General Chat

You can also get the Fire Service to come round and give you advice, especially if you are older. :-)

if we go on holiday we dont need to leve keys any were as we have a family member
to house sit

As this thread is really about going on holiday....which I havnt done since living here....no I wouldn't leave the key in the door, as we wouldn't be able to get back in....would probably also put back door key on the rack by the door so any burglar can smash through the double glazing to get them....after they have trapsed through someone elses garden and jumped the 6' fence......they would have to leave the same way as they came in, because front door would be double locked so they would not be able to open it without the key

Another thought

They could also get in through the upvc kitchen windows by removing the glass I would imagine

Along with locking doors and hiding keys we always set the burglar alarm which sends a message to my dads phone if the alarm is not turned off either with the code or the fob within a minute.

If you are prone to losing keys or locking yourself out, one good idea is to bury a spare key in a small jar or tin, in the front garden. Remember which bush you put it under tho and bury when no one is around. This tip saved me a lot of expense years ago when I forgot to put the latch on the door before popping outside to add something to the bin I had just put outside. You will have to be prepared to get your nails mucky digging it up tho unless you leave a stick or something useful where you can find it.

Lizx

Leaving keys in locks whether it be windows or doors is not the best of ideas, and, as has been mentioned, you could find your insurance is compromised if you do have to make a claim as a result of a break in, resulting at best a reduced payout, at worst, nothing at all.

Hiding a spare key outside is also risky. If you have to do so, then get yourself a key safe. It will cost you around £25 and at least you then have some protection

Those key safes can be probably prised off the wall or whereever they are positioned.

I have used several holiday homes where they are in use and the people text us the code as we are on our way. One uses the same code all the time as we have been there several times and it's always the same number.

Lizx

I would still like to know how a burglar is going to get the keys out of the door unless they are Twizzle......how would they know they are in there?

I am talking about solid doors with small half moon windows at the top....

As said before by someone else. If they want to get in that badly they will.

However, we should be doing the best we can to make it as difficult as possible for them.

And why on earth would you lock yourself in at night? A chain on the door should be sufficient as any noise made to break in through one would be enought to alert you to a break in, and is easy to undo to get out in an emergency.

I live in Plumstead Sth London. But when living at home (Elephant and Castle)we were burgled and I lost ALL my jewellery, then when I first got married (Camberwell SE5) we we burgled, they literally kicked the door off its hinges, took very little but made a terrible mess. Then some year later living the The Borough on a main road, our door again was kicked in and all they took was the rental Video and a bath sheet to carry it in (we believe it just went upstairs!).

So having been burgled in the past I know how distressing it can be.

I am very safety conscious. But the Burglary when I lived in Camberwell and in SE1 both happened when I was working on the Post Office counters and was living and working in the same area, so anyone who knew me and where I lived only had to look in to see if I was at work and then they knew the place would be empty. And I know this is what happened at Camberwell. Luckily I was moved to a different office. And after that no-one was asked to work in the office closest to where they lived.

I trust no-one, either online, by phone or knocking on my door.

And the complacency shown by the threads on here about leaving keys in locks etc., just appals me. Most thieves are in and out in less than 5 minutes, and those 5 minutes can ruin your life. I lost all my grandmothers jewellery that she had given me (we never told her). Jewellery bought by my parents, fiance and myself. The loss of these items was heartbreaking.

Sorry I don't live in London and not heard of burglars in this area smashing the door in......so really cannot see what your argument is about

How can someone reach the keys?? .....oh ok no keys we will kick the door in then

Only times I have been burgled is through windows (two locked and bolted) the other time they got in through an open bedroom window passing our wonderful big German shepherd who was the guard dog out the back of the pub....I had moved out by then

The keys in the locks also double bolt the door

So by your reckoning.....to be safe in your own home is just to have a chain? No wonder they easily kicked the door in

Hi DC,
I'm still not sure I follow your way of reckoning....

your question "why on earth would you lock yourself in at night." has me a little confused. Is locking yourself in at night not a safe thing to do then? I don't understand :-)

Secondly I still don't understand WHY is it not safe to leave the key in the door (as I do at night).
By the time a burglar has smashed a window and clambered in I would have heard him (being a light sleeper) so where does the key in the door matter? If you mean its because he can then let himself out easily, well, he could do that if there was no key in, but a chain on an unlocked door, surely?


Inspector Green Pen - what's a key safe??
I have a spare key in a tin, which is buried in the garden for emergency use. Is a key safe a better option?

Jax,
Yes sounds to me like we have the same type of door....if key is in the lock you've no chance of getting back in!!!! As I said, locksmith call out was £60, so I won't be doing it again :-) I hope.

This must be the key safe....wouldn't a burglar be able to break into it?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/6238120.htm

We have a upvc stable door at the 'back', which is actually the door nearest the road :-D. If you lock and leave the key in it, you can't open it from the outside with a key. It also has a deadlock on the bottom half which we always lock at night and when out. The front door has no letterbox, just a Yale lock and a deadlock. I don't lock windows, just close them. Sister has a spare set of keys - she lives about 5 miles away.

Very few problems generally in this area. We did have a spate of burglaries a few years ago when some houses were being built nearby. We think certain houses were watched and targeted. You can't see our house from the road and most people wouldn't know it was here.

Thanks for that link Jax :-)
Key Safe, I've read the info, and the first lot of reviews....but what I can't see is where in heck's name do you put the thing? In the garden shed? By the front door?

Ah well, I'll save myself the money and stick to my spare key being in a tin and buried in the garden. Anyone who needs a key to my house, ie a neighbour and my brother, actually has a set themselves, so the garden tin is purely for me in emergency. :-D

You could also have a spare key hanging on a long piece of string inside your front door, just poke hand through letter box to get it :-D

This thread is so interesting.
Karen my camel friend you have made me laugh.
I don´t leave keys in doors when I go away. because I know how easy it is to get them out. Plus the insurance wouldn´t pay out if they found out.

I do have key safes around because I am around.
If I go away ....whoooo I am looking forward to it. Then I shall lock all my windows and doors and leave 1 person that I trust with the key ...All other keys will be out off sight.
Mind I may just aswell get somebody in my flat to look after my house.

I wouldn´t leave my keys in the lock when away. not even on a half turn as they used to say was safe. I could get in that.

As already said Uzzi If some of us left our keys in whilst out ,we could not get back in unless we called out a locksmith....plus still cannot see how you can remove the keys from the outside

Jax trust me a good locksmith can sort any lock out. There is always a way.

:-D :-D @ Jax.....of course.....or under the big flower pot by front door!!!

Hi Uzzi, yes, that's what Jax is saying.....that without a locksmith it is impossible for us to get in, if there is a key in the lock :-) so we don't leave keys in the door when we are out.
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