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hi
Hi Brian,
Thank you for your prompt post on here regarding the break in at your Villa, i believe it shows your management have kept you in the dark up to this point regarding the first break in as they did ourselves.
My wife and i were invited by Ian and Kay to join them and the children on the holiday as their guests, and after the robbery you could see they were blaming themselves for the situation which is totaly unfair.
I would like to point a a few things that have left me a little upset.
1, The same door was used for entry as the previous robbery this door should have been made secure after the first robbery imo this is negligence by the property management.
2, We are 99.9% certain they were still in the villa when we got there i dread to think what could have happened if one of the ladies had gone down first to put the baby to bed.
3, No Keys to the bedroom doors (which if locked would have given the robbers an extra hurdle to get through) and no key to the cupboard which housed the safe, which all mysteriously appeared the evening after the robbery.
4, Being blamed for leaving the doors open by your rep even before he had even had a look at where the robbers made their entry.
5, Being lied to by your rep even though the police had told us they were there two weeks prior, attending a break in he said" it didnt happen "and it was only when i asked him in front of the officers and he denied it again, it was the officers who spoke to him in a stern way that he admitted it had happened.
6, The next day again trying to blame us and continued to do so untill we pointed out where the doors at some other point in time had been forced.
7, This is the most disturbing to us all.
During the week a couple of things went missing but we put it down to being on holiday and said it they would turn up when we pack they didnt.
On the night of the robbery the only draws and cupboards that were opened by the scum who robbed us, were the ones that contained our property any draw and cupboard that we had not used were left untouched in my and members of my family who are in the uk police opinions this is unheard of you dont get pinpoint robbery like that no way unless you have prior information.
I would like to follow in what Ian has said your villa is beautifull and does put you right at ease which is what most people want.
Unless you sort your management company out i fear you will gain a reputation of not caring and i am sure thats not the case.
Thank you for your prompt post on here regarding the break in at your Villa, i believe it shows your management have kept you in the dark up to this point regarding the first break in as they did ourselves.
My wife and i were invited by Ian and Kay to join them and the children on the holiday as their guests, and after the robbery you could see they were blaming themselves for the situation which is totaly unfair.
I would like to point a a few things that have left me a little upset.
1, The same door was used for entry as the previous robbery this door should have been made secure after the first robbery imo this is negligence by the property management.
2, We are 99.9% certain they were still in the villa when we got there i dread to think what could have happened if one of the ladies had gone down first to put the baby to bed.
3, No Keys to the bedroom doors (which if locked would have given the robbers an extra hurdle to get through) and no key to the cupboard which housed the safe, which all mysteriously appeared the evening after the robbery.
4, Being blamed for leaving the doors open by your rep even before he had even had a look at where the robbers made their entry.
5, Being lied to by your rep even though the police had told us they were there two weeks prior, attending a break in he said" it didnt happen "and it was only when i asked him in front of the officers and he denied it again, it was the officers who spoke to him in a stern way that he admitted it had happened.
6, The next day again trying to blame us and continued to do so untill we pointed out where the doors at some other point in time had been forced.
7, This is the most disturbing to us all.
During the week a couple of things went missing but we put it down to being on holiday and said it they would turn up when we pack they didnt.
On the night of the robbery the only draws and cupboards that were opened by the scum who robbed us, were the ones that contained our property any draw and cupboard that we had not used were left untouched in my and members of my family who are in the uk police opinions this is unheard of you dont get pinpoint robbery like that no way unless you have prior information.
I would like to follow in what Ian has said your villa is beautifull and does put you right at ease which is what most people want.
Unless you sort your management company out i fear you will gain a reputation of not caring and i am sure thats not the case.
MANY THANKS TO ALL
hi Ian and Trev
I have sent you both a PM as some of your comments are personal and also concern our agents rather than for the open forum.I felt that i should reply directly to you both as you both make comments.
MANY THANKS TO THOSE THAT REPLIED TO GIVE ADVICE ETC
i can recommend securitas direct they appear to have set up a state of the art system within the day,thanks for the recommendations and the info in this forum
lets hope things get sorted abd the police catch them!!!
I have sent you both a PM as some of your comments are personal and also concern our agents rather than for the open forum.I felt that i should reply directly to you both as you both make comments.
