Guy knocking on your door intending to rob the place!

Dmighty

I am wondering if this is happening to anyone else???

I am in rathmines and this is the third time this has happened here.

The first time this happened 2 months ago at 8pm my husband answered the door and a guy asked him did he own the car in the garden?

The second time i was alone sleeping at 12pm in the day and a guy knocked on my bedroom window which i taught was strange so did not answer so he opened my window, looked through my blinds and ran when he saw me, i was so shocked i could only stare at him.

The third time was today at 6.45pm, guy eagerly knocked on my door, bedroom window, rang the bell and tried to open my front door handle to see if it was locked, i opened the door and it was a guy down the end of the garden asking if i owned the car in the garden, i just said no and quickly went back inside.

Im not sure if it was the same guy as i could only see the eyes of the guy the second time through my blinds, the first time my hubby said he was polish and this time he sounded british and had a scar on his face...

Is this happening to anyone else? We are planning to move at the end of next month because im pregnant and cannot be dealing with this... I live in the flats in rathmines but i live in the basement apartment which cannot really be seen from the street. Every little noise i hear im getting freaked out by!

RandolphEsq

Tell the other residents in the apartment block so you can all be vigilant as a team

Dmighty

they all live upstairs, there is a main door which i dod not have access to as i live in the downstairs apartment that has its own door and windows outside... Plus they are not very friendly or sociable, of what i noticed... unfortunately

starviewadams

Ring/call into the local Garda station and explain whats been going on,they might have heard of similar stuff in the area recently.

Make sure doors/windows are locked,just as a precaution,and if the place has an alarm put it on as well.

sambuka41

Im in Rathgar and that happened to me a couple of months back. I was expecting my boyfriend so assumed it was him when the bell rang, the guy was in his 40's, he done everything possible to get me to leave the door way. He tried to be a bit intimidating like swaying right into my face. He left eventually.

I rang Rathmines Garda station and they knew straight away who I was talking about, they were up in 5 mins. Unfortunately yer man had gone, most likely coped that i phoned the Garda. They were really nice about it. Said if i seen him around to phone straight away, and that they'd pop by later again just in case.:)

donaghs

Had a traveller child call to door of my house last month, asking if our car was for sale, his daddy had heard it was. We said no, and he said it must have been a mistake. He got into back of car, man and woman in the front, and they drove off. Felt very suspicious as I was just back from holidays and the house had been unoccupied for a few days.

Still, what can you do?

true

I had people from that same community come to the door ( west Dublin ) and try to sell blankets. They ( two women ) seemed pushed and kept trying to see inside / get inside the house, even when I told them I did not need any blankets. They went away after a minute or two. I was a bit woriied after in case they were "casing the joint". I guess some people are genuine + some may not be.

Degsy

Fill a jif lemon bottle with amonia and spray it in thier faces..say you were using it to clean the oven and in your panic you squeezed the bottle..accidents will happen.

edwinkane

Perhaps a good way to prevent these sorts of people is to photograph them. Nowadays with phones having inbuilt cameras it should not be too difficult. If I were a burglar, knowing the householder had my picture would act as a deterrent, particularly if I was "known" to the local constabulary.

seamus

Yeah it's a pretty common thing for the scum to do, knock on the door, if someone answers you ask a question that you'd expect to get a "no" to and walk off. If there's no answer, you look at robbing the place.

Happened in our place years ago. Both parents were out, so no car in garden, another random car screeches into the driveway. Guy gets out, rings on the door and my brother answers. The guy says he's looking for John-Joe (or something) and that a lady down the road told him that John-Joe lived here. We knew everyone on our road and everyone on our road knew us, so this rang alarm bells for my brother who obviously said no and the guy left.

In fairness to the Gardai, they came out and took a statement, description of the car and even showed my brother a number of photos of various guys to see if he could point out which one it was.

So I would say it's worth reporting these incidents to the Gardai as they're obviously interested in knowing what the usual scumbags are up to and where they're operating.

Apparently you're far more likely to be a victim of burglarly during daylight/evening hours than the middle of the night. Many people are less vigilant at these times, leaving doors and windows open, ripe for opportunistic scum.

