Do I Have Any Recourse
 

A mother and daughter team had been cleaning my house for a few weeks. Suddenly, they stopped coming, with no explanation. I've just discovered that two items, worth over $1,500.00 have gone missing. They have been the ONLY outsiders in my home. Now I know why they stopped coming. I know exactly where these two items were and now they are gone. Do I have any recourse of action? Or would it be their word against mine. I am so disappointed. I trusted these people and now I've been betrayed.

Name 'em.

Call law enforcement and you will know the answer to your question.

Call the police

agreeing with the others, I'd call police today. one can suspect you probably aren't the 1st person to make the call on them; you would be helping others by reporting right away. I'd do it, for sure, especially with the value of items missing.
p.s.: do you know if they are insured or bonded?

:1rotfl:

Call the Police

You can call the police. But, without evidence against them, like a video, I don't think you have any recourse against them.

I think you should name them to protect the rest of us from hiring them and possibly getting ripped off also. They are probably looking for work now and I just hired a mother and daughter team to clean my house and I really don't want to start off by suspecting them. People are going to be afraid of hiring mother/daughter teams and that's not right. You can't put something like this out there and just leave it hanging.

::icon_wink::icon_wink:

In your case would ask for info privately

Crimes against seniors! Contact them.

You will need a police report for the insurance claim, also.

Since there is no visual proof of the items being removed form their space, and then removed from the household. The business could come after anyone who posted the company or the names of individuals. Sadly it’s a he said she said, with no proof. Best to make out a reports and let them handle it, along with insurance company

I would do nothing, unless you have a special insurance endorsement for the stolen items, or evidence against the house cleaners.

Calling the police would be a waste of time.

I would call your former house cleaners and tell them something is missing and do they know anything about it.

Would casually mention that you have nanny cams around the house and after the call you will be calling the police and turning over the evidence.

Might get some interesting results.

Sheriff around here. Unless you’re in ladylake city limits?

I disagree. The police at a minimum would have a record of this, and they may/may not investigate. What’s the harmin filing a report?

Unless the items stolen were of a particular class of items (jewelry, stamp/coin collections, fine art, etc) you don’t need a rider/special endorsement. Your deductible would apply, but you would need a police report for the insurance company.

Asking what recourse you have to an anonymous Internet forum? File a police report and call your insurance company. Time is of the essence.

I see people on Television checking the local pawn shops. They have to have picture I.D. when they accept an item.

If you Google their phone numbers does it give you their address? If this happened to me I'm sorry but there is no way I could just write it off or let it go. Think back did they give you any indication about where they lived? If you don't have more than just Mother & Daughter even Vito & Rocco couldn't help you! :1rotfl:

I wish you luck in getting your stuff back and why don't you name what the stuff is in case it shows up in the classifieds or at a Flea Market or on E-Bay! You never know. Again, Good Luck! :boxing2::boxing2:

According to stories in the online news, the police and sheriffs around here actively investigate theft/shoplifting cases, including from private citizens, and there's no reason to think they wouldn't take your report seriously. At the very least, I'd expect them to locate and speak to the cleaners.

The details would end up on the police blotter, however, and be subject to publication.

File police report
 

Of course you should file a police report. They will investigate. They may have other reports; with a description of the missing items they may find them and trace them back. For sure you should file the report.

Yes file a report. Many police departments have officers that regularly check pawn shops for stolen property. If the police don't know it is stolen they don't know to look for it.

Go with "Great Job Pro"....they are professional and bonded

Call the cleaners and mention that you're cleaning your firearm

hopefully anything with that value you had listed on a rider with your homeowner's insurance policy

theft by house cleaner is most likely not an uncommon complaint in this era

We were constantly disappointed with the 'treasures' we'd brought back from traveling around the world being broken by the careless house cleaners we had

we gave up on them and ended that "service"

When we finally do start to use a house cleaning service again...I'll want to know if their bonded, have insurance and I'll put away anything that I wouldn't want broken before they arrive...I don't care how much you pay...the owner might be great, but the rest of the help are all 'bulls in a china shop'

By all means, call the police! There is a chance that only one of them stole from you, or a 3rd person could have been (in the area) and stopped when your cleaning team was at work. Sometimes people have a reputation for being thieves and word does spread throughout the the police station. They are aware of thieves and a small chance of recovery. They can’t help if you don’t call! Ask police about spreading the names of Bonnie n connie when the report is made. So sorry that you are going through this!! Keep doors locked! They know your house!

