Binmen have stolen valuables from infront of house - anyone had this?

[anon122414]

Title says it all really! The binmen came onto our property today and took a box of exercise equipment and a mirror (both which were left in front of the garage) but you need to walk about 10m down the drive past our cars to get to it. We leave our bins on the pavement for them.

Anyone had this happen and know what I should?

My guess is scrapman. They always come around here looking for scrap. Last year they took the tumble drier that was down the side of my house. We have a small gate so obvious it’s the back garden. Luckily we were going to take it to the tip when we could be bothered so they saved us a job but goes to show that even leaving something not in the front (although still visible from the front) isn’t enough to deter them.

Fair but I live on a private road. It was the binmen or it was my 75 year old neighbour.

Is the private road padlocked or something?

Seriously on recycling day they wouldnt contaminate an entire road. Stop blaming the poor guys and accept it's been pinched.

*load

I don't understand why you left them outside?

Why aren't you answering the people asking if you put the wrong bin out? Was it blue bin day? If it was blue bin day what is in your blue bins? If recycling they wouldn't have contaminated the lorry by throwing on your "valuables"

@anon122414 Are you going to tell us all why you would put a box of valuables out on your drive and then go inside for a while ?

You could try an experiment and leave more valuable stuff outside, not on bin day, and see if it disappears. Perhaps put a large TV screen out with some jewellery hanging off it. It ought to be perfectly safe as people will know that you want it.

Op, unless you live in a gated community with a security guard 24/7, being on a private road makes no difference. Thieves don’t care.

Chancers with sharp eyes will help themselves to anything left unsecured.
Call the council as you say, they’ll probably confirm the bin men didn’t take it.

I still can’t imagine why you left anything valuable in a box outside your house.

I'm also in a low crime area but would never leave anything valuable at the front of my house. I do agree with others that there is an inspoken assumption that stuff left at the front is fair game - particularly if it is metal. I doubt the bin men took it. I wouldn't've thought it was worth their while and their jobs.

Why the reason the things were outside matter? Whoever took them it won't have anything to do with the reason they were out there.

I don't live on a private road but it is pretty quiet, as I posted above no one would expect something to be stolen if left outside for a while even on bin day. We don't get our bins collected unless they are at the end of the drive and obey all the bin rules. I realise that there will be different types of bin lorry but in my area the bins hook on and are tipped upside down it simply isn't possible for anything to be thrown in, do you have that type OP?

Even private roads in Buckinghamshire have opportunistic thieves for valuables left outside with open gates (you’re in Gerrards cross, aren’t you? Or Beaconsfield)

A similar thing happened to my grandma, she decided to clean the floor under her tumblr drier and set it outside by the door. A scrap metal van came and had it away, she had to go chasing down the street to get it back!

I’m still puzzled that OP said she SAW the bin men walk in the drive to get the other bin, so did she not see them lift these ‘valuables’??
I vote OP sits a tv out today and see if it is safe 🤣

They took DD's £100 scooter once. DD's fault for leaving it at the end of the path near the bins I guess. Valuables are safer inside

Our bin men won't take
The bin if the kid isn't fully shut. They don't take an extra bags of rubbish either. They definitely wouldn't dispose of Wood / metal items. They would leave them on the path. They wouldn't go amiss wouldn't go on to your property to "help you out"

I don't think they would nick items either though. Where would they put them? Why risk their job?

Had the items just been delivered is that why they were in boxes outside?

You shouldn't have left them outside, anybody could take them. The bin men did not steal them, you left them outside on rubbish day and they did you a favour by removing your additional rubbish. I can't believe you are going to complain to the council about the bin men doing their job.

You seem very naive OP if you think it's safe to leave anything of value outside. Opportunist thieves are everywhere and bin day is probably an excellent time as there will be refuse collectors on your private road and they can blend in better. Round my way people have had pushchairs taken when they've been left outside for a short while after the school run, and I'd never again have a nice hanging basket outside as they get taken too.

If you're going to ring the council then I wouldn't go in with direct accusations because you've admitted yourself you didn't actually see the refuse collectors take the items.

I don't have many valuables, certainly nothing as valuable as a mirror and a box of exercise stuff , but i have some good jewellery so i am going to leave it outside and see what happens. I will let you know op.

The area where I used to live didn’t collect bins unless you were in a block of flats, everyone else had to put black bin bags straight onto the pavement. But they would collect anything else you left out, even if it wasn’t bagged.

Everywhere I’ve ever lived, leaving an item outside means “please take.”

Taking something that’s clearly on your property (not on the pavement) is very cheeky!

I am sorry that has happened OP I wouldn’t wait to phone though I would have been right on the phone. Some bin men here take stuff home as I heard of something similar happening they put it in the back of the cab.

I noticed when DD was at Uni that lots of people left stuff out sometimes in front gardens. Some had notes on. It was great for students as those leaving got rid of it and those just starting out had free stuff. We even saw some students pushing a three piece suite up the hill presumably to a student house. It made us laugh as they were on the road and the cars stopped to let them turn the corner like it was an every day occurrence .🤣😂🤣
DD got a free bike...it had a sign on it ...she would never steal someone’s bike.

So do people not deem the area of their property to be a secure place? That's interesting..

Would you leave your bag sitting on the doorstep, or your car with the door open and the keys in the ignition?
Of course it's not a safe place. Why were they just sitting there anyway, if not to be disposed of?

i doubt the bin men would pinch that stuff
prob been pinched by some chancer

Did you still want the stuff?

To echo other posters, why on earth would you leave valuable property outside your house? How long was it out there? Do you really think opportunistic thieves care about property boundaries? Does your private road have magical barriers to prevent any unauthorised person having access?

And if you saw the bin men taking your blue bin from your drive (was it blue bin day?) how did you not notice them taking your left outside in unattended cardboard boxes valuables?

It is an upside and a downside of London.

Rather than pay for removal of a bed or lugging it to a charity shop, just popped it against a gate with a note. Matter of hours and it was gone.
Also an old chest of drawers were deposited just inside our gate. We were going to pay the council to collect but were saved that expense by someone who took it off our hands.

Downside is a neighbour had two bay tree in large heavy pots like sentinels outside her door. On coming back from holiday, they were discovered to be missing.