Dmighty

Degsy Fill a jif lemon bottle with amonia and spray it in thier faces..say you were using it to clean the oven and in your panic you squeezed the bottle..accidents will happen.

LOL good idea...

I am thinking of getting one of those dummy cctvs for outside and a sign saying cctv on the premises....

I cannot believe how low some people will go, and they act so nice to you, saying im sorry about that and im thinking you just tried to open my door, or did he think i didnt notice...

We were planning to move to a house but i think a apartment complex with security is a better option as this is apparently happening in the nicest of places... I heard someone got robbed like this in Lucan and Ballsbridge.... I ont think there are any safe places anymore, and i thought Rathmines would be an nice enough area to live...

Captain Commie

I live in a ground floor apartment and our kitchen window is more or less beside the main door which is key coded.

was sitting working at my desk (by the kitchen window) and had it slightly ajar, had stepped away to get something from the bedroom and came back to see a guy pulling the window opened.

asked him what the fook he though he was doing and spouted some crap about noticing the window was open "and for security was trying to close it"

Told him to do one and called guards, they came out and took the usual statement and said if i see him again etc etc...

2 days later im coming home from work early and spot the guy hanging out around the bins, he spots me and gives it legs, called the guards again and they refused to come out

Nodster

Have you asked the Apartment 'management' to see if they are willing to upgrade/install some form of proper security? Odd's on most if not all would be intruders would spot a dummy alarm at 10 paces and I don't know if said 'management' would allow you to put up signs - health & safety issues, etc.Better off making an appointment with your local Garda Crime Prevention Officer for a couple of tip'sTheirs a link to Crime Prevention on the official Garda site http://www.garda.ie/

doctor evil

Its happenned to us recently, unfortunately the thieves got in while my mum was out the back. I sincerely hope they end up with a thousand fleas in their armpit.

Where does stolen jewellery end up, even if it is to be melted down?

edwinkane

doctor evil wrote: »

Its happenned to us recently, unfortunately the thieves got in while my mum was out the back. I sincerely hope they end up with a thousand fleas in their armpit.

Where does stolen jewellery end up, even if it is to be melted down?

"CASH FOR GOLD!"

doctor evil

edwinkane wrote: »

"CASH FOR GOLD!"

Is that place legit?

edwinkane

doctor evil wrote: »

Is that place legit?

Are you asking if it is legitimate to buy gold jewellry from other people? If so the answer is almost certainly "yes"

doctor evil

Would they laugh in your face if you contacted them with details of goods stolen? Going to get my mum to report it later on. It might not do much good but at least it is something.

seamus

doctor evil wrote: »

Would they laugh in your face if you contacted them with details of goods stolen?

I don't think so. Might vary from place to place, but I'd be surprised if these cash for gold places don't keep a fairly good record of what they've taken in (for their own purposes). If they can show that the jewellery was handed in on a certain day, then you might be able to track down CCTV footage of the guys.

Of course, the problem is that the scum who are selling it on are probably in cahoots with a dodgy C4G shop who only keep rudimentary records (if any) of the stuff that's brought in.

No harm to ask around the local C4G shop(s) though, you might get lucky.

listermint

Rathmines is nice enough, but to be fair it is so close to the city centre that you get all the dregs coming through. Ive found that the place is full of students or folks up from the country who have no idea of dublin and places to live so it suits doe to proximity.

With child on the way id recommend moving. i guarantee you will find a nice and cheaper place to live. my area is in tallaght. (all tallaght jokes aside) its first let brand new, extremely competitive rental and it is quiet as can be. the development has circa 3 security guards 24 hours walking around so there is never ever any trouble, they are there to look after the retail units but have been known quite often to query people pressing the intercom system. Cant fault it. From rathmines experience, move.

Dmighty wrote: »

Degsy Fill a jif lemon bottle with amonia and spray it in thier faces..say you were using it to clean the oven and in your panic you squeezed the bottle..accidents will happen.

LOL good idea...

I am thinking of getting one of those dummy cctvs for outside and a sign saying cctv on the premises....

