We recently had a curious incident when 3 installers from our ISP came to upgrade some equipment. Three items that we know of disappeared from the office where the equipment was replaced that day that we know of. More stuff could be missing but we have a lot of junk. Two of us saw two of the items in the office that morning and we are pretty sure the third item was there. Two of the items were not too big, smaller than say a small paperback but one item was fairly large, bigger than a shoe box. The missing items were out in the open, not in drawers or cabinets or concealed in any way.

 

We were not in the room with the installers all of the time. They were coming and going and any one of the three could have been in the office alone. None of us  thought that all three of them were in on it. We were all a bit perplexed as no item was worth more than a 1000 Baht nor anything that most people would have any use for. We couldn't figure out why anyone would take anything especially due to the likelihood of discovery. But then of course the incident was not reported as most were afraid it might cause a problem for the innocent parties. I pointed out that maybe the thief was counting on that.

 

So was the a rare and isolated incident or has anyone had a similar experience in their home?

 

 

You need to stay with workers in your house if you have anything in it you do not want to lose. Leaving unknown people alone in your house is not wise in any country.


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You know how it goes. It's always the one time you are not vigilant.

If you don´t look at people when they are in your house working, you are the one taking a risk. That is not only in Thailand. 

We had a firm of Air Con Servicers recently. The job takes an hour or so, so we left them to work. A couple of days after they had left, my partner noticed that a bottle of her perfume,  Chanel as it happens, about half full, had disappeared. It could only have been them. In future, no worker on the inside will be left unsupervised.  

30 minutes ago, grin said:

We were all a bit perplexed as no item was worth more than a 1000 Baht

What do you think they are on per month?

Madam doesn't leave any workers alone in our place, at least not in the "private" area.

 

We have a small number of "trusted" workers who can be left alone but if we go out the door to our private area gets locked.

 

My office is locked when I am not in it with rare exception and we keep the master bedroom locked when we are not using it. We usually keep our eyes on any non-family in the house but it only takes one lapse. Members of the extended family visit often and we still keep these two rooms locked. We trust my stepdaughter and her husband. We do not trust any of our stepson's friends and have trusted very few of his girlfriends. None of them are allowed in my office or in the master bedroom.

5 hours ago, grin said:

My office is locked when I am not in it with rare exception and we keep the master bedroom locked when we are not using it. We usually keep our eyes on any non-family in the house but it only takes one lapse. Members of the extended family visit often and we still keep these two rooms locked. We trust my stepdaughter and her husband. We do not trust any of our stepson's friends and have trusted very few of his girlfriends. None of them are allowed in my office or in the master bedroom.

The same criteria that you apply to the extended family should also have been applied to the visiting workers.

 

This isn't a Thai thing either. My Houston office suite had some serious water damage after a window in a unit on the floor above was blown out during a hurricane. The building management hired some contractors to do the repair job and although the office was staffed, stuff went missing. The contractors were entrusted with moving stuff as they worked through the three individual offices affected over their three day repair job replacing carpet, wall and ceiling panels, water damaged overhead lighting, raceways, conduits, etc..

 

Agree re extended family. Two males who I don't trust at all, both have the attitude 'he's rich so why can't we take things!'

 

We replaced one air-conditioned and had make an arrangement for the old one to be re-conditioned to give to an old family friend. The two males appeared to pick up their mother, they asked about the air-con, my son told them 'technician coming later today to pick it up, repair and reinstall'.  A while after they left my son noticed the air-con gone. 

 

Son's sister in law arrived for a 10 minute visit. We had just brought a new garden hose reel and hose, still packaged, on the front verandah.

After she left son suddenly realized rose reel etc., gone.  

 

 

 

 

"Out of sight, out of mind." I always remove anything of value when people come to work at our house. I did the same at my house in my home country too. 

 

It’s really quite simple. Buy an accurate digital scale. Then require the workers and their gear to ‘weigh in’ when they arrive. Explain (smiles all around) that this a time-honored Farang tradition to ensure that honored guests don’t accidentally leave anything behind. Repeat the process (more smiles) when the workers exit. Problem solved.

 

 

Doesn't  sound like the Nonthaburi  Panty Snatcher,, and anyway Bangkok's finest caught him last month. Maybe this is a copycat,  only now they're targeting hole punchers and office staplers. 

 

Could be a case for Big Joke and his sleuthful team