Theiving Gardener

[rattlesnake]

Have a dilema…Had a guy in to do my garden a few weeks back, he has a business (website / facebook page etc) he did the job, paid him, he left…end of story. I let him go in and out of our garage whilst working to get the hose, jet washer etc. That was the last time anyone went into the garage. Yesterday, my husband informs me that our brand new camping equipment has gone awol ! I have no proof other than no one else has entered the locked garage since him. What should I do? A few weeks have passed as I said, is it too late to confront? Is it even worth it?

i would call him from a different phone to your normal one just in case he has it on his phone and ask him outright. tell him it's not a direct accusation but explain no-one else has been in there.

might even be worth calling the police before doing anything as they can tell you the best course of action.

rattlesnake - oh, poor you. It's a horrible, horrible feeling when something like this happens.

I had a bike stolen from an outhouse about a year ago. I didn't notice until I went to get it out and found that it had vanished. It was only when I took a good, close look at the door that I saw the hasp had just been levered open with a crowbar and then closed again so as not to look alarming. So my first advice, now you're over the horrible shock is to look really, really closely at the doors and windows and make sure that your shed is still as secure as you think it is.

When I rang the police, I was told that there were gangs doing this to dozens and dozens of sheds in my area. They just were in and out like a flash, grabbing things like bikes that were portable. Is it possible that the stuff was stolen while the shed was open by someone who just nipped in and out and grabbed it while the workman was indoors or had his back turned? Or is that geographically impossible for your house?

I guess what I'm saying is that it's worth considering every possibility and that you have to be really, really careful not to accuse this guy without evidence, even if you are fairly certain it was him - because you don't want to end up in trouble yourself. At best, all you can do is to ring him and say that you're missing the equipment and ask him if he remembers seeing it around the place when he was working - just to see what his reply is. If he denies all knowledge, though, there's not much you can do.

Usually workmen don't steal as they are obvious targets for accusation.

Having said that someone took a fishing rod that stood in the corner of my porch. But the workmen who had recently worked on the roof had turned out to be a very dodgy bunch. Wish I'd never used them.

I'd go with reporting to the police, mentioning that only the gardener had access to the garage (unless you can see any evidence that the door might have been forced, etc) and let them decide how to proceed.