I cannot believe how low some people will go, and they act so nice to you, saying im sorry about that and im thinking you just tried to open my door, or did he think i didnt notice...

We were planning to move to a house but i think a apartment complex with security is a better option as this is apparently happening in the nicest of places... I heard someone got robbed like this in Lucan and Ballsbridge.... I ont think there are any safe places anymore, and i thought Rathmines would be an nice enough area to live...

seamus

listermint wrote: »

Rathmines is nice enough, but to be fair it is so close to the city centre that you get all the dregs coming through. Ive found that the place is full of students or folks up from the country who have no idea of dublin and places to live so it suits doe to proximity.

Indeed. I've no particular bad experiences of Rathmines, but I think the Rathmines road lulls people into a false sense of security - it's always busy, always stuff going on, so you get the impression that you're in the metropolitan area and mostly safe. In reality, off either side of the Rathmines and Rathgar roads you're into compact old estates, some of which are council or ex-council. As a result you may get a lot of through-traffic from opportunistic scumbags, but not enough through-traffic to discourage them from trying something in broad daylight.

That said, it depends on the street. I always think you're going to have more hassle with older houses that are right on the road because they weren't built with security in mind.

MajorMax

doctor evil wrote: »

Would they laugh in your face if you contacted them with details of goods stolen? Going to get my mum to report it later on. It might not do much good but at least it is something.

I have a cousin in law who was a met officer in London and they used to send out photos of any stolen gold to these cash for gold places. If the victims didn't have photos then there was very little they could do except send out descriptions, if the items were not distinctive then again there was little hope of getting the goods back. Always take a photo of any valuable items and keep them safe

Best advice is call the Gardaí. You won't have been the first house targeted. And if you can get a reg of the van/car they are using.

[Jackass]

I sleep with a mini wooden baseball bat within arms reach, similar to this, and if someone stuck their head through my window, I'd soon find out how easy or difficult it would be to break that bat across someone's face.

If anyone is pestering around your house like that you call the gaurds, and if you see them again, you let them know in no uncertain terms that their presence is being met with absolute hostility.

It frightens me that he knows there's a woman in the house and comes back. I'd certainly have mace or something there to give him a good squirt if he shows up again and let him know your calling the gards as soon as you see him.

Twee.

You also need to watch out for people claiming to be service men. We had someone call to our house in an Eircom jacket wanting to come in and have a look at our phone. My mam, thinking it was sketchy, told him that she doesn't look after the phone so to call back again when my dad was there to chat to him about it. My mam then rang Eircom to see if they had men out and they said absolutely not and advised her to always ask for identification. The guy never came back btw!

sushisushi

The latest one in Donaghmede seems to be a guy knocking on the door in the evening claiming to sell financial services - 'life insurance, mortgages, that sort of thing'. Apart from the fact that I wouldn't even buy products from people cold selling them door-to-door, because you never know which truck they fell off, there's no way, I'm going to start discussing my financial affairs with some bloke who showed up on my doorstep at 9pm one night. And that's before you get to casing the joint for portable valuables...

edwinkane

sushisushi wrote: »

The latest one in Donaghmede seems to be a guy knocking on the door in the evening claiming to sell financial services - 'life insurance, mortgages, that sort of thing'. Apart from the fact that I wouldn't even buy products from people cold selling them door-to-door, because you never know which truck they fell off, there's no way, I'm going to start discussing my financial affairs with some bloke who showed up on my doorstep at 9pm one night. And that's before you get to casing the joint for portable valuables...

Are you sure he's a con man? Cold calling in some sections of the insurance industry is as old as something which is very very old, particularly in working class areas. The "man from the Pru" was a common sight, and offered a service to the less well off which was valuable and valued.

mikemac

sushisushi wrote: »

The latest one in Donaghmede seems to be a guy knocking on the door in the evening claiming to sell financial services - 'life insurance, mortgages, that sort of thing'.

That guy is probably legit.

Insurance selling door to door isn't new and has always been going on. I don't realy know your area but around here, I remember lots of calls from salesmen every few months, I know most of them at this stage.

