Since you're in an apartment complex, I'm jumping in feet first...
Most complexes have some sort of system where vendors have to sign out keys. They're not supposed to take them off the property. Nothing to really stop them though since they're not monitored constantly. And, though the vendors work for reputable companies-there is never a guarantee that no bad seeds will work for them. And since Home Depot, Walmart, etc. make key copies for $1 or so-its easy to get it done. And, maintenance techs have access to make duplicate keys on site. Heck-I could cut you a key if I had access to the key machine!
Has there been pest control recently, or any maintenance/vendor work in your apartment such as carpet cleaning, painting, appliance installation, etc.? Any of those occasions would have resulted in a key being issued, which would have been returned later in the day. Some vendors even work into the evening hours, returning keys in the night drop box.
From my days of working onsite at apartment communities-2 situations/real stories:
1. We found out the hard way that our maintenance tech was not changing locks before new moveins. How'd we find out? A 'friend' who had a key & didn't know his buddy moved out used his key to enter someone's apartment. Since we couldn't be sure how many had not been changed, we had to change locks for any that had moved in the prior 6 months or so.
2. Had a pest control tech who stole cash from an apartment. The resident forgot he was coming, had a few hundred dollars on their counter to put towards rent. The pest control tech said he couldn't have done it, because he wasn't able to get into the apartment that day. His service sheet noted KWW (key wouldn't work). Neighbors in the building said they saw him coming out of the apartment. Well, we had an electronic key system. Though we had 2 copies of each apartment key, they had different barcodes. When we checked the key the tech checked out that day, it was the wrong key-didn't open the apartment it was supposed to. Went back in records and found that the same key had been successfully used by maintenance recently, and by the pest control on prior visits. SO I checked ALL the keys the tech had out that day. Found another one, in the next building over from where the theft happened, and that key didn't work on its right door. That resident was home, so the key wasn't used and no KWW notation. Turns out they had been swapped-each key worked the other door. We even checked back to make sure no one had those same 2 keys out at the same time on any other occasion. He thought he was smart. Noted his service sheet as if he had not been in the apartment, and made sure the key really didn't work.
Most complexes have some sort of system where vendors have to sign out keys. They're not supposed to take them off the property. Nothing to really stop them though since they're not monitored constantly. And, though the vendors work for reputable companies-there is never a guarantee that no bad seeds will work for them. And since Home Depot, Walmart, etc. make key copies for $1 or so-its easy to get it done. And, maintenance techs have access to make duplicate keys on site. Heck-I could cut you a key if I had access to the key machine!
Has there been pest control recently, or any maintenance/vendor work in your apartment such as carpet cleaning, painting, appliance installation, etc.? Any of those occasions would have resulted in a key being issued, which would have been returned later in the day. Some vendors even work into the evening hours, returning keys in the night drop box.
From my days of working onsite at apartment communities-2 situations/real stories:
1. We found out the hard way that our maintenance tech was not changing locks before new moveins. How'd we find out? A 'friend' who had a key & didn't know his buddy moved out used his key to enter someone's apartment. Since we couldn't be sure how many had not been changed, we had to change locks for any that had moved in the prior 6 months or so.
2. Had a pest control tech who stole cash from an apartment. The resident forgot he was coming, had a few hundred dollars on their counter to put towards rent. The pest control tech said he couldn't have done it, because he wasn't able to get into the apartment that day. His service sheet noted KWW (key wouldn't work). Neighbors in the building said they saw him coming out of the apartment. Well, we had an electronic key system. Though we had 2 copies of each apartment key, they had different barcodes. When we checked the key the tech checked out that day, it was the wrong key-didn't open the apartment it was supposed to. Went back in records and found that the same key had been successfully used by maintenance recently, and by the pest control on prior visits. SO I checked ALL the keys the tech had out that day. Found another one, in the next building over from where the theft happened, and that key didn't work on its right door. That resident was home, so the key wasn't used and no KWW notation. Turns out they had been swapped-each key worked the other door. We even checked back to make sure no one had those same 2 keys out at the same time on any other occasion. He thought he was smart. Noted his service sheet as if he had not been in the apartment, and made sure the key really didn't work.
Originally posted by Ccarter718
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