If you have been burgled - did they come back and burgle you again?

[Harrietspie]

We have been burgled. We keep hearing stories from well meaning friends etc about how they come back once you have replaced your stuff through the insurance.

Anyone tell me if they have experienced this?

Happened to me. I can't be 100% sure but I was burgled again very quickly. Fortunately the insurance company were very slow and I hadn't yet replaced stuff and this was over 20 years ago.

it may depend a little on where you live. However, having spent many years working in insurance claims, this is relatively uncommon in my experience. It can happen for things like push bikes that are stored in sheds etc but when looking at household claims, usually the burglary is sufficient to make the homeowner more aware of security and much less of a target.
burglars like an easy life, so will usually go for the easiest pickings. recently burgled houses are far more likely to have a primed alarm, and proper locks being used.

No. We have been burgled, but only once.

I am sorry you have experienced this, it is a really horrible and unsettling experience .

No. But when we were burgled they stole not just the usual electrical stuff, but also our passports and holiday photos. That really freaked me out. Luckily it was over 20 years ago and 4 house moves.

First time at first house - no. They broke in, took v little but never returned.

Second time at latest house - they were after dh's car keys. They broke in and grabbed his work keys before they ran off as alarm went off - we were in bed. We replaced locks for better ones and heard nothing more but about a fortnight later dh went out the back and saw the new locks had been snapped but no one had managed to get in. We replaced locks again with ever more expensive better ones with no key hole on outside. Fingers crossed they've not been back - dh had also now changed his car to one lower on the "stolen to order" list.

Yes, the 2nd burglary took place about 12 months later. Fortunately they didn't get into our house only our garage. We had of course invested in additional security measures after the first burglary but they were well planned and they'd come prepared.

Ok, so mixed experiences then. Thanks. Our house is/was pretty secure. Not sure what more we can do to beef it up. We're debating cctv but it just seems over the top for a residential property in a 'safe' neighbourhood.
We are going to try and make the back of our property more difficult to access.

And thanks mintyy

My parents were burgled - they have not been targeted again, but their neighbours were broken in to about a week later. Make sure your neighbours know to increase their visible security. Take care and take advice from the police about security measures.

long time ago but yes, they had another try a few weeks later. We fixed how they originally got in, and added some extra locks - we had the classic of patio door without diagonally opposite locks, so dealt with that.

one day there were screwdriver marks on the door,but they hadn't got in. And that was the end of it.

most of what was taken was jewellery which I didn't replace; this was before laptops etc. We've never had a car worth stealing.

it is a horrible experience and you have my sympathies.

Yes, to our best man. Came back about 2 weeks later and got back in again. This was London.

it happened to a good friend of mine.same stuff was stolen again after being replaced.

feel for you op - not a nice thing to happen x

Harrietspie- you can buy fake CCTV cameras from the likes of eBay for very little and they are very realistic. Maybe get a sign saying "Warning X breed of big scary dog lives on this property". You can get machines that mimick dog barking as well.

Might seem extreme but when you live in a rough-ish neighbourhood as a single parent you have to be cautious sometimes!

We had our bikes stolen from our shed, a couple of weeks later we had marks on the door where they had tried again, presumably the same people after the replacements. We fitted big metal bar across the door and now they don't bother.

Yes, they came back and finished the job properly two weeks later. . We have CCTV now which I can view on my phone- best £300 I ever spent. Feel so much better.

Yes, they came back six months later. I moved after the second break-in (they kicked the back door in both times).

It's wise to take precautions. In our case there were unlocked doors which are now always kept locked (eg garage and shed, side gates) . My new expensive phone was charging near a downstairs window and expensive sony laptops were left out in living room. Replaced with cheap versions (never want a top of the range one again) and keep phone upstairs. DCs had cheap laptops which went so we replaced with desktops upstairs and converted spare room into an office. Has helped them get on with school work through teenage years as well.
Considered other things like security camera, alarm, security paint on drainpipes and so on.
I've also decided to wrap presents and keep them out of sight upstairs and not under tree .

How horrible for you.
I have been burgled in three different houses. They didn't come back.

also a reminder that you should backup laptops regularly - not just for theft but also in case of failure. Buy two hard drives and keep one at someone else's house.

Yes. But like previous poster, they were after dh's car keys. It was parked outside because he was cycling to work at that time.

Sold the car.

No more burgling.

No. Both places, although we installed an alarm after both burglaries.

Happened to my aunty. They came back about 4 months later.

Probably not what you want to hear but yes, we were burgled again almost 12 months after the first time. It did feel like whoever it was had waited for us to replace our stuff and come back again. We had thought security on the house was pretty good, but after the second time we would have done more to restrict access at the back (e.g. put some type of railings on top of the old victorian brick wall, changed the gate) but we moved - although not because of the burglaries.

My Mum's house was burgled once years ago now, they prised the yale lock on the back door and took DVDs, our laptops etc. We updated security massively (fitted some internal locks through the cellar which leads to back door) and the police actually paid to fit deadbolts on the front and back door, not sure if they still do this scheme as it was a good ten years ago now.

We think the burglar came back to have another go about six months later as there were marks around the yale lock that looked like a chisel or screwdriver had been used to try and force the lock - but they couldn't get in past the deadbolt, and to our knowledge have never tried again.

Sorry to hear about your burglary, it's a horrid experience :(

My friends were burgled 3 times within two years (I lived there for a while but not whilst I was there.) Reasonable area - on a main road that was always busy , no parking outside -how they managed it is beyond me...they carried out a tv and video three times!
Friends worked shifts but burglaries were carried out in daylight.
It was a basement flat with bars on all the windows but the door was rubbish. First time they kicked it in - landlord replaced with the same locks, second time (6 months later) landlord replaced with better locks, third time he put a better door on...(after lots of persuasion and it was a company let ...otherwise I don't think it would have been done).
Also the police told them to not have their landline phone number on display, after the 3rd time they told them to change the number and go exdirectory. Apparently burglars can take your phone number and then phone -if there is no answer they can be pretty certain no-one is in....
And if you leave mail hanging around even if you change your number they can use your name to find the new one.