The Law

[INMANATOR]

Hi, went to a lock out today. Guy had lost his key. When i opened the door for him i noticed that the chain was on. `thats odd` i thought. Then a lady came to the door and shouted at me said she was calling the police. Apparantly the guy had moved out of that flat and not paid his rent. The lady had changed the locks and was keeping his stuff untill he paid what he owed. My Question is could i have got into trouble for this and whats the best way to avoid this happening in future. Thanks

[pinky]

as a point of law , no you would not have got into trouble , as there was no intent and you acted in good faith, police would not have pursued a prosecution as no crime was committed.

[Guest]

i normally ask for id before starting but as this guy used to live there then he would have had it ... no way to get around this one, you could have done nothing to prevent the situation. i hope you got paid ok

[MrB]

I think you should have rung the door bell and knocked on the door a few times to see if anyone was in before starting to pick. You also should have asked for a phone number and rung it to see if you could hear the phone ringing inside (and if anyone answered it).

[thertel]

Wow now that is crazy, you could have inadvertently aided in a B&E without ever being the wiser. That blows.

Thomas

[Fallen_Pin]

*laughs* For some reason this reminded me of a skit on Reno 9-11, where a guy phoned the police, and when they came and he made a sob story about how his dog had cancer and he had no way of paying for it's operation. He begged the policemen to shoot it for him and put it out of his and it's misery. So one of the policemen shot it, and then a woman came out of the house and was all like "WTF!!!?? " And the guy was like "I told you to keep that F***ing thing OFF MY LAWN!" And the police were like "crap"

[INMANATOR]

cheers guys. in future il ask for id, or see if they can describe the house ie what make tv they have etc. PS i still got paid

[toomush2drink]

I always get the customer to sign a form saying they are authorising me to enter a property, i keep these on file and in case anything does happen. If its a car i ask for id as well just to make sure and cover myself.The form also states that any locks/materials fitted after gaining entry remain the property of my company until paid for in full in case they close the door after ive fitted a new lock and try to get of paying.

[Guest]

well that seems like perfect common sense. i don't agree with ringing the bell or knocking on the door, the customer would think you were mad.

[INMANATOR]

The lockopening is the easy part, its the whole business side of it that confuses me, contracts, forms, insurance. how much to charge there should be a forum just for that

[MrB]

i don't agree with ringing the bell or knocking on the door, the customer would think you were mad.

No, why should they? You just say, "do you mind if we ring the door bell a few times first, just to make sure everything's on the up-and-up?" If the customer is genuine, they will smile and say of course; but if they are not genuine, they may start to look a bit worried. At that point, you can ask a few more questions and decline to open if you are unhappy.

[mcm757207]

I agree with tony, it's pointless to knock on the door and ring the door bell, anyone in the right mind would look at you funny, even if they were genuine.

[Buggs41]

I have to disagree with that. In firefighting, the motto is 'try before you pry.' Meaning check to make sure the door you want to enter is actually locked. If it is locked, then go ahead with the ax.

This flows into our area also. But the ax is not the first tool of choice. Skill, and common sense are. If someone looks at you funny for ringing the bell, or knocking on the door first, tell them that you are making sure that they actually reside at the residence. If this is actually thier home, They will feel more secure by the fact that you asked the right quesions, at the right time.

[Varjeal]

re: business aspects viewtopic.php?t=2304