Allowing Access to Your Home

[Jeff White]

An hour or so ago my doorbell rang. There was a man at the door claiming to have been hired by my homeowners insurance company to do an inspection. He had an ID that anyone with a computer and a printer could have printed up and laminated.

I escorted him off the property. I called my insurance agent who called the company and they had contracted an inspection. The agent gave me the contact number at the insurance company and I called them. They erred in not contacting me first and scheduling an appointment. I told them as much. My comment to the company main office was; "You are in the risk management business and you think it's prudent for the people you insure to allow anyone who shows up at the door access to your property?'

She replied, "The company we contracted with was supposed to contact you."

To which I replied, "With all of the data mining that goes on these days it's pretty easy for a criminal to find out who a property is insured with. If you want me to allow a contractor access to my property YOU better contact me first and schedule an appointment."

I can't believe that in this day an age and insurance company of all people would operate that way. The utility companies all have a way to verify the identity of their employees, you'd think an insurance company would be smarter then that.

Don't give anyone claiming to work for someone you do business with access until you have verified their identity. I'm looking for a new insurance company now.

 

[RX-79G]

Why would an insurance company think someone was going to be home to open the door mid week day? What a waste of time to send someone without an appointment at that time, totally aside from the security problem it creates.


It just sounds like outright incompetence, rather than just making undue demands on the policy holder.

 

[ilbob]

I think your insurance company wants to dump you but can't for some reason so they sent this guy to annoy you enough that you would dump them.

 

[Jeff White]

Why would an insurance company think someone was going to be home to open the door mid week day? What a waste of time to send someone without an appointment at that time, totally aside from the security problem it creates.

He only wanted to take photographs of the exterior, so I'm betting that if no one answered the door he would have proceeded to take the photos.

It just sounds like outright incompetence, rather than just making undue demands on the policy holder.

I agree, but you would think that the people who would end up paying the claim for a theft would be a little more security minded.

 

[bikerdoc]

My dog would not be pleased

 

[ericuda]

I agree, in rural kansas anyway the local appraiser comes around every year or two to take pictures of the house, outbuildings, etc. I happened to be home at the time and wondered why the dogs were not happy. Good thing I tie the little husky ? up, he wasn't happy. The appraiser said it's okay, i carry treats just in case. The dog wasn't worried about the treats. I told him to call next time.

 

[jeepnik]

If they got past the gate and to the front door, they had better hope they run into me, and not my wife. Oh she probably wouldn't shoot them but when the deputies arrived the poor soul would be begging to go to jail.

 

[GarySTL]

If they got past the gate and to the front door, they had better hope they run into me, and not my wife. Oh she probably wouldn't shoot them but when the deputies arrived the poor soul would be begging to go to jail.

I have a wife like that too.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

My dog would not be pleased

x2.


My dog is on a tie out but in such a manner that she has rein over the driveway leading to the garage entry and the sidewalk leading to the front door.

Most uninvited guests freeze like a deer in headlights when they get out of their vehicle.

It's likely a guest such as Jeff's would've just turned around and left at my place. Forget making it to the front door.

 

[hdwhit]

Don't give anyone claiming to work for someone you do business with access until you have verified their identity.

That's the takeaway from all this.

I get two or three calls a week from someone who can barely speak English claiming to be from the IRS, the Sheriff's office, or my credit card company making one kind of claim or another trying to scam me. Someone who showed up at the door unannounced, no matter what credentials they claimed to have, would not be admitted because I would have to believe they were scammers - or home invaders. If a company cannot adapt to the fact that in this scam-happy culture they need to call before sending someone out to the property, they don't need my business.

 

[P5 Guy]

"I get two or three calls a week from someone who can barely speak English claiming to be from the IRS, the Sheriff's office, or my credit card company making one kind of claim or another trying to scam me."

I must be the least important person in America, I've never even been contacted by that Nigerian prince.

 

[MedWheeler]

I had a similar issue when I was single and living in a rented home that was on the market for sale. Multiple RE agents would contact me to arrange showings. At least, that was what they were supposed to do. I even had an answering machine that had instructions for them to leave a message containing their name, their agency, and the one-hour time frame in which they expected to arrive.

More than one would arrive well outside their time frame indicated, or without having called at all. Many left it to their agencies to call, and those calls were frequently not made.

