Social worker called mistakenly

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:32pm #1

Weird thing happened today.
My husband is working from home, kids are on mid-term break, I headed off for the gym this morning.
When I got home there were 2 women sitting outside my house in a car, one was talking on the phone. I went into my house, and my eldest said that 2 women had been knocking on the door, then within a minute the doorbell rang. It was these 2 women. They asked me if X was home, I said no, no X lives here. I asked them what address they have and they said mine. I said I'm really sorry but there's no X here. Then one of them said oh I'm sorry if we frightened your kids earlier when we knocked. I said oh yeah they said someone was knocking. That was the end of it, and they went away.
About half an hour later the doorbell rang and it was one of these women again. I answered and she said sorry I called earlier to this address mistakenly, and I'm a social worker and I became concerned that your kids were here and there was no-one else here. I said, oh no, my hubbie was upstairs working and doesn't really answer the door (we get a lot of cold callers). I laughed it off, and she was fine with it and went on her way.
I then recounted the story to my hubbie upstairs and he said ffs I bet that won't be the end of that. I wasn't worried until he said that, but now I am. Not because we did anything wrong, I'm just a worrier by nature and suffer with anxiety, and I currently have a lot going on in my personal life, and I really don't need the added worry of this, wondering if a social worker is going to check up on us now.
Just to clarify, it is ok that my husband was minding our kids while I was out, even though he was upstairs and the kids were downstairs, right? He can't be in the same room as them at all times, he has to have video calls etc.

Gerianam · 17-02-2020 3:37pm

Hi Sunrise Sunset,
A lot depends on their ages of course but why are the kids answering the door ?

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:40pm

They didn't answer the door. But can see the front door from the sitting room where they were, and vice versa.
They are 7 and 5.

gipi · 17-02-2020 3:43pm

I wouldn't have thought that social workers called to homes "on spec", or sit outside? Did they show ID when you spoke to them?

starbaby2003 · 17-02-2020 3:45pm

This is very odd behaviour. I would call Tusla. Seems strange.

Mr Tickle · 17-02-2020 3:45pm

This seems like a common sense one. You're grand. you'll never hear from them again. Our social services are so underfunded that they couldn't afford to look into you even if they wanted to.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:45pm

No they didn't show ID.
I just presumed it was maybe their first time visiting the family they were supposed to be visiting, and they had gotten the address wrong.

Gerianam · 17-02-2020 3:47pm

Perhaps someone reported that the kids seemed to be home alone.

manonboard · 17-02-2020 3:48pm

very unlikely you will hear from them again. They did right by checking if you left your kids on their own.
you explained your husband is in and just didnt want to answer the door. Thats perfectly ok.

they are likely comfortable your kids are safe. You've done nothing wrong and unless there are other things to notice, you and your husband are safely caring for your kids.

If your kids opened the door. That would be a different story. They may think your husband is rude, but thats not a problem. They have lots of other work to do and are likely consumed by it. They probably had more free time today because they had the wrong address so had some time to burn up.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:48pm

starbaby2003 wrote: »

This is very odd behaviour. I would call Tusla. Seems strange.

Really?

bullpost · 17-02-2020 3:50pm

Gerianam wrote: »

Perhaps someone reported that the kids seemed to be home alone.

Based on what?

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:51pm

manonboard wrote: »

very unlikely you will hear from them again. They did right by checking if you left your kids on their own.
you explained your husband is in and just didnt want to answer the door. Thats perfectly ok.

they are likely comfortable your kids are safe. You've done nothing wrong and unless there are other things to notice, you and your husband are safely caring for your kids.

If your kids opened the door. That would be a different story. They may think your husband is rude, but thats not a problem. They have lots of other work to do and are likely consumed by it. They probably had more free time today because they had the wrong address so had some time to burn up.

Yes, I agree she was probably doing the right thing by coming back to check up. I mean, are parents ever 100% of the time in the same room as their kids though? It's impossible.

Mr Tickle · 17-02-2020 3:52pm

Gerianam wrote: »

Perhaps someone reported that the kids seemed to be home alone.

That seems unlikely. someone gave/took a wrong address like they said.

