Burglary

[Gardian]

Only indirectly to do with France.

Heard tonight from my SIL in the UK that they were burgled yesterday afternoon.  Fortunately no damage, but computer / camera & wrapped up Christmas presents for the family taken, things that we'd ordered via the internet for delivery to them taken, and (most importantly) some sentimental family jewellery taken.  Mostly fixable, but the family things + the hassle for them ............

Police excellent: trainer footprints size 6, so probably youngsters.  Nonetheless, little ****s.

Two things:

• At this time of the year particularly, watch out, whether here or in France: backup your PC and keep the medium in your car or somewhere safe (you can always replace the PC) & safeguard your important valuables as best you can 
• Is burglary more commonplace in the UK than in France? (answer I suppose depends on where you are, but just thought I'd ask)

Just to repeat .................   ******s!!!!  

  

[Dick Smith]

Ian, that is so foul at this time of year, I'm sorry to hear of it.

I guess it depends where you live. In the UK we are on a main road, so burglars find it difficult, in France the house is isolated but shuttered. So far our luck has held.

All I would add is fo everyone to make sure that your insurance is up-to-date and enough to cover the losses, but as you say, sentimental value isn't covered.

[Russethouse]

 Ian, Sory to hear that, but get your SIL to watch ebay and circulate the local antique centres and auction houses - its a long shot, but stranger things have happened....

[Sprogster]

Not a pleasant experience and I believe it is the sense of violation that follows, that has a greater impact than the loss of possessions.

Burglary also seems to be an increasing worry in France, if the experience of the 24 homeowners on the rural domain we have a house in is typical, as we get on average two or three burglaries amongst our neighbours every winter.

So far we have been lucky and having installed an alarm, bars on the shutters and security lights hope to remain that way. Also the domain is looking to install webcam CCTV to cover the common areas to act as a further deterent.

According to the French police a lot of the culprits are from poor countries like Romania and the concern is that this will get worse when they join the EU in January and are able to travel more freely. 

 

[Weedon]

Commiserations to SIL.  Having been a victim a few times because of having the type of business toe-rags think they have a right to target, the most valuable lesson I ever learned was not to be too hasty when filling in the claim form.  Sometimes you fail to claim for things you only discover are missing much later.

[Gardian]

Thanks all.

Weedon - good suggestion: will email my BIL.

[jane]

i just wonder whether a shuttered house is a fairly obvious sign that there's no-one around? if burglars can get in through a window that is not overlooked then they are nicely hidden indoors if all the shutters are closed. is it possible to get electric shutters to operate on a time switch? we haven't added shutters yet - we just haven't decided whether it's a help or a hindrance. any opinions?

we've had a burglary in the uk - not nice, and it causes a lot of hassle, but at least no-one got hurt.

jane

[Ysatis]

Ian, I too am sorry to read about your SIL.

A few years back now I had  my house broken into, not nice at all, they didn't really do any damage or take much. But what was more upsetting,thatsame year, 2 weeks before Christmas,I had the contents of my car boot stolen, all the childrens Christmas presents. We were parked in the the Toys R Us Mutli-storey car park, shopped in Toys R Us and loaded up the boot, left the carpark to park somewhere else but couldn't and gave up after nearly an hour so returned to TRU carpark and did other shopping, returned to the car and the boot was totally empty. It was ahorible experience. So back into Toys R Us and re-did the shopping, and had to borrow the money off my Mum (who I was with), on her credit card.

There are some very nasty people around and I do hope they are caught and hope your SIL has a goodChristmas despite this cruel invasion.

[Tresco]

Jane, I think shutters are definitely a hinderance to people intent on robbing you, particularly if they are opportunistic robbers.

They are one more physical barrier between your house/goods and the robber.

Yes, you can get electric shutters - so, yes again, they can be operated by time-switch.

[Dave]

Hi Jane,

     I think you may find that it is a requirement of your insurance comapny that you have shutters and I think that in the case of a Maison Secondaire it means that they have to be lockable.,worth asking. We don't have shutters but I am sure that the presence of long term closed shutters is an advert to a burglar, much like the milk bottles and papers on a UK doorstep, that said, properly installed shutters will keep the passing burglar away as Tresco said.

best regards

Dave

[Deimos]

[quote user="jane"]i just wonder whether a shuttered house is a fairly obvious sign that there's no-one around? if burglars can get in through a window that is not overlooked then they are nicely hidden indoors ...t. jane[/quote]

Very good point. When I go away for a bit (e.g. week) I never close the shutters. Also I have some very clever boards that fit over the door windows making them more secure. However, being remote and given that the back of the house is well hidden and not overlooked (nearest hose more than 500m away), fitting/closing all these things would stop nobody, but would tell the world I am out for at least a few days.

What is best probably depends on individual circumstances but telling everybody who passes that you are away on holiday must increase some aspects of risk.

I was burgled twice in the UK, one time was when a neighbour (semi-detached) was in and sitting reading !!

Ian

[Deimos]

I checked with my insurance company and it is not a requirement that shutters, etc. are closed. However, my insurance company has different security requirements for different areas (depending on risk in a region ?). Also, I'm sure different insurance companies have different rules about things like that.