MANY THANKS TO THOSE THAT REPLIED TO GIVE ADVICE ETC
i can recommend securitas direct they appear to have set up a state of the art system within the day,thanks for the recommendations and the info in this forum
lets hope things get sorted abd the police catch them!!!
ian/trev
for some reason my pm replies are still in my outbox and not sent box
is it possible to let me have your email address? ill delete this post then
for some reason my pm replies are still in my outbox and not sent box
is it possible to let me have your email address? ill delete this post then
Last edited by brian m on Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:18 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Michael Crane
- CVO Oracle
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Re: email
They stay there until opened by the recipient. I've had one in there for 6 weeksbrian m wrote:ian/trev
for some reason my pm replies are still in my outbox and not sent box
is it possible to let me have your email address? ill delete this post then
brian
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beekeeper
- CVO Regular
- Posts: 25
- Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 4:51 pm
- Location: leatherhead and carvoerio
adm break ins
We also have a villa on ADM and in the past suffered from break ins but we installed new double glazed windows which on the patio doors have very secure locks and also metal shutters and then an alarm and this has stopped the problem as like anywhere else they go to the easier targets,but good luck with your alarm etc
I have posted on this subject previously and reported actually seeing an intruder looking at me throught the kitchen window, he'd stepped up using an outside tap on the wall and had his hand through the window which was a double glazed open or tilt type, the window was in the tilt position and I've since realised that you can get your hand in and release the catch and it will open fully, unless you lock it in that position and remove the key, he, on being discovered, smiled and moved off, I got my keys and ran to the front door and went out in the car to look for him, I caught up with him in the road past reception and not wanting to approach him went to reception and phoned the police, they arrived 15 minutes later, too late unfortunately.
This happened on the ADM at noon, and other incidents of theft occured later that day. I am aware also that housemaids are rather sloppy in their habits and leave doors open when the are cleaning, leaving doors open whilst they hoover in the bedrooms and can't obviously hear anything in the house, I've made my agent well aware of this habit and she' has relayed my concerns to the housemaid.
I have double glazing and metal shutters on most windows plus an alarm monitored by Securitas, unfortunately it's not zoned for night set, I'll get that rectified next time I visit.
The incident reported above is the only one I've experienced in 20 years as an owner so I suppose I'm lucky, a few visitors have had problems, but situations caused by their own sloppy behaviour, so I wouldn't be too unnerved by the reports.
I have posted this week on Chit Chat regarding my UK experience under the title of "It's not only in Cvo", you may find it worth a read
This happened on the ADM at noon, and other incidents of theft occured later that day. I am aware also that housemaids are rather sloppy in their habits and leave doors open when the are cleaning, leaving doors open whilst they hoover in the bedrooms and can't obviously hear anything in the house, I've made my agent well aware of this habit and she' has relayed my concerns to the housemaid.
I have double glazing and metal shutters on most windows plus an alarm monitored by Securitas, unfortunately it's not zoned for night set, I'll get that rectified next time I visit.
The incident reported above is the only one I've experienced in 20 years as an owner so I suppose I'm lucky, a few visitors have had problems, but situations caused by their own sloppy behaviour, so I wouldn't be too unnerved by the reports.
I have posted this week on Chit Chat regarding my UK experience under the title of "It's not only in Cvo", you may find it worth a read
We have a villa close to Pato and we have had some fairly bad times... (knife held to my mums throat etc etc ) the shites that had us twice still operate locally but..... fit an alarm if you rent(with spare fobs for clients) buy a dog if you live there most of the year.... and pm me if you want some proper type security..... I am seriously thnking of employing my security staff overseas.... beleive me if the will from vunerable people warrents my investment well..... 
There have been various categories of burglary in the area over the years.
The first is the opportunist preying on tourists and as Pato says much here is down to common sense. The burglars know which villas are rented and they know that windows and doors will be open while people are in the pool. The best protection is to have a decent safe in each bedroom and remind people to lock their valuables away as soon as they come through the door. Even if an intruder comes in he will not get much. Also do not leave keys lying around to be taken for a return visit after visitors have gone out for the evening.
Second is a break in while people are out. The thieves do target properties and they know the weaknesses of individual villas. They will watch to establish when people go out and will then break in. Best defences are decent double glazed patio doors and metal shutters or grills plus strong locks on the front and rear doors. The older villas with wooden shutters and single glazed windows don't offer much defence because these can be broken fairly easily and without too much noise (Sadly I speak from experience). An alarm will help but if the outer defences are strong enough the thieves will probably look elsewhere anyway. I don’t think that locking internal doors does much good. If thieves get in a jemmy or a large screwdriver easily opens the doors and you merely add to the damage and the cost of repair.
Third is entering while people are asleep. This can be tricky because in some villa people will need to leave patio doors ajar for ventilation. Other people have mentioned the piece of wood in the door trick and this is effective and protects the open inner door but the outer of the two doors should not easy to force open. If you sleep upstairs an alarm with a zone setting would help. Again common sense applies here. Visitors in a villa near ours forgot to lock their back door and thieves crept in and relieved their wallets and handbag of cash.