Mr. Occam's badly needs a shave.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:53pm

I have it drummed into the kids heads not to answer the door, that only Mam or Dad are allowed to answer the door, hence why they didn't answer the door.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:55pm

Gerianam wrote: »

Perhaps someone reported that the kids seemed to be home alone.

My next door neighbour is nosey parker, but she is aware that my husband works from home two or 3 days per week.

venusdoom · 17-02-2020 3:56pm

I think this is strange that they didn't produce I.D. And just they called back later. I would call your local Tusla office to query whether they were genuine social workers. Don't worry. Your husband was upstairs, the children were fine and not left alone in the house. I don't even know why they would question if your children were alone. You could have easily been outside the back or doing something important that you couldn't answer the door. I would absolutely ring for clarification and to ease my mind that it wasn't something more sinister.

jam_mac_jam · 17-02-2020 3:56pm

This is very strange behavior from a social worker, to call back because they thought the kids were on their own. How did they know this? Are they allowed go around looking in random windows. This seems very strange to me.

s7ryf3925pivug · 17-02-2020 3:57pm

Even if she didn't believe you I doubt anything would happen. I've heard that they are under-resourced and unable to do much about non-critical cases.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 3:58pm

Oh feck, I'm even more concerned now. I hadn't even thought that they might not really be social workers.

TheValeyard · 17-02-2020 3:59pm

I wouldnt worry. If it is Tusla, they are so slow and incompetent that by the time they actually decided to investigate you, the kids would be 18+

jam_mac_jam · 17-02-2020 4:00pm

Well they might be but if they are they shouldn't be calling back and commenting about nobody being there without a complaint being made. They can't just wander around trying to catch people out they need to have a suspicion.
I wouldn't worry, your partner was upstairs. Its just none of their business who answers the door or not.

appledrop · 17-02-2020 4:01pm

Firstly relax you have done nothing wrong.

If anyone is in the wrong its them. They should know what house they are meant to be going to + not going knocking on random doors.

Also its perfectly reasonable that you kids refused to answer the door to strangers. Your husband could have been in toilet for all they knew!

You explained the situation so they have no leg to stand on.

appledrop · 17-02-2020 4:02pm

By the way they have probably also breached GDPR by giving you the name of family they were supposed to visit.

starbaby2003 · 17-02-2020 4:03pm

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

Oh feck, I'm even more concerned now. I hadn't even thought that they might not really be social workers.

That’s why I would call Tusla. Whole thing seems suspect. Sounds more like they are from the social and checking out a house in your park.

jam_mac_jam · 17-02-2020 4:03pm

appledrop wrote: »

Firstly relax you have done nothing wrong.

If anyone is in the wrong its them. They should know what house they are meant to be going to + not going knocking on random doors.

Also its perfectly reasonable that you kids refused to answer the door to strangers. Your husband could have been in toilet for all they knew!

You explained the situation so they have no leg to stand on.

Exactly, the fact that the kids didn't answer the door is better. They have no right to comment on this.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:08pm

What if I do call Tusla and they make a big deal of it? Can the investigate because of this?
But I kind of want to call them to find out if they really were social workers.

Christy42 · 17-02-2020 4:08pm

Ring and confirm that social workers were in the vicinity. Especially if they didn't show id. Just ask to confirm that some were in the vicinity and you were worried in case someone was impersonating them. They won't follow it up unless there were no social workers there.

This could well be a handy excuse to see who is about. I would be more worried about that than actual social workers worried you weren't within 5ft of your children 24/7.

SusieBlue · 17-02-2020 4:10pm

I don't answer the door if I'm not expecting anyone and I don't answer the phone to unknown numbers, its common sense and there should be no cause for concern or suspicion on that front.
You don't have to justify yourself at all, you and your husband are perfectly entitled to ignore unexpected door knockers (cause that's what they are) if you wish.

The fact that they didn't produce ID is a bit peculiar though, so I would definitely be bringing that to Túsla's attention. They need to know if people are going around pretending to be social workers.

dartboardio · 17-02-2020 4:11pm

She wasn't a social worker. I'd say they could have been scoping out the place!

No social worker would go out of their way on a job to knock on someones door and presume someones children are home alone because they see them in a window :S

Very unrealistic.

BTW please don't worry. You'll never see them again,just one of those weird stories

SusieBlue · 17-02-2020 4:19pm

dartboardio wrote: »

She wasn't a social worker. I'd say they could have been scoping out the place!