Ian

[opas]

I took picked youngest up from a party in the next village on Saturday. The mums were discussing a mas near me that had had the dogs poisoned and as the dogs were in the vets recovering someone had burgled the property.

Only last night as i was sat reading I heard a trailor pass (we have one currenly parked. clamped and secured on the public parking abour 100 yards away) I joked and asked hubby if someone had just knicked our trailor, he went on the terrace to look , nope ours was there , but our neighbours had just been knicked!

 

[Frederick]

My house insurers require shutters to be lockable and so far I have had not heard of any burglaries in the village . As we are on the edge of the village I suppose we would beone of  the easiest to burgle and then  away into the countryside ..We have living opposite an old man on his own who always seems to look out when a vehicle pulls up...so I doubt we would get any  " visitors " arriving unseen. .My neighbours seem to know within minutes when we are back  in the village ...so their being nosey... I look on as being to our advantage . On my last visit I was asked if the young  couple with the two children who used the house in the summer  was my son ? .so they dont miss a thing .  

[opas]

I would also say that nothing much gets past my neighbours during the day. Night time is different, everyone locks themselves in, shutters are pulled shut.

We too are at the end of the village, at the top, one way in and out. This Trailor was towed off at 10.30 last night......

[opas]

I was a nervous wreck for months after someone knicked my handbag, which was swinging off the back of the pram in my kitchen in the UK.

There was so much personal stuff in there I felt like someone had gone through my whole house , not just my bag. We had another attempted break in when hubby was on nights away working, that was only about 10 pm at night.....I had only just put the lights out when someone attempted to take my patio door out!!!!!!!!!

When I lived at home with my parents we were broken into that many times someone must have set up home off the stuff that sysematically got knicked.

I would use some very crude words to describe burglars, but will restrain for fear of an ear bashing off RH.

[Andyphilpott]

We have to keep all shutters closed whilst we are out of the property where the window is less than 2 metres from the ground as part of our insurance requirements. In practice we tend to keep all the shutters closed in summer all the time we are out as it is a welcome relief to return to a cool house from being out!

So far, touch wood, we have been OK but that might be something to do with the house being in the old part of our village with roads too narrow for a vehicle and our lovely elderly neighbours who are always on the watch - know to us as our rottweilers - so not much gets past them, bless them!

Andy

[bixy]

Ian asks if burglary is more common in the UK than abroad. I used to teach English to foreigners in the UK, and also trained teachers. I had a lesson based on a text about a burglary which I used with both the foreign students and with the trainee teachers. As a matter of interest I used to ask how many people in the class had been burgled at one time or another. With the British trainee teachers it was regularly half the class. With the foreign students there was never anybody, except on one occasion when one person put their hand up. However on further enquiry it turned out that this person had been burgled at their UK address!

Hardly scientific, but interesting

.

Having said all that, we were in fact burgled at our French house! Subsequently, I have tried to make it as difficult as possible to gain entry, but every time I arrive I am prepared for the worst.

Patrick

[Marym2]

Got back last week and I to was broke into. I was shattered after a long drive that when I saw the hold in the wall, I could not get my head around that we had had a breakin. Spent a while looking around see what had been stolen, still thinking now. Most of my power and hand tools have gone along with a power washer and large chop saw. What we also had stolen was all the fixture fixings plumbing electric etc. they even took the nails and screws. The locals near think it was a neighbour who has a reputiaton for stealing but we cannot put that in our insurance report, so now here i am trying to remember what we had. The worst part for us was that I gone to complete the final part of buying part of the house that we did not own before (semi now we are detached

 

[Sprogster]

According to official figures, for what they are worth, you have more chance of beeing burgled in France than the UK, but more chance of your car being stolen in the UK than France!

 

[Tresco]

That's very sad Marym.

I know all burgaries are horrible, but I also know from personal experience what a strange additional component to the misery there is, when you suspect a neighbour/someone known to you.

[bixy]

Tresco, is that really you in the photograph?

Will you marry me?

Answer the first question first.

Patrick

[YCCMB]

Our 80-year old neighbour was burgled a couple of weeks ago in the UK. It was one of those horrible crimes where someone kept her talking on the doorstep while an accomplice climbed in through a window. She said that she felt stupid for having been conned. I have no words to describe my feelings about such lowlifes. They took only £70 and some small bits, but they also robbed her of her security and independence..............

 

 

[Gardian]

SIL told us tonight that the loss adjuster was round today.  They're still 'not finding' things that they now realise went missing, but the guy was helpful & supportive.

To my initial surprise, he said that the majority of burglaries take place (at this time of the year) at around 17.00.  I suppose dusk / darkness: you (as a thief) can easily see the lights of someone coming home.

Suggestion: document & photograph (save the images on to a medium other than your PC!) all your valuables, particularly jewellery.  Perhaps, like my SIL, you won't be able to remember everything after the sad event.

[Marym2]

Hi
Since I came back I am having a bit of a problem sorting out bills etc for items stolen from our house and although I have a police report the wording on the items stolen are 'Liste non exhaustive'so for the insurance Question : is what is the best way of going about this? Do I give a estimate of price of things, give a detailed description ( so far just four old bills have taken me 2 hours to try and sort out) what is missing and what I have used/still have. anyone had this problem and if there is someone who has had this happen to them can they give me their views and how they went about it.
Many thanks