Another Burglary - Merc, Laptops, iPhone all gone

Felix Da Housecat · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:24

Another option is to invest in a CCTV system, seeing as they have keys the chances are they might just come back to check if they can get back in, and if they do you will have them on camera.

jaybee · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:28

Double glazing I'm not sure. Certainly wouldn't have been ******. They got various quotes. I do find that suspicious though.
iPhone I don't know, will have to check. House does not have an alarm I don't think. I am too wondering about the Merc. It's got a high end sat nav system in it built in though. House I'm 99% sure would have been locked securely. Every door and window. I'm thinking this is a "they had a key" job.

SexyGreyFox · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:28

Felix Da Housecat said:
Another option is to invest in a CCTV system, seeing as they have keys the chances are they might just come back to check if they can get back in, and if they do you will have them on camera.

With their hoods on.

OP -
I didn't read anywhere that they had set the burglar alarm off or disabled it.
Please don't tell me they haven't got one.

Rids · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:31

Do your parents not lock / bolt the door before they go to bed?

One thing that I have taken with me from my childhood growing up in the east end, is that doors should be locked/bolted and chains put on when you go to bed. I always used to think my mum was crazy for being so set in her ways like that, but its one of the habits that I've got into too, there is no way anybody is getting into my place without breaking something first.

mjt · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:34

dmpoole said:
With their hoods on.

OP -
I didn't read anywhere that they had set the burglar alarm off or disabled it.
Please don't tell me they haven't got one.

who turns their burglar alarm on at night?! :confused:

unless you have the control panel outside your bedroom, i can't see how this would ever work without it being set off before you even got to bed

Dangerous Dave · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:40

mjt said:
who turns their burglar alarm on at night?!
unless you have the control panel outside your bedroom, i can't see how this would ever work without it being set off before you even got to bed

Our alarm has zones so at night you turn off the zone that covers the upstairs/downstairs hall which lets you go to bed without setting the alarm off and in the morning turn it off. It still covers all the external doors and other rooms in the house when it is on overnight.

SexyGreyFox · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:43

mjt said:
who turns their burglar alarm on at night?!
unless you have the control panel outside your bedroom, i can't see how this would ever work without it being set off before you even got to bed

All our contacts are on doors, windows and under the carpets and we don't have sensors (never trusted them).
Our box is downstairs, it is set and then I walk upstairs being careful not to tread on a certain step or else hell breaks loose.
Our alarm is always set at night.

Randomface74 · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:47

Oh great... I'm about to have my house double glazed.

Rich1988 · 29 Dec 2009 at 13:51

( |-| |2 ][ $;15615066 said:
Look up key bumping. I bet that's how they got in. It's too easy.

I have a set of bump keys and never got the hang of anything but padlocks, its not so easy on a lot of door locks etc

mjt · 29 Dec 2009 at 14:11

Dangerous Dave said:
Our alarm has zones so at night you turn off the zone that covers the upstairs/downstairs hall which lets you go to bed without setting the alarm off and in the morning turn it off. It still covers all the external doors and other rooms in the house when it is on overnight.

dmpoole said:
All our contacts are on doors, windows and under the carpets and we don't have sensors (never trusted them).
Our box is downstairs, it is set and then I walk upstairs being careful not to tread on a certain step or else hell breaks loose.
Our alarm is always set at night.

fair enough
ours is 20 years old as it was installed when the house was built, and there's no way we could turn ours on at night to due the position of the sensors.
however, it's connected to the alarm company who call the house if the alarm goes off. if you fail to provide them with the deactivation code, the police turn up.

so we just leave it off at night

HarryPainful · 29 Dec 2009 at 14:11

Damn, this key bumping has really opened my eyes!

jaybee · 29 Dec 2009 at 15:59

Don't know full details yet, but I really do suspect something to do with double glazing. No burglaries in the road ever in their time there, then 3 weeks ago double glazing goes in and now a Burglary. May be conincidence being around xmas, but they were clearly after the Merc primarily.

Maccy · 29 Dec 2009 at 16:25

Sorry to hear that mate, rotten luck.

We have a house alarm that is set at night, but just the downstairs. Select downstairs and then run up the stairs - gives you 30 seconds or so to get up there. When deactivating it, you just go downstairs, it starts beeping and you have 30 seconds to deactivate it. You can only stay in the hall otherwise you'll know about it and the police are alerted

86JR · 29 Dec 2009 at 17:42

We dont have an alarm but we (for considerable expense) have a CCTV network completely hidden, connected 24/7 to an un-networked computer.

Its quite common for people to try the front door at night, atleast 3 times a week at around 3am, always different looking people. The backdoor, well, good luck with that!

m4cc45 · 29 Dec 2009 at 17:54

Un-networked - surely it would make more sense to have it on the internet then you could check it from where-ever you are?

M.

Deyvy · 29 Dec 2009 at 17:57

Small consolation, but lucky no one was hurt or even threatened.

Someone I knew got robbed week before christmas. Left for work, 20 minutes later knock on the door, she opens it, 3 hooded/balaclava guys comes storming in with crowbars. No one hurt, but trauma and all that. He's worried they'll come back. If they got away with load of stuff, inevitably it will be all replaced.

Start to think living in a flat is the way to go in terms of safety. Not great for families. But the risk is a lot smaller to being burgled.

sigma · 29 Dec 2009 at 18:04

twoblacklines said:
Its quite common for people to try the front door at night, atleast 3 times a week at around 3am, always different looking people. The backdoor, well, good luck with that!

What do they try? As in just try to check if it's open or unlocked, or try to break in?

footman · 29 Dec 2009 at 18:49

HarryPainful said:
Damn, this key bumping has really opened my eyes!

just found this site:

http://www.ukbumpkeys.com/
seems the only thing that works is a bolt (or two).

jaybee · 29 Dec 2009 at 19:02

Update

Scratch marks around the letter box. Police reckon they used a wire/hook thing to open the front door latch. Main traget will have been the merc but upon walking through house probably took laptops and iPhone since they saw them and are portable.

This is why I hate doors with letterboxes generally. If they have them at all they should be right down the bottom.

They have the keys to two other cars, two motorbikes, and two other houses.

jaybee · 29 Dec 2009 at 19:03

Maccy said:
Sorry to hear that mate, rotten luck.

We have a house alarm that is set at night, but just the downstairs. Select downstairs and then run up the stairs - gives you 30 seconds or so to get up there. When deactivating it, you just go downstairs, it starts beeping and you have 30 seconds to deactivate it. You can only stay in the hall otherwise you'll know about it and the police are alerted

These zone arlams sound good. They have one but its old and is either on or off and it's the whole house. So not on at night.