No social worker would go out of their way on a job to knock on someones door and presume someones children are home alone because they see them in a window :S

Very unrealistic.

BTW please don't worry. You'll never see them again,just one of those weird stories

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with this.
In any dealings I've had with Túsla I've found them to be very reasonable but extremely underresourced.
With no prior background info on OP here is just no way they would be bothered about a solitary instance of kids watching tv while dad is busy upstairs.
They wouldn't even have the resources to investigate it if they wanted to, which is why the "social workers" actions are all the more suspicious.

venusdoom · 17-02-2020 4:25pm

If you do ring to question this, (I think you should) will you update us with the outcome? It's frightening to think that people possibly are going around during midterm sussing out if kids are alone in the house.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:26pm

I rang Tusla. I spoke with the Duty Social Worker. I explained what happened.
She said it was no-one from their team but that there are other teams/departments that could've been in the area. But she also said that it is extremely unlikely that they would call back again, and that this sounds a bit suspicious, and that maybe I should contact the gardai.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:27pm

SusieBlue wrote: »

I don't answer the door if I'm not expecting anyone and I don't answer the phone to unknown numbers, its common sense and there should be no cause for concern or suspicion on that front.
You don't have to justify yourself at all, you and your husband are perfectly entitled to ignore unexpected door knockers (cause that's what they are) if you wish.

The fact that they didn't produce ID is a bit peculiar though, so I would definitely be bringing that to Túsla's attention. They need to know if people are going around pretending to be social workers.

Same. We get so many cold callers. And anyone that we know that is calling, would let us know in advance, so we don't answer the door.

Strumms · 17-02-2020 4:29pm

I’d be calling tusla, or indeed whatever department social workers come from. The fact they didn’t identify themselves by name and show ID is strange... they could have been anyone. Contact Tusla, relate what happened to you, time, describing the individuals who called, car they may have been driving etc...lack of ID etc..

Just for anybody else reading, if you get a call to your front door by people claiming to be from a ‘government agency’, first port of call BEFORE engaging with them, BEFORE confirming your identity is... “ ok, I’d just like to see your ID please “... if the request then is “why do you want that ?”.. you simply don’t go down that road just repeat... “you claim to work for a government agency, I don’t know who you are, I need your ID to enable us to proceed”.... further questions... “your ID please !” “Your ID please”... after third request, door gets closed and call to your local Garda station...

venusdoom · 17-02-2020 4:30pm

Thank you for letting us know. Thank God your children didn't answer the door. That's the last time you'll see them, they won't return to your house but inform the gardai anyway and say Tusla suggested you report it.

jam_mac_jam · 17-02-2020 4:36pm

It would be a good idea to notify the local Garda station just in case and tell them that Tulsa have been contacted.

Don't be petrified I doubt they will be back.

Mr Tickle · 17-02-2020 4:37pm

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I rang Tusla. I spoke with the Duty Social Worker. I explained what happened.
She said it was no-one from their team but that there are other teams/departments that could've been in the area. But she also said that it is extremely unlikely that they would call back again, and that this sounds a bit suspicious, and that maybe I should contact the gardai.
I'm petrified now.

I think people might be winding you up deliberately OP.

Put it this way, If they weren't a social worker, why would they call back?

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:40pm

I rang the gardai and told them what happened, and that I had rang Tusla too, and they made a note that I had called.
This has taken a turn that I hadn't been expecting at all. My kids are my life. To think that someone could've been scoping out our house or something along those lines has me very worried.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:41pm

Mr Tickle wrote: »

I think people might be winding you up deliberately OP.

What? Seriously?

seamus · 17-02-2020 4:42pm

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I rang Tusla. I spoke with the Duty Social Worker. I explained what happened.
She said it was no-one from their team but that there are other teams/departments that could've been in the area. But she also said that it is extremely unlikely that they would call back again, and that this sounds a bit suspicious, and that maybe I should contact the gardai.
I'm petrified now.

There's no need to be petrified really.

It's not uncommon for burglars to scope out streets on false pretences; go around knocking on doors pretending to be selling something or checking up on something, etc.

