Lone contractor on site and 2 watches go missing

Gypsy916

We had a plumber at our property yesterday, left him to do the work in the ensuite and now I cannot find 2 watches worth £3K. I keep them on my dressing table because they are may daily wear. What would you do? 

HampshireH

Well.

If you are absolutely then surely you would contact him, voice your concerns and give him till the end of the day to return them before you call the police.

Are you sure your partner didn't think it was a bit silly leaving 3k worth of watches on the side while leaving a stranger along in the room and hasn't moved them?

marcia_

Gypsy916 said:

We had a plumber at our property yesterday, left him to do the work in the ensuite and now I cannot find 2 watches worth £3K. I keep them on my dressing table because they are may daily wear. What would you do? 

 Report it to the police 

Flugelhorn

almost asking for trouble leaving them out like that but I suppose it relies on whoever is working in your house knowing that they are worth £3K - personally I can't imagine what makes a watch worth that and wouldn't recognise one. 

Suppose if you report it you are going to have to have some proof that they were there and that they have been stolen

stuart45

Tell him you're knocking 3 grand off the bill. 

ThisIsWeird

Will you be claiming off your insurance? If so, call them up, and they'll guide you. This will almost certainly require a crime reference number, so you will need to call your local police - 101. 
I'm not sure if the insurance co will also suggest asking you to contact the plumber, "To ask if they noticed them, or possibly moved them somewhere safe while they were working...". 
'All' you know - so all you can say to anyone - is that the two watches were there before the plumber turned up, and were not there afterwards. How soon afterwards? Was it just one guy? But, you are not putting 2&2 together, because you cannot. Make no suggestion that the guy took them, because that requires proof.
You should try and work out just how certain you are that there's no other remotely possible explanation - you didn't move them somewhere else in anticipation of wearing them, that no-one else in your house could have done similar (even kids having a play), partner wasn't taking them to get new batteries, etc. Try and get a %-age certainty in your head; is it really 100%?
Meanwhile, put a local 'search' for watches on Facebook, eBay, etc, and keep an eye out. 

Section62

Gypsy916 said:

We had a plumber at our property yesterday, left him to do the work in the ensuite and now I cannot find 2 watches worth £3K. I keep them on my dressing table because they are may daily wear. What would you do? 

A plumber stealing £3k's worth of watches sounds a bit odd.  Unless they were very stupid they'd know something that valuable would result in a police report, and the possibility of difficulty in working as a plumber in the future.  Plumbers can earn more from plumbing than they can from stealing watches.

If it was a small amount of cash or a low-cost item (I think we had the theft of perfume/aftershave on the forum before?) then they may think the risk of the theft being noticed and/or reported is low. It is still a poor risk/reward thing to do though, for a trader who relies on trust to be able to work.

Are you sure he was working alone?  IIRC in the perfume/aftershave case the theft was by the trainee/apprentice - someone who may see the risk/reward equation differently, and may not have the experience to appreciate the seriousness of stealing while working in someone's home.

Also on a more general point (not doubting your story) claiming things have been stolen when they haven't can have very serious consequences for the owner - I'd want to be absolutely sure they had been taken by a third party and not (say) a family member. And if they did subsequently turn up (say the thief returned them) then I'd make sure to let the insurers know very promptly.

DullGreyGuy

Check with the family first, look in the alternative places you put may have put them. Mrs once accused a trades person of doing similar with some of her jewellery then remembered she'd come in late so had removed them in the lounge and they were still on the bookshelf rather than being in the box on the dresser in the bedroom. Thankfully had stopped her from going OTT until checking everywhere.

If they are certainly AWOL then report it to the police either online or via 101

As others have said, a plumber with sticky fingers stops being a plumber very quickly. Given a plumber can comfortably make £50k it's a bit silly to lose your career over £3k of watches that won't be worth anything close to £3k as stolen goods. 

bluelad1927

We're you at the property at all times?

Tradesmen have a habit of leaving front doors wide open as they frequently return to the van for tools. This drives me mad!!

There is an absolute possibility that an opportunist thief has passed  and helped themselves while the plumber has his head in the depths of a vanity unit.

I have no doubt that thieves target properties where trades are working knowing thevfront door is unlocked while work is being carried out elsewhere 

ThisIsWeird

After you discount all other explanations, Gypsy, then it's insurance and local police. This will be a formality in both cases - the police will not spend any time pursuing this, as it'll be next to impossible to find evidence. So you essentially need them to provide the crime ref number for your insurance claim.

Then forget about it - don't let it trouble you.

But do keep an eye out! Imagine how satisfying if you do happen to see them being sold! May I ask what make they were? Are they distinctive in any way - choice of strap or bracelet, any marks or damage, serial numbers even - that will help you ID them?

Risteard

stuart45 said:

Tell him you're knocking 3 grand off the bill. 

Sure, with absolutely no evidence and just a frankly obscene accusation. You can't just assume what might have happened.