Compounding this was that any of them actually had access to the house if I did not answer, including if I was in the shower and did not hear the knock beforehand.

 

[lemaymiami]

The world is full of folks who think their time is more important than your convenience or safety..... The best action that I've found is to directly contact the outfit (supposedly your insurance company) and make it plain to them that if they want to keep me as a customer, they're the ones obligated to make that call.... I have no problem with them providing a number for me to call to hook up with home inspector, claims rep, or whoever but I won't put up with an outfit I'm paying doing anything else, period.

As for any solicitors who come to my door -I'm polite up to a point (while sending them on their way) but the first lie they tell my patience gets a bit thin (understatement). I have no problem with anyone trying to make a buck - but come to my door and lie to me "I'm not selling anything" is the one I hear the most.... and things go downhill from there.

By the way I'm lucky enough to be with USAA -can't say enough good things about them for auto, home, coverage...

 

[jlr1962]

That is really stupid thing for an insurance company to do. They should know better.

A paint store I had visited and requested a bid from, sent somebody out without setting an appointment to bid a job at my home. This was two weeks after I had been in the store. I had already thought they screwed up, and we fell through the cracks in their bid process. I had no intention of doing business with them at that point. The guy knocks on the door. My daughter did not answer the door while I am not home per my specific instruction. This fool climbed my fence, and starts walking around the back yard of my house. He sees my daughter inside, and knocks on the patio door. She armed herself, and called the police. It turned into a mess. The guy was not in a marked company vehicle, or company uniform. He had many jailhouse quality tats, and was not dressed to be bidding jobs at somebody's home. The ex-convict looking painter is lucky to be alive. The store manager I spoke to after that was very apologetic but, said they bid outdoor jobs without people home all the time.

 

[Sunray]

I'd be thinking of changing insurance carriers if they think they have the right to "inspect" your property in the first place. Complaints about insurance company practices go to The Insurance Bureau(really just a lobby group for the companies), up here. Illinois probably has something similar.
"...I get two or three calls a week from..." No "Do not call." list in Texas? Unsolicited marketing or other calls are illegal up here. If you put your number on the list. Cost Bell 1.5 Million, as I recall, for ignoring it.

 

[TimSr]

I can't remember who it is here, maybe a cable company or something, but they advertise on TV that when you make an appointment they will send you a photo of the service person coming, and he will have an ID with photo when he arrives.

 

[Varminterror]

I received a letter some odd 8-10yrs ago from my internet provider informing me one of their former employees was no longer with them, and was wanted on charges. Upon calling the company, I learned: they had complaints, and then nanny cam evidence he was stealing from houses he had serviced for their company. After his termination, he continued to falsely represent himself as an employee, scheduling appointments to inspect their router installation, or even asking the home-owner to leave a certain door unlocked so he could make a service call while they were away.

Don't know if he ever got caught, but I did think it was pretty foolish of my provider to send a LETTER instead of calling or emailing - i.e. something a heck of a lot faster.

I don't trust anyone in my house or on my property. If someone needs to be there, I'll be there to witness and watch. Not just for risk of theft, but for competence of work done. Had a guy try to blow up my house one time servicing my furnace, it was tripping out, simple issue with the temp sensitive flame sensor, 2min with steel wool fixed it. But he didn't know that - he bypassed the sensor in the controller so the gas would have kept flowing even if the flame went out. So either my wife and I get gassed to death, or it would try to re-fire and blow us up... Neither a good option.

It's getting worse too - seems more and more companies are going to contractors for their field service folks, so they're technically not even full time employees who represent the company, just guys who have business cards and are on their list if and when they need a guy near you. Basically an Uber for customer service calls. Had a plumber show up one time wearing a different shirt than the company I had called - his shirt was his full time job, but he free lanced for the competition.

Good on you for not taking the unscheduled appointment and running it down with the insurance company.

 

[scaatylobo]

Your much nicer than me

Last time I had anyone try to enter my house,it was about 6 months back and they were VERY aggressive and insisted that I allow them in.

I became very protective and he was photographed and then he left.

I called for patrol to question him and tell him he was not licensed to do what he was trying.

Lesser people or more elder than I,might have allowed him access to their home.

I know who he is,as do the local PD [ old friends ],so I doubt the word was passed that this was a soft neighborhood.