-Vega-

Buy a long barrelled shotgun and push it through your letter box and point it slightly upwards, working in Home Alone !

Owen

Or just get two lengths of black pipe, duct tape them together and point those outside the letterbox

-Vega-

PaintDoctor wrote: »

Or just get two lengths of black pipe, duct tape them together and point those outside the letterbox

Nice recession buster!

managerman

-Vega- wrote: »

Nice recession buster!

bargain alerts!

wonderfulname

Robbers are so courteous in rathmines, here they just kick the door in.

Inbox

Happened here in Raheny to us last year. They have seen my folks going out,my car was in getting fixed so looked like nobody home.I was up having a snooze after work and dinner. Guy rang bell once then rang it loads of times . I was like WTF ,saw him waking off.

10 mins later heard a noise from the back downstairs,thought to myself **** they're trying to break in,I got up and dressed as I wa putting shoes on heard them open the hall door and start walking upstairs .

Well all of a sudden the prehistoric man in me came alive and I grabbed my baseball bat that Ive had handy beside the bed for 20 years for this exact moment I chased them out screaming I'm going to effing kill ye! I rang Garda and they caught somebody,but my dad didn't want to press charges....sure they knew where we lived

There hasnt been a break in the estate since from what I know

breadandjam

I might be a bit paranoid but when I'm leaving the house empty I always shout in "See ye later" before I close the door and wave at the window as I walk away
My dog also goes mental whenever anyone comes to the door so that helps too.

The guy next door to me got done the other day- two guys in high viz jackets told him they were checking the water and while he brought one out to the kitchen the other one ransacked his upstairs- didn't get anything

HavingCrack

breadandjam wrote: »

The guy next door to me got done the other day- two guys in high viz jackets told him they were checking the water and while he brought one out to the kitchen the other one ransacked his upstairs- didn't get anything

Always ask for ID before you let anyone in and ring head office etc. to make sure they are in fact legitimate. If they're the real deal they shouldn't mind.

R.Dub.Fusilier

no matter what part of dublin you live in you can be sure your back door , at one time or another, has been checked by an thief to see if it is open. if you get one of these callers report it to the peelers to be on the safe side.

PS if you hear your neighbours alarm going off in the middle of the day have a look over the fence , just to be on the safe side.

sushisushi

feelingstressed wrote: »

That guy is probably legit.

Insurance selling door to door isn't new and has always been going on. I don't realy know your area but around here, I remember lots of calls from salesmen every few months, I know most of them at this stage.

The only 'salesmen' we've ever had are blokes wanting to do your gutterin' or wash your driveway. Or the occasional Eircom phonewatch person, who always has a branded jacket and prominent ID. This guy had no ID, no mention of a company and was a bit vague on what he was actually selling, so it still rings the dodgy bells here, unfortunately.

tapfit2004

2 lads tried to rob the car outside my house one saturday night last year, i heard them and went out and confronted them.

They kicked the car and said they could do what they wanted. I told them to f off so they came after me and followed me back to the front door.

I saw the vacuum cleaner tube on the hall floor as they followed me in and picked it up and swung it around to scare them away.

They retreated back to the footpath but then one of them made a run at me to try and take it off me.

I jumped out of the way and swung it at him. I hit him on the ear with it and bent the tube on the side of his head.

He fell around a bit and landed on his back out of it.

The other fella tried to come at me but i caught him twice on the legs and he backed off.

I went back and stood over the first fella, he couldn't get up. I was so wound up i was Going to hit him again but my brother shouted to stop.

He eventually got up and staggered off with his mate.

I dont condone voilence but when someone attacks you you should be entitled to defend yourself.

I didnt calm down for a few hours but i'd do the same again.

No respect for anything in this socitity anymore.

Dathai

There was a group of guys going around last summer selling door locks on wooden planks along with the keys for these locks. I actually couldn't believe that some of my neighbors were buying them and getting them installed. I had to explain (for about 20 minutes) to one of my neighbors that those guys will probably come back and let themselves into the house.

Apparently it was legit because they handed her a piece of paper saying they were licenced and had been in business for 20 years. It was obviously fake by looking at it.

