Callers at Wrong House?

foggy_lad

For the last few evenings at around 8-9pm I have had people knocking on the door and ringing the bell only when i answer the door and gruffly bark "wha' do ya want?" they have blankly said they were at the wrong house and walked away. I find the number of times and the times this happend more than coincidence and wonder could it be Council employees going door to door to "remind" people that they must register and pay the poll Household tax?

Is it just me or has anyone else had similar happen in the Carlow area?

goat2

foggy_lad wrote: »

For the last few evenings at around 8-9pm I have had people knocking on the door and ringing the bell only when i answer the door and gruffly bark "wha' do ya want?" they have blankly said they were at the wrong house and walked away. I find the number of times and the times this happend more than coincidence and wonder could it be Council employees going door to door to "remind" people that they must register and pay the poll Household tax?

Is it just me or has anyone else had similar happen in the Carlow area?

are they just knocking to see if someone is in, and if there is no one home, maybe they would rob the house, this is my guess, and they did it a few times sounds like something like this

foggy_lad

goat2 wrote: »

are they just knocking to see if someone is in, and if there is no one home, maybe they would rob the house, this is my guess, and they did it a few times sounds like something like this

They looked respectable enough one was driving a big SUV and the others wore shirt and tie, they looked like office workers.

goat2

foggy_lad wrote: »

They looked respectable enough one was driving a big SUV and the others wore shirt and tie, they looked like office workers.

dont be taken in by appearances, as we have seen in the past, they are like lions in sheeps clothing, they would not be knocking on your door more than once if they are fenuine, suv,s dont cost that much anymore to buy, most guys have a suit shirt and tie in wardrobe

Jacques Thelad

What I do in situations like that is follow them out and, as obviously as possible, take down their vehicle registration on a notepad. If they ask what you're doing, just say: "oh, nothing..."

foggy_lad

Jacques Thelad wrote: »

What I do in situations like that is follow them out and, as obviously as possible, take down their vehicle registration on a notepad. If they ask what you're doing, just say: "oh, nothing..."

I must remember that next time.

goat2

have there been any robbberies around you lately.

foggy_lad

goat2 wrote: »

have there been any robbberies around you lately.

There is always certain types knocking around crossing the railway over to the burrin road area and regularly there are robbed cars parked up locally, there used to be a problem down here with travelers but they have no place to park up now but they regularly drive in and call on some houses which would look empty.

goat2

take down the licence number next time and ring the garda with it, so that if there are any problems you do not know about in your area they will look into these people, i have a habit of taking down numbers if i think it is suspicious which in this case it looks that way, and i hand them in, i have helped in one case of robbery by doing this, at least it lets those who have no good intention know that they will not get away with it

Owryan

Elderly neighbour of mine had a similar experience, when he answered the door a man apologised said he had the wrong address and got into a dark "jeep type car" (neighbours words).

A few minutes later another person came from the direction of the neighbours back lane, hopped in the jeep and they drove off.

Rang the gardai and they told him that it sounded like the 2 men were checking the house out and they were probably behind all the break ins recently.

They appear to work two ways, knock on door and if no one is home they try gain entry , or if someone answers they distract them while the other guy trys sneak in through the back .

goat2

i am thinking the same as owryan, i found a crowd at a holiday home next to me, they had already knocked on mine, said they were selling something, i smelt a rat, sent them on their way, ten minuits later i looked on this holiday home, and roared at them to get out that i had rang the police, one of them had his arse out window, you never seen anyone get out a window so fast and they scampered, i did say that i had their licence number, dont think they came my way again,
all you can do is take licence plate number and ring guards with it and let them know what has happened

Mr E

Whip out your mobile phone and take a picture of him AND his car.

Lawros Tache

Are they always male?

foggy_lad

Owryan wrote: »

Elderly neighbour of mine had a similar experience, when he answered the door a man apologised said he had the wrong address and got into a dark "jeep type car" (neighbours words).

A few minutes later another person came from the direction of the neighbours back lane, hopped in the jeep and they drove off.

Rang the gardai and they told him that it sounded like the 2 men were checking the house out and they were probably behind all the break ins recently.

They appear to work two ways, knock on door and if no one is home they try gain entry , or if someone answers they distract them while the other guy trys sneak in through the back .

That is exactly what the first guy was in and when I answered he got into the Jeep/bmw suv and drove up the end of the block where I expected him to pull in to the house at the end but he just turned around and drove out of the estate.

foggy_lad

Lawros Tache wrote: »

Are they always male?

