OT: House keys and security

[Lobster]

Totally OT - but I was just thinking, having mislaid my house keys (temporarily) yet again - would there be a reason why I shouldn't attach a small dog-tag or similar to the key-ring, bearing my mobile phone number in order to possibly have the keys returned if lost?

The only potential worry I can see is if a lowlife found the keys, phoned the number and was able to con the address out of the person who answered - good reason not to use the family home phone number.

Can't see any other pratfalls - or am I missing something obvious?!

David

[Stephen Howard]

Suppose you lost them somewhere near your house. Aforementioned scrote finds them, waits until late when all is quiet, then dials the number whilst hanging around roughly where he found the keys. He hears a phone ring in a nearby house....

Regards,

[Andrew Gabriel]

A few years back, a colleague who used to lose his keys about once a year put a tag on them saying if found, please send to Barnett Police Station. When he lost them, he would then ask the police station if any had been handed in, and about 2/3rds of the time, he got them back. No idea if the Police would cooperate with anything like this nowadays.

[Peter Lynch]

Only that the probability of someone taking the trouble of returning them (or even calling you) is so close to zero that you're as likely to win the lottery. Hotels have this problem (lost keys, not lottery wins) all the time and you would have to make it clear that a sizeable reward would go to the returner _and_ make it very easy for them to claim it.

As a starter, I'd go with a promise of twenty quid (maybe fifty if you're unfortunate enough to live in london) and you undertaking to pick them up in person. You'd have to have this message attached to the keys themselves - or I doubt anyone would go to the bother of contacting you.

Pete

[nightjar]

It might get complicated to get the keys back if you don't give the address.

I get a property return service from the credit card theft insurance I use. They supply stickers and keyrings with an identity number, their telephone number and a freepost address. They will also tell the Police who I am, if anything gets handed into them. A DIY alternative might be to have a distinctive keyring, which you can describe, and a request that, if it is found, it should be passed onto your local Police station. Then, even if it gets handed in a different one, your local nick ought to at least know where the keys are.

Colin Bignell

[Matty F]

How about putting an email address on the tag?

[Don Spumey]

Dunno whether T.S.B bank still provide the service, but when I opened an account some years ago I was provided with a key fob giving a freepost address & code number + instructions to the 'finder' to deposit the said keys in any post box 'as is'. Whether the system worked or not, I was never unfortunate enough to find out ;-)

But what's stopping you from creating a fob with contact details either to a relative or even a works address where the keys definitely won't be of any use?

Don.

[Mary Fisher]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

We have something similar - and it works. A finder simply puts the key ring with its load into a post box, it's returned to a central address and they telephone us. The same scheme deals with our cards if we lose them.

The only problem is that all the cards are made inactive which is a nuisance but it's the penalty for carelessness and is far worse than their being used. We've only had to use that facility once in many years - it taught him a lesson :-)

Mary

[Andy Burns]

Depending on the email address used, and the level of care the owner has taken with their identity, it might be possible for the finder to "dredge up" enough information to locate the house/car they have found the keys to :-(

[Zoinks]

This won't get your keys back, but might be a handy tip...

Put a spare front door key in a pot (full) of paint in the shed. That way you only need to break into the shed, not the house itself.

A villain is extremely unlikely to be able to guess which pot it's in - and like me I'm sure you have a lot of them by now. Trial and error would also lead to a very messy burglar (c:

Z.

[ARWadsworth]

Would it not be easier to give a neighbour, relative, workmate or friend a spare key?

Adam

[meow2222]

Halifax also does or did this a few years ago, with a =A310 reward. I forget which product it came with, perhaps house insurance.

NT

[nightjar]

I had my credit card wallet stolen a few years ago and the system worked very well. They managed to get about £200 worth of goods and cashback in the

30 minutes before I noticed it was gone, but that was covered by the insurance. The wallet had a sticker in and turned up a few days later. The Police even recovered some of the cards, although evidently nobody had checked the signatures - they had very obviously been changed. The most important bits were, however, some of the personal items I kept in that wallet and those came back, courtesy of a cyclist who noticed them scattered along the side of the road, along with a couple of my business cards. The £60 I gave him was my only out of pocket expense from the episode.

Colin Bignell

[Mary Fisher]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

Nice story. In my experience most people are honest, despite what we're led to believe. It's great when people do return found items, sometimes going out of their way to do it.

A son, when a student, lost his precious portfolio through carelessness (not fastening the van doors when he was driving). Someone picked it up in the road, made various enquiries locally and returned it in person, saying that he understood how important it would have been to him.

Nothing to do with keys though :-)

Mary

[The Medway Handyman]

Google is your friend

fob with a reward message. Finder texts a code number to a central HQ, they alert you & give finders mobile number - you arrange to collect & give him £7.50 reward.

Costs £2.50 a fob, min £20 (8 fobs) for 5 years.

Might sign up myself.

[Chris Hodges]

nightjar I had my credit card wallet stolen a few years ago and the system worked

We're thinking of getting this after having trouble getting the credit cards stopped last time (we couldn't prove to their satisfaction that we were us while in the middle of nowhere).

Who do you use (if you don't mind me asking), and is it actually easy when you phone up?

TIA Chris

[soup]

I personally trust our next door neighbour but there are a lot of people out there whose neighbours are scrotes.

[Zoinks]

Our neighbours are fine but they might not be there - my shed doesn't move very much.

Z.

[Huge]

You can always use a commercial keyholding service. We do.

(bad news; They aren't cheap.)

[Dave Liquorice]

I have Sentinel Card Protection ,= pushed by Amex years ago IIRC. Covers all my cards (credit, debit and store) and hers along with key fobs and luggage tags for =A316/year. I'v= e used it once, possibly twice, in anger and it's very good. Cards are stopped and new ones are dropping onto the door mat a couple of days later. I don't remember any hassles when phoning up but I wasn't away from home so would have been able to supply account number etc. Neither =

did I require cards sent to another address.