nectarine Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 ...very odd, found my postbox slightly ajar and with a dent in the side, as though a lever has been used to force the side of the box open. Although it was locked, you could see inside the box.I'm not expecting anything expensive, and we live at the end of a chemin with only a few neighbours, not close. How do I check what was missing - I will ask the postlady what she delivered on that day though I doubt she remembered. And should I report it to my mayor, in case something official was sent to me?Any advice about this please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted November 4, 2011 Share Posted November 4, 2011 If your post person is as pleasant as ours then I'd definately start there. You could at least ask if she knows when it got damaged as she's bound to have clocked that, even if she can't remember whether or not you got any mail.If there are vandals around, then your mayor may very well like to know - at least you could mention it to the staff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Retired (I am now) Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 We too are at the end of a lane and this happened to us a couple of years ago. It's a maison secondaire and I found it when we returned - it may have been like that for weeks. I wandered around the village but couldn't see any evidence of any other forced doors.I confess we didn't let anybody know and just bent it back.By the way "just bent it back" actually means making a small timber clamp held together with two 100mm long bolts. With a wedge or two and slowly tightening the bolts I pulled it back into shape and there is no sign of the damage. Hope this info about my method helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patf Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 Have they been cutting the hedgerows and clearing the ditches lately?Our letter box was damaged one year by the digger attachment when they were doing this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted November 6, 2011 Share Posted November 6, 2011 If you are not alone in having a box forced then the post lady will have knowledge no doubt of how many others there have been . I would let her know ..she may have already reported what's going on . If anybody keeps tabs on what happens in communities and spreads the word its usually the post person . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Théière Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 As the postal staff have keys for the boxes and they are not very sophisticated locks it wouldn't take long for any criminal types to build up a set of keys, how many variables are there 4, 8 or less?Something I found quite amazing when we first bought our place, as system from a bygone age when people were more trustworthy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted November 7, 2011 Author Share Posted November 7, 2011 Thanks for all replies ... turns out our postlady has been away for a fortnight so there's been a temporary one from another round but who hasn't seen anything amiss. I went today to our mairie and reported it as there has been another incident ...We have been cutting trees and branches and laid them in a long barrier along our boundary (with a field) to dry them out before a bonfire. A fortnight ago I saw two quad vehicles drive up to that barrier and start pulling the branches aside, as though to get onto our land. I ran up, they drove off ... couldn't get any reg numbers. But the field backs onto a common lane so I got in my car to follow them but they went cross-country and I lost them.Coincidence? Not sure, but I felt better speaking to the mayor's secretary who has noted this. She said she'll make enquiries about the quad bikes and put on file, and if there's any other vandalism to let me know. However, I'm at the end of a very quiet lane and am wondering about putting up a webcam linked to my PC to record stuff. Drastic? Not sure, but I wonder whether these two events are related in any way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beckett Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 There's always a temptation to make connections. Who knows? Do you know the owners of the neighbouring land? Could it be them on the quad bikes? If not, then you might ask your neighbours if they know who it was, and that you've reported it ... and if it was them but they're not telling then they'll have had a warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 A few years ago, some of the more isolated maison secondaires around here suffered similar post box damage. Several of the houses - including one adjacent to us - were subsequently broken into. The attending gendarmes said that the post boxes were opened so that the age of any mail could be gauged in order to tell how regularly the house was occupied. Ancient, damp, snail-nibbled mail = no one either resident or any neighbour taking in the post and therefore keeping an eye on the house. Conclusion drawn: safe to burgle.The appearance of the quad bikes may well be linked but you'd think they'd arrive a little more covertly! [:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted November 7, 2011 Share Posted November 7, 2011 [quote user="Théière"] As the postal staff have keys for the boxes and they are not very sophisticated locks it wouldn't take long for any criminal types to build up a set of keys, how many variables are there 4, 8 or less?[/quote]There is just the one key "pass PTT" which will open all the postboxes, around here the delivery drivers also have them unless they forget in which case they lever the box open as per the OP, perhaps that is the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nectarine Posted November 8, 2011 Author Share Posted November 8, 2011 Thanks for all ideas. I think it's clear that our house is occupied - there's several cars in the drive, cats and chickens wandering around and sitting on the patio, pots of well-watered flowers. If the box was levered open by a delivery driver, well there was nothing in the box anyway and we were expecting nothing large nor valuable.Re. the intruders on our land ... they were clearly trying to make an entrance into our garden and the tyre marks across the field show they had driven directly to that spot ... not along the hedges until they arrived at our makeshift wood barrier.Mr. Nectarine is going to put a strong metal band around the post box so it can't be forced in future and re. our land ... well I can only keep an eye out but I plan to have a camera ready when/if there's a next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederick Posted November 8, 2011 Share Posted November 8, 2011 Sounds like your quad bikers were looking to cut over your property to access the road to save going back and round maybe ? I like your camera idea.... My place is left for months and I see areas where large animals appear the have curled up and rested in the undergrowth . It would be nice to see whats using the place when they know they will not be disterbed ... . Plenty of cameras to be found on the internet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQ4wtUb1psA# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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