 

[RX-79G]

So this is really just about someone taking pictures outside your house from the same vantage your neighbors have?

It sounds polite that he let the homeowner know what he was doing.

 

[Jeff White]

So this is really just about someone taking pictures outside your house from the same vantage your neighbors have?

No it's about people trying to gain access to one's property. Not everyone who comes to your door has the best intentions. There is one view of the house available on Google Street View. I bought this property with security in mind. The closest "neighbor" is the Coop grain elevator 300 meters to the South. The next closest neighbor is on the other side of a treeline, 400 meters to the West. If anyone wants to take photos from those locations there is nothing I can do to stop them. But no one is going to walk around my property taking photographs without my consent.

It sounds polite that he let the homeowner know what he was doing.

Probably better for him then being proned out in the wet grass waiting for the sheriff to arrive, which is what would have happened had he just walked around the yard taking pictures. There is no legitimate reason for anyone to be there without my knowledge and consent.

There is nothing wrong with taking basic precautions to keep from being a victim. When I had the home appraised for a refi a few years back I cleaned out the gun room and packed everything up before the appraiser arrived because I knew he would photograph every room in the house. It's not like those appraisals with all the photographs are classified documents. They are all distributed digitally these days and all it takes is someone on the inside at the appraisal company, the mortgage broker or the bank to forward a .pdf file to a burglar and you are a target.

Years ago we had a few unsolved burglaries of some of the higher end homes in the area. The burglars were obviously very professional and did their homework because it was obvious they knew about jewelry and other valuables. They were working several states in the Midwest a and to my knowledge were never caught. Our detective and the FBI since it was a multi-state operation, looked into the insurance companies, banks and appraisal companies in an attempt to find out how these homes were being targeted.

Not that I have a lot of valuable or rare things, I don't, but the fewer people who know what's here, the better.

You can do whatever you want, but if anyone wants access to anymore of my property then they can see from the highway, it will be on my terms.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I would have also reminded the insurance company that Arkansas law provides that ANY level of force used by a home owner to repel an unlawful intruder is considered reasonable -- and I keep a loaded shotgun handy for just such a thing.

 

[RX-79G]

But after he introduced himself, made it clear he just needed to walk around outside the home and it was for a named service that you're aware that you have, you still didn't let the guy do his job.

I understand your security concerns, I don't understand how preventing the pictures made you more secure.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

But after he introduced himself, made it clear he just needed to walk around outside the home and it was for a named service that you're aware that you have, you still didn't let the guy do his job.

Many serial killers are quite plausible and personable -- that's how they entrap their victims. Ted Bundy was an example. No one unknown to me comes in my house without someone I trust to vouch for him.

 

[RX-79G]

Many serial killers are quite plausible and personable -- that's how they entrap their victims. Ted Bundy was an example. No one unknown to me comes in my house without someone I trust to vouch for him.

There is no in your house. The guy was staying outside, where all the serial killers already are.

 

[Jeff White]

But after he introduced himself, made it clear he just needed to walk around outside the home and it was for a named service that you're aware that you have, you still didn't let the guy do his job.

He had no ID that said that's who he was. I didn't verify he was legit until after he left. Like I said in my opening post, it's really easy to come up with all kinds of information about someone online. You don't even have to hack them. All you have to do is buy the info from one of the data mining companies that track everywhere someone goes online. For someone to be able to tell me what company my homeowners insurance is with isn't any kind of proof they are who they say they are.

Proper procedure would have been for the insurance company to contact me in advance and let me know. All it would have taken was a letter saying something like; "We have contracted with ___________ company to update the photographs of all the property we insure in your area. Someone from ___________ will be contacting you in the next few weeks. If you have any questions call us at 1-800-XXX-XXXX."

The response I got when I called them was the company they contracted with was supposed to have contacted me in advance. That doesn't cut it. If the company had contacted me in advance I would still have called the insurance company to verify the story.

There is no in your house. The guy was staying outside, where all the serial killers already are.

Doesn't matter. No one is taking closeup pictures of the exterior of my home that will show details of the locks and possible entry points unless I know what those pictures are for and who will have access to them.

Perhaps I'm more sensitive to these kinds of issues having worked in law enforcement, but I don't see allowing anyone to take pictures of my home as harmless. If I could I'd have it removed from Google Street View.