Shouldn’t you be asking the police?

Your recourse is to not make the same mistake again. Why were those items available for these cleaning people to steal? You’re probably old enough to know better! Sorry for your loss!

File a police report and an insurance claim. Calling them and suggesting that you have video,, as was suggested above, is another thing I would do.

Filing a report with the police has long term ramifications. They are probably doing this to many people and eventually will get caught if the police see a pattern. If you have photographs of the items, there is a chance you may get them back. They probably pawned them.

Insured or bonded? Theyre scammers! Yes, you can call the police but you wont get your stuff back. Its your word against theirs. They didnt break into your house, you allowed them in. Chalk it up to experience. Did you check them out before hiring them? Did you put expensive things away? Did you keep an eye on them?

Such a shame. I've lost "trusting" people a long time ago unfortunately. I would not leave any valuables unlocked if I had to have my place cleaned by others.

this!!!!!

I’m sorry for your loss. Let’s remember, though, that there are hundreds of people cleaning other people’s houses every day in The Villages. Maybe a thousand. This sort of accusation is surprisingly rare. Sometimes (not yours), it’s a case of the cleaning person putting something away for the client, but more often the client forgets where it is. If there is dementia involved, the “missing” item may have been given away years ago. Some people have many thousands of dollars worth or jewelry, or coins, or stamps, or figurines, or toys. It’s a huge temptation, yet nearly all cleaners just say NO to that temptation. Some temptations can be lessened a lot if valuables are put away, especially when the cleaners are coming. (I know that when I’m at a resort in Mexico, I keep all valuables in the room safe, including phone, wallet, jewelry.)

My girlfriend’s parents were both hospitalized with Covid-19 in early August down in Stuart, Florida, three miles south of The Villages. He died after three weeks of agony. She survived after the same agony, tested negative finally, and is back home making a partial recovery (having to give up car, home, furnishings, now on oxygen, being moved north to Pennsylvania to live in a dementia unit).

For some reason, he took his entire fat wallet with all his credit hands to the hospital. That disappeared. It finally turned up after he died. He had been moved to a hospice unit in a different hospital, but the nurses were keeping his wallet in a safe. He always wore a gold cross on a gold chain around his neck. He said the x-ray tech made him take it off for a chest x-ray, and he never saw it again. Was it stolen? Was it misplaced, did it accidentally end up in the trash bag of used protective gear? Who knows? It hasn’t been seen again. Did this cost the x-ray tech his job? Maybe. Did he steal? Probably not. But my girlfriend’s dad was barely conscious much of the time. Why wear jewelry to the hospital? Because he thinks the cross will keep him safe?

As for my girlfriend’s mother, she wore her wedding ring and a $15,000 ring with a fancy stone to the hospital. She has dementia. She claimed they were stolen. Actually, they were in the hospital safe. They were returned to the family when she left. But they had to ask about them, and meanwhile there was worry and arguments and fighting. When I’ve had surgery, I’ve been told to NOT bring any jewelry, or wallet, etc. If I forget, they are locked up.

So, people, be wise—don’t advertise. (Your wealth, that is.)

Report the loss to the sheriff's department and if they think you have sufficient evidence they can question the housekeeper. Don't let the loss go unchallenged.

you need to file a police report for the insurance to take you seriously probably. may never get the item back but let the cleaners know you had a cam recording, I know I would. As to using a bonded service, I believe the thief has to be convicted before the bond works in your favor.

Secure
 

We have a cleaning lady who I would trust my life with but I we do secure our valuables. It just makes sense to have things you value or are valuable be placed in secure locations, (e.g. safe deposit box, etc.). It is sad someone would steal but this is a big world made up of all kinds of people. :ohdear:

Nice to be able to name them, but keep in mind they can sue you for defamation of Character and loss of business if you cannot prove they did it.