Thoughts and advice pls on trusted cleaner stealing money

Then have a (((hug))) from me and hope you're feeling a bit stouter now Barmyoldbat

Thank you Anya, I must admitt I was feeling pretty fagile when I posted my comment, so I am sorry

How awful NickD

Perhaps an ornament or toy with hidden camera inside? Those devices have caught many a thief.

You've excellent posted advice but, I'd still (confidentially) deploy the camera toy.

If your family have more housekeeping help, it won't be a
waste of money.

Good idea Helmsley444

We don't keep much money in the house, only enough to pay the window cleaner etc, but I know that some people have to for whatever reason.

You can keep cash safe in the house .We bought a lovely safe for Just under £110.00 and my dh fitted to a solid wall.We av a key each and make sure there hidden and it opens with a code that only we and our son no .

Sorry, my 'muddled thinking' comment wasn't meant to be connected to what I said about the marked notes.
It was about the comments saying to have a chat with her, not to tell their friends, getting the police is OTT, just make an excuse to sack her etc.

Sorry this has happened. Our trusted British cleaner of 20+ years took my hidden Barclaycard and used it at the ATM taking out £600.00. She had been through my post to get the new password which had come while I was out. The bank showed my the ctv proof. It was extremely upsetting.

We gave her the chance to explain, and gave her two weeks paid leave while we sorted it out. I had even begun to wonder if I had gone mad as I thought I had taken the money out and had forgotten!

My husband then confronted her, and she denied it so he asked for our keys back and said she could return if she could show how she had got the money.

Had we known she needed money we would have given it to her. We didn't prosecute. She had told us several years earlier that another employer in the next road (a lawyer) had 'let' her go and I wondered on reflection if it was for a similar reason. We also think that small amounts of money had gone plus cat food, sweets, etc, over several years. All extremely upsetting.

Of course it's true, I have no reason to lie. I was there and you were not.

BarmyOldBat my post wasn't aimed at you or anyone in particular, it was just a general observation on the content of many threads.

I can understand why elderly people might keep money in the house, but not those of the OP's children's age.

I would advise against giving anyone a key to your property unless absolutely necessary. It's so easy to get copies made.

The potential for muddled thinking is one of the reasons that many posters have urged anyone in this situation to inform the police and be guided by them. We are not all experts in catching ciminals.

FarNorth - how unkind. We are all anxious to help and lack of knowledge of the law may appear muddled to enlightened ones. Your comment hardly encourages future input.

Thanks everyone. The police are visiting tomorrow to take a statement from my DS and DIL. They have told the friends who also use the cleaner but asked that they don't give her any hint that anything is wrong. Sadly one family have asked for their key back, giving the excuse that they needed it for a neighbour, and another friend intends to tell her she isn't needed any more because she has been unreliable (which she has) but I hope the cleaner doesn't suspect the truth. If she does, she might get away with it because she won't do it again.
I must stress that there is absolutely no doubt that she has taken it. My DIL is devastated, as she had thought of the cleaner as a friend, cried on her shoulder when her mother died recently and has always been generous regardingnthe small daughter at home in Romania.
I will post the outcome to this sad situation so that we can all learn from it. Thank you all again. X

I can't understand why people leave large amounts of money in the house. Leave it in the bank and do bank transfers.

If the cleaner insists on cash this is because she doesn't want the IR to know what she earns. This is fraud and can be a heavy fine if found out.

If you google 'carer stealing from vulnerable old lady' you will see so many instances of it.

Her next victim could be someone old and vulnerable and I think they need to install a camera and catch her in the act before she goes on to steal from others.

My mother in law noticed that the money she kept in a tin to pay for her papers was disappearing on the days when her cleaner came. It kept happening so she knew her cleaner was responsible. She didn't report it as she said they would say she was just being forgetful (she was in her 80's) but instead left a note in the tin which said 'money in bank for safe keeping'.

The police are careful. If you have no actual video evidence they do interview people who you think may be involved.
In our case they just told them that items had gone from our house and they were asking anyone who had been there on that day, if they had seen anything. That may be enough to frighten her witless. They may also explain to her what will happen if someone gets caught stealing in the UK.
Maybe she is starving/ desperate or owes money for bills. Life in the UK isn't easy for Immigrants, not that I am excusing her stealing by any means. It is a horrible situation to be in.

I know I'm probably in a minority here, but all this about reporting to the police, cameras etc, NEVER leave cash in the house if you're allowing any worker to work there on their own unsupervised. However "trusted" they are.
It's not fair to them - you don't know what financial problems they have, why they have to do this job, probably on a low hourly wage, how they view you as a well-off employer. etc.

There would be no point in confronting her and finding marked notes on her. Once she has produced the notes you would then have no evidence to prove to the police that she took them.

If marked notes are used (and I like the idea of photographing the notes also) then the police should be called to search the woman, to prove that the notes are in her possession.

Some of the muddled thinking on this thread amazes me.

blue I agree. At the moment, there's no evidence that anything has gone missing, even. I'm beginning to feel quite sorry for this so-called "thief"!

I can't imagine the police wanting to commit valuable resources to catching this woman. And the OP s relatives need to be careful that any evidence they collect by means of a trap is admissible in court.

I wonder if this police news is up to date ....out here they don't even come out to all burglaries I cannot see them putting cameras in for petty crime They will probably give you a talk about not leaving money in the house

I would set up a camera and then you've got evidence.

Lionpop's post explains it all.

Sometimes it is therapeutic to share experiences and this post raised unhappy memories and fears for some.

Not sure Anya if your last comment was aimed at me but reading this thread just brought back memories of what happened to me and how I felt. It was hard calling the police as it was family but at the end of the day it was a crime as this stealing is and the right to do. Other peoples experiences can help sometimes.

lillhu & Blinko EXACTLY!!