What they're doing is seeing if they can figure out if/when the house will be empty, and whether you have an alarm, or a dog or whatever.

In your case they knew there were kids inside but didn't know if there were adults.

When you arrived back they went into the usual mode of knocking on the door to see if they could figure out whether you were worth burgling.

When they went away they had a think about, "Maybe she leaves the kids on their own in the morning", so knocked on the door to ask you. Yes, they're that brazen.

The fact that you told them your husband was upstairs working and ignored the door, means they won't be back. Because they don't know if/when they can break in without being caught.

Report it to the local Gardai. This kind of brass neck stuff seems to be really common at the moment. Every report will help them link it together and know who/what to look out for.

One of the big giveaways is if they knock on the door and ask if X lives there, but you don't even have any neighbours by that name. People doing an actual job knocking on doors very rarely end up having the name and the house wrong. If they make a mistake, it's one or the other.

TheValeyard · 17-02-2020 4:44pm

Ring Gardai. Pass on information. Relax. Make cup of tea. Make sure husband is working upstairs and not on his phone the whole time.

Fann Linn · 17-02-2020 4:45pm

I work in the PS but I'm not a sw or in the HSE. Our child protection officer within my job has advised us however to ring Tusla if we are doing calls and children appear to be 'home alone'.

I did call the gardai years ago when it appeared a toddler was on her own, and I was proved right.

Whether I would do it for older kids I don't know.

venusdoom · 17-02-2020 4:52pm

Please don't be petrified. There is some sick people about in all walks of life. They were most likely burglars as mentioned above. You did the right thing alerting the gardai and also posting here. I know when my kids come home, I'll be repeating this story and drilling it into their heads not to answer the door to anyone if im busy.

Sunrise_Sunset · 17-02-2020 4:56pm

BrownFinger wrote: »

Have you got a safe house that you and the kids can lie low for a few weeks.
Could be a pedo ring.

carq wrote: »

Best to get out of the country OP while all this dies down.
Id be looking at a guard dog or 2 as well to act as a deterrant to this gang.

I have stated that I suffer with anxiety, I do not appreciate these wind up comments so feck off

SusieBlue · 17-02-2020 4:58pm

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I have stated that I suffer with anxiety, I do not appreciate these wind up comments so feck off

Take no notice. Its very likely you won't see or hear from them again now that they know there is an adult at home at all times.

Reiterate to your kids the importance of not opening the front door and try to forget about it.

optogirl · 17-02-2020 5:00pm

carq wrote: »

Best to get out of the country OP while all this dies down.
Id be looking at a guard dog or 2 as well to act as a deterrant to this gang.

Is there any need to be nasty? OP had a stranger call to her door, did not show ID, inquiring about her kids. It's probably just some weird mix up but she has stated that she is concerned and an anxious person so your need for likes to make you feel like you're gas craic should not outweigh that.

Krombopulos Michael · 17-02-2020 5:10pm

Sunrise_Sunset wrote: »

I have stated that I suffer with anxiety, I do not appreciate these wind up comments so feck off

Mods seem to be getting rid of the Trolls.

These people are very unlikely to come near you again, but just give the local Guards a buzz to give them a heads up just so they can keep an eye out in the area.

JustMe,K · 17-02-2020 5:12pm

It might give you a little comfort to install a motion detector camera at your front & back door OP. They aren't hugely expensive and can give you a little peace of mind.

carq · 17-02-2020 5:16pm

all jest aside

To my mind the odds of them being burglars are low.
Never heard of a 2 women burglar gang, never mind one that went back to the 'scene' straight after they see someone enter the house.

Maybe they were looking for Mr X

triona1 · 17-02-2020 5:29pm

Op have you 2 daughter's?
My reason for asking is i had similar but I have a daughter and 3 son's and they have sat outside my home

So i had a Male and female

seamus · 17-02-2020 5:33pm

carq wrote: »

all jest aside

To my mind the odds of them being burglars are low.

Honestly, it's fairly likely.

The women aren't the burglars, there's 20 of these guys around. They know damn well that if you send the lads to knock on the door, or some toothless haggard aul one in her late fifties, people will know what's going on and the Gardai will be down fairly soon. They use the most respectable members of their troupe in with a backstory and they scope the place out and take notes.

Social worker called mistakenly

Comments