What to send someone who has been burgled?

rosie-marie

My sister has just been burgled today :mad: and I would like to send her something in the post to cheer her up. She doesn't live near me. Was going to send flowers but she's just not the type to appreciate them. Any suggestions?

Flutterby

That's awful rosie-marie...someone invading her space and taking her things.

How about Wine, Chocolate, Fruit.

or a Gift Voucher for her favourite shop.

jtb2412

Horrible thing to happen. How about a nice picture frame (hopefully none of her's got broken!)

Hope they catch the !!!!!!s :mad: !

ailuro2

A book on home security?

No, I'm not joking, it will keep her busy, and keep her safe. Maybe some chocolates to cheer her up, or a big stick to keep by her bed. She will be feeling vulnerable- could you visit her for a night or two to help her feel better?

Surfbabe

I had the same situation last year when my sister was burgled - made even worse by the fact she is 3000 miles away and the burglars ahd been in her children's rooms whilst they slept. I sent her an arrangement of flowers being hugged by a teddy as I couldn;t get to hug her which is what she needed.

cheekyweegit

Hi there,

Can I just say after being burgled not just once but twice, the last time 4 years ago, 3 days after Christmas so I know what your sister is going through and I really feel for her and you being so far away.

As for sending her something, I personally wouldn't right now in the way of flowers etc etc, why you might ask, because after you have been burgled you often feel violated, angry, frustrated and keep asking yourself why and go through a million scenarios of what you could have done to prevent it along with the urge to kill each and every person who tells you for weeks / months after but "it's ok you are insured" as if the burglary is acceptable just because you are insured and thus should feel fine about it - you don't trust me. Please do not utter these words to your sister just now, it drives you nuts and it's not really any consolation at the present moment, although once you've calmed down a bit it is.

What she does need to know if she is insured is that you have up to 3 years to make a claim. She can make contact with her insurance company to state she intends on making a and can give basic details including a crime reference number from the police, but don't let her be pushed into finalising any claim asap as it can be weeks or even months later that you discover more things missing, as no one knows exactly what's in their house at the time of a burglary. This is particularly important with the likes of CD's and DVD's, computer games etc etc. Not many have a catalogue of what they have and only realise things are missing when they go to use / play with the items.

Your sister will most likely be cleaning and scrubbing anything and everything the burglars possibly touched and will be scared to go out the door right now. I know I was, even for a loaf of bread or pint of milk, many folks berate a victim for this, so if you want to do something for her, it might be worthwhile organising a home delivery of groceries (including cleaning stuff), containing some staple items, milk, bread, tins of goodies which can be kept, toilet roll etc, handkerchiefs (you cry a lot at sporadic intervals) and bin liners. It's amazing what you decide to throw out when you've been burgled.

When she is ready, get her to get a notepad and start listing things she has noticed is missing, keep the same notepad and a pen handy over the next few weeks and if and when she finds anything else missing she can add to it. If she has children, get the children to write a list too if they are of an age they are able to do it, after all they play with the toys and will know what is missing from there.

Also, if possible she will need receipts for things she has, but bank / credit card statements are also accepted too as proof of purchase. Where something has been taken and has been a gift, the insurance company can check with the person who has given the gift, and also with purchases from certain shops like curry's / comet they keep your details and the insurance company can also check with them for larger items. Same with catalogue companies, the insurance company can check these too, all with your permission, so not having a physical receipt is not too bad as long as you can say where and approximately when an item was bought.

I know this post rambles a bit, but I hope it's of some help and can I just add, if your sister decides to replace any high value things which may have been taken, to take any boxes directly to the tip even if she has to get a taxi there. The empty boxes are an advertisement of what is in the house and it's well known burglars might come back for the replacements. I know this part is scary, but alas it's a proven things.

Finally if I can help in any way please ask, and I wish you and your sister well in the future, she is a very lucky lady to have you.

mountainofdebt

Going on from the above post, get her to check that the b****rs haven't taken anything which can leave her vunerable to id theft.....in fact it might be an idea to get her to register for added protection if she applies for credit.

Also wanted to say (and I don't want to frighten your sister) but I think statistically its been proven that she might be targeted in a few weeks as he b****rs know that the insurance will have paid out and new items will have been bought.

cheekyweegit

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Going on from the above post, get her to check that the b****rs haven't taken anything which can leave her vunerable to id theft.....in fact it might be an idea to get her to register for added protection if she applies for credit.

Also wanted to say (and I don't want to frighten your sister) but I think statistically its been proven that she might be targeted in a few weeks as he b****rs know that the insurance will have paid out and new items will have been bought.

Very good point about the documents, I had forgotten about that, even though I did have a folder taken with vital documents in it such as bank and credit card statements, bascially the perfect folder for ID theft. I informed all my banks and credit card companies about what had happened and they monitored my accounts for anything suspicious, which thankfully came to nothing.

Also was there a mobile phone taken? I had two taken and the calls made from them actually helped trace the perpetrators as they had called a couple of local taxi firms to take their haul away. Although I never got my things back, it did help to convict them and did get some things back for another victim who was not insured. I took a lot of solace from this. If she does have a mobile contract or pay as you go, get her to contact her provider and get details of any calls made during the time from when she last saw / had her phone to when she reported it stolen and give those details to the police.