We get lads calling to the door selling DVDs and all the rest still. One guy called about 2 weeks ago and I stupidly answered the door thinking it was a take away delivery driver.He was trying to peddle DVDs and gadgets to me and when I said I didn't want any he stood there for about 5 minutes arguing with me that I was closing the door in his face. Obviously I won't be closing the door in your face if you just turn around and píss off.

edwinkane

breadandjam wrote: »

I might be a bit paranoid but when I'm leaving the house empty I always shout in "See ye later" before I close the door and wave at the window as I walk away
My dog also goes mental whenever anyone comes to the door so that helps too.

The guy next door to me got done the other day- two guys in high viz jackets told him they were checking the water and while he brought one out to the kitchen the other one ransacked his upstairs- didn't get anything

I often leave the Radio on on Radio4. Then if anyone does come around, they'll hear voices in the house. It may not be a good deterrent, but it might just fool some opportunists.

Kintarō Hattori

Prior to buying our house the missus and myself rented in Hampton Square on the Navan Road. It's a gated apartment complex with a handyman on site for most of the day:



http://maps.google.com/maps?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hampton+square+navan+road&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.823846,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=hampton+square+navan+road&radius=15000.000000&split=1&hnear=&ll=53.362311,-6.302317&spn=0.002279,0.006866&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=53.361961,-6.302679&panoid=tIwPV6YSli8uboWfdDnkaw&cbp=12,180,,0,0.21

Don't think that an apartment complex can offer more security than a house. This place was robbed many times during the year that we lived there. The cops dropped leaflets warning people to lock their doors on more than one occasion. Ground floor apartments are especially vulnerable. The amount of cars which would pull up to the gates and sit there until someone let them in was shocking. I used to keep a bicycle in the 'secure' bicycle shed but stopped after it had been forced open. My neighbour who had lived there longer told me it wasn't the first time it had happened. Rather than replacing the gate the management company twisted the busted parts back into shape.

edwinkane

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Prior to buying our house the missus and myself rented in Hampton Square on the Navan Road. It's a gated apartment complex with a handyman on site for most of the day:



http://maps.google.com/maps?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=hampton+square+navan+road&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=50.823846,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=hampton+square+navan+road&radius=15000.000000&split=1&hnear=&ll=53.362311,-6.302317&spn=0.002279,0.006866&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=53.361961,-6.302679&panoid=tIwPV6YSli8uboWfdDnkaw&cbp=12,180,,0,0.21

Don't think that an apartment complex can offer more security than a house. This place was robbed many times during the year that we lived there. The cops dropped leaflets warning people to lock their doors on more than one occasion. Ground floor apartments are especially vulnerable. The amount of cars which would pull up to the gates and sit there until someone let them in was shocking. I used to keep a bicycle in the 'secure' bicycle shed but stopped after it had been forced open. My neighbour who had lived there longer told me it wasn't the first time it had happened. Rather than replacing the gate the management company twisted the busted parts back into shape.

Of course, thats often down to the lack of community cooperative spirit. While a car can wait outside until someone else drives along and then follow them in or out,. if it were me I'd stop in just beyond the gateway and, if I didn't know them, would point out that its a private car park, and while we are talking the gates would have time to close.

Likewise, many apartment blocks have a lock on the front door, and if someone is hanging about the door waiting to be let in, I'd ask them to wait outside until the person they are visiting opens the door for them.

A handyman on site isn't a security guard!

In many apartment blocks, the lack of community spirit and lack of cooperation contributes greatly to a lack of security.

Kintarō Hattori

edwinkane wrote: »

Of course, thats often down to the lack of community cooperative spirit. While a car can wait outside until someone else drives along and then follow them in or out,. if it were me I'd stop in just beyond the gateway and, if I didn't know them, would point out that its a private car park, and while we are talking the gates would have time to close.

Oh I completely agree, I only knew my neighbour across the hallway as we parked our bikes beside each other and at that I just knew him to say hello.

edwinkane wrote: »

A handyman on site isn't a security guard!

Of course, you're right but the majority of robberies happened during daylight. You would imagine someone onsite would be some sort of deterrent.