manage viewings of your property they are providing you with a service with strict codes of conduct. They should have a record of the viewer's details to enable you to pursue this.

Contact the estate agent and notify them of the theft and also notify the police. Ask for the complaints procedure and code of conduct for the estate agent. They may have a policy or procedure for loss or damage during viewings.

A theft, is a theft regardless of what is taken or the monetary or sentimental value of the item. I hope you get this resolved.

I would have thought complete strangers being allowed to wander through your house unaccompanied would be a chance for lots of people to pocket things.

It doesn’t seem to happen as much as I would expect. I did refuse a request for a viewing when we sold our last house for 12 people to turn up. The EA said they felt uncomfortable refusing as they deemed it a cultural difference! Still said no but offered separate visits with two EA’s in attendance and not allowing anyone to go into any rooms on their own.

It never happened in the end.

We had several very odd people viewing when we were selling MILs house, I wouldn't mind betting that a few of them were just on the lookout for stuff to pocket.

One woman turned up with a white cat in a carrying basket - twice! I though it was odd at the time, but it wasn't until later I wondered if it was to hide stuff.

Strangers are coming into your house, I would never leave anything valuable out on display for house viewings.

I wouldn't pay £180 for a candle myself, but Diptyche home fragrance
s do smell gorgeous.

I have complete sympathy and I’m someone who likes nice things - champagne not Prosecco, nice china. I just haven’t seen candles cost that much. Clearly I’ve been oblivious. I do burn them a lot. I just learned something new about others on this thread. I’m really not criticising, just fascinated.

Yes, I agree. It seems a bit opportunistic to say the least. Definitely don't shrug this off OP.

But the amount of posters who not only seem to think it's OK to steal something if they deem ownership of it an extravagance, but also somehow that it serves the owner right for having the temerity to buy it in the first place is quite depressing.

I hope you get this sorted, OP