Yes

Owryan

Spoke to my neighbour bout this again and turns out his son in law is a garda so he got better than expected attention lol.

his in law told them that they are part of a gang that is behind 90% of the break ins in Carlow.

Another trick they use is "knock on door, some one answers and they say that they found €x outside and is it yours" person goes to get their purse n comes out to the door to check its contents and the caller grabs the purse/wallet and runs away.

meanwhile their accomplise is trying to gain entry round the back.

foggy_lad

Owryan wrote: »

Spoke to my neighbour bout this again and turns out his son in law is a garda so he got better than expected attention lol.

his in law told them that they are part of a gang that is behind 90% of the break ins in Carlow.

Another trick they use is "knock on door, some one answers and they say that they found €x outside and is it yours" person goes to get their purse n comes out to the door to check its contents and the caller grabs the purse/wallet and runs away.

meanwhile their accomplise is trying to gain entry round the back.

The first guy and third guy looked like estate agents:D they looked shifty but harmless enough, there was no sign of anyone else in the vicinity and my back doors are locked in such a way they would have to come through the double glazing which would immediately set off the alarm as well as have the neighbours out of their beds to investigate, next door also has a couple of great sensor lights out the back that put the floodlights in the Éire Óg pitch to shame:D they are tripped from my yard.

Lawros Tache

Lawros Tache wrote: »

Are they always male?

foggy_lad wrote: »

Yes

Could be brothel nearby.

Well dressed men, acting suspiciously/nervously. Male answers door. Immediate response is "sorry wrong house" cos they were expecting pretty young eastern european lady...

P_1

Sounds a lot like something similar that has been going out in Balbriggan/Skerries lately

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056580099

cocoshovel

There was a similar thread to this posted in the Waterford city forum a few weeks ago. I reckon theyre looking for houses to rob. Report to the guards and take reg numbers etc immediately.

bogof

A genuine caller will usually ask for the person they're looking for by name. They will usually seek further directions too if its the wrong house. When they leave you will normally be satisfied the caller was genuine. Definitely some very shady ones around at the moment. Always have the camera phone at the ready and take pic from upstairs.

fruitcow

Hmm. On hearing this I wouldn't even bother trying to hide the fact that I was taking a photograph. I'm going to keep a digital camera handy for any dodgy callers anymore. That's a good idea.

aujopimur

If they looked shifty, they were definately estate agents

Memory Of 98

A couple of weeks ago a strange man came knocking on my door. When I opened it he was very striking, greying hair, large protruding chin and filthy clothes with the stereotypical Jeep parked behind on the street with someone seemingly in it.

I live in an area of GraigueCullen that is full of elderly people, it seems a favourite of these scum bags lately is to call to a house and make up some cock and bull story about having been sent by the council to check on some pipes, or that they had been working on a nearby house and damaged a pipe and needed entrance to the adjacent houses to inspect for leaking water. Sadly to, it has worked on far too many occasions in the area.

Well anyway he was quite taken aback when I answered the door, a young man. Stumbling over his words he asked if the woman that he had been talking with earlier was present. I knew he had not been talking to my mother and I stated both that as well as assuring him anything he could share with her he could surely share with me. Muttering he replied by throwing out a stereotypical elderly Irish woman`s name, I know the are very well and knew of no such woman and knew he was talk bull****, so, I leaned out the door and glanced at his license plate. Under my breath I began reciting the numbers on the plate so that he could barely hear me, looking worried he questioned as to what I was doing, I replied "Ah... just this crazzzzzy thing." Looking worried he got into his Jeep and disappeared.

allthedoyles

This signpost should be in all parishes :

ganger

Well done to them,more vigilance and pester the gardai into following up on these sc??bags

foggy_lad

Had another male caller just a while ago in a wexford registered car, seemed very surprised to see me at the door and nearly broke his scrawny neck trying to see what was in the hallway etc. He said he was looking for number 16 but didn't go there just got bcak in his car and left!

I think my address is being given out by someone as being a brothel or somewhere to buy drugs!

Owryan

foggy_lad wrote: »

Had another male caller just a while ago in a wexford registered car, seemed very surprised to see me at the door and nearly broke his scrawny neck trying to see what was in the hallway etc. He said he was looking for number 16 but didn't go there just got bcak in his car and left!

I think my address is being given out by someone as being a brothel or somewhere to buy drugs!

if its the former, do u do discounts ??

foggy_lad

Owryan wrote: »

if its the former, do u do discounts ??

Next guy that calls to the door is gonna get dragged in and rode to bits in the hallway before being thrown back out the door:D