Fourth is the out of season break in. The thieves here are probably more professional and are not just looking for easy cash. I have heard of a villa being totally stripped of its contents and I don’t know what the answer is here except to have nothing people want to steal! An alarm might put thieves off but out of season it is not uncommon to hear alarms going off for hours with nothing happening. I suppose the best bet is to have a monitored alarm where someone will come out quickly if it goes off. Another good deterrent is to have permanent neighbours with a large outside dog but you can’t always arrange this. It is also worth remembering that large areas around the village are like ghost towns out of season and things left outside are likely to disappear.
Having said all this CVO is still relatively crime free and there are probably worse risks in the UK let alone other foreign tourist centres. Unfortunately when visitors do get hit it ruins their holiday and gives disproportionately adverse publicity to the area.
The first is the opportunist preying on tourists and as Pato says much here is down to common sense. The burglars know which villas are rented and they know that windows and doors will be open while people are in the pool. The best protection is to have a decent safe in each bedroom and remind people to lock their valuables away as soon as they come through the door. Even if an intruder comes in he will not get much. Also do not leave keys lying around to be taken for a return visit after visitors have gone out for the evening.
Second is a break in while people are out. The thieves do target properties and they know the weaknesses of individual villas. They will watch to establish when people go out and will then break in. Best defences are decent double glazed patio doors and metal shutters or grills plus strong locks on the front and rear doors. The older villas with wooden shutters and single glazed windows don't offer much defence because these can be broken fairly easily and without too much noise (Sadly I speak from experience). An alarm will help but if the outer defences are strong enough the thieves will probably look elsewhere anyway. I don’t think that locking internal doors does much good. If thieves get in a jemmy or a large screwdriver easily opens the doors and you merely add to the damage and the cost of repair.
Third is entering while people are asleep. This can be tricky because in some villa people will need to leave patio doors ajar for ventilation. Other people have mentioned the piece of wood in the door trick and this is effective and protects the open inner door but the outer of the two doors should not easy to force open. If you sleep upstairs an alarm with a zone setting would help. Again common sense applies here. Visitors in a villa near ours forgot to lock their back door and thieves crept in and relieved their wallets and handbag of cash.
Fourth is the out of season break in. The thieves here are probably more professional and are not just looking for easy cash. I have heard of a villa being totally stripped of its contents and I don’t know what the answer is here except to have nothing people want to steal! An alarm might put thieves off but out of season it is not uncommon to hear alarms going off for hours with nothing happening. I suppose the best bet is to have a monitored alarm where someone will come out quickly if it goes off. Another good deterrent is to have permanent neighbours with a large outside dog but you can’t always arrange this. It is also worth remembering that large areas around the village are like ghost towns out of season and things left outside are likely to disappear.
Having said all this CVO is still relatively crime free and there are probably worse risks in the UK let alone other foreign tourist centres. Unfortunately when visitors do get hit it ruins their holiday and gives disproportionately adverse publicity to the area.
h
Hi Steve,
You have come up with some good points regarding security.
One thing that maybe worth looking at although i dont know if its an option and what down falls it has if any.
If you could get a security surcharge on all rentals where the money could then be ring-fenced to a mobile security company who would be employed to watch over the subscribers property.
I feel sure that owners who stay in there own villas would see the benefits and join the scheme thus creating an area where thieves would feel a little uncomfortable in.
Maybe its been tried in the past and failed but when you look at insurance excess im sure it would work out good value.
You have come up with some good points regarding security.
One thing that maybe worth looking at although i dont know if its an option and what down falls it has if any.
If you could get a security surcharge on all rentals where the money could then be ring-fenced to a mobile security company who would be employed to watch over the subscribers property.
I feel sure that owners who stay in there own villas would see the benefits and join the scheme thus creating an area where thieves would feel a little uncomfortable in.
Maybe its been tried in the past and failed but when you look at insurance excess im sure it would work out good value.
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Michael Crane
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Really? You seem to be have been sold a duff load of windows then. I sold tilt & turn windows for over twenty years and I never saw one that opened as you describe from the outside.pato wrote:.... and had his hand through the window which was a double glazed open or tilt type, the window was in the tilt position and I've since realised that you can get your hand in and release the catch and it will open fully....
Turn / Tilt technology:
With the handle in the bottom position, the sash is locked in several places.
Turn the handle 90° and the sash hinges from the side, allowing you to use it in a normal manner.
Close the sash and then turn the handle a further 90° to the top and the sash can then be tilted for ventilation.
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Michael Crane
- CVO Oracle
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I would imagine pato has it wrong. I have asked around and none of my old contacts know of any tilt & turn windows that can be moved from one plane to the other from outside.steve wrote:This made me check my tilt and turn windows - even though they are protected by bars. Thankfully there is no way it would be possible to reach through from the outside to release the locking handle. This may offer some reassurance