I had to break into my apartment....

[Trekker4747]

The other night I got home at around 8:30, unlocked my front door pushed on it to open it and :thud: it wouldn't open. The latch for the deadbolt had clearly been retracted as the door would open a tiny bit, but not all the way.

I tried and tried, the door would not open. I kept leaning and leaning on, growing more and more frustrated. Then I heard the entry-alert for the alarm starting to beep. Now was a countdown. I had less than a minute to get inside and enter my code or the alarm would go off. So I took a step back and pounded into the door as hard as I could with my shoulder and upper body, the door frame gave way, splintering a bit, and I was inside and able to enter the code.

Turns out the latch for the doorknob wasn't retracting when you turned the handle. I was able to sort of get the door frame somewhat back into good enough shape that the door would close again and, sort of, "lock" on the deadbolt.

Sigh. In the end, I called the apartment complex the next morning to get the door handle and jamb repaired and they're charging me $50 for the damages.

I'm partly considering talking my way out of having to pay it as there was no way to get inside without breaking the jamb as the damn latch was broken. But, whatever.

 

[IndyJones]

I've never heard of an apartment with a security alarm...

 

[Captain Ice]

I've never heard of an apartment with a security alarm...

I didn't know you could get an apartment with one.

 

[ed629]

So why didn't you call maintenance or something? Or were you thinking "Oh man, when I post this on TBBS they'll think I'm so cool."?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Trekker, you should definitely try and talk your way out of paying the $50. You've got a case.

 

[DimesDan]

^ I guess it's worth a try.

As for the matter at hand, cool story.

I guess you couldn't have picked the lock or tried to enter your flat through the fire exit thingy or climb up, down or across from another flat. Either that, you should have called someone and they would have let you in.

Regarding the security alarm, would it have been such a big deal if the alarm went off?

 

[Kestra]

I've never heard of an apartment with a security alarm...

I didn't know you could get an apartment with one.

Our complex has alarms built in, and you can choose whether or not to activate them. Ours just chimes when you enter or exit since we haven't signed up.

So why didn't you call maintenance or something? Or were you thinking "Oh man, when I post this on TBBS they'll think I'm so cool."?

It sounds like he wanted to act quickly so as not to set off the alarm. And you could have asked your question without that second sentence. Trekker, I'm glad you didn't seriously injure yourself.

 

[Trekker4747]

It was too late at night, and a Sunday, to call maintenance.

Yes, my apartment complex has security alarms in all of the units.

I guess you couldn't have picked the lock or tried to enter your flat through the fire exit thingy or climb up, down or across from another flat. Either that, you should have called someone and they would have let you in.

I didn't need to pick the lock, the key was working and un-locking the door. But the door handle's latch (the piece the retracts into the door when you turn the handle) wasn't working. I'd turn the handle and the door would only open a tiny bit (enough for the internal latch to move from center to the edge of its hole). The door handle itself was broken.

It wasn't a matter of not having a key, the door itself was broken. There's no other way inside, the windows are locked and there's no other entrance to the apartment.

Regarding the security alarm, would it have been such a big deal if the alarm went off?

Yes.

A) It would have called attention to me from neighbors.
B) I would have gotten a phone call from the alarm company about the alarm. Which, I may have been able to tell was me and get them to deactivate it, but I'm honestly not sure how that all works.
C) If not that, the police would have came and found me breaking into an apartment which I could not prove was mine without being inside of it.
D) I would've been charged for a false alarm by the alarm company, provided I was able to adequately able to prove it was my apartment and the alarm went off on mistake.

 

[OmahaStar]

Trekker, you should definitely try and talk your way out of paying the $50. You've got a case.

No, he doesn't. He willingly damaged their property. He's extremely lucky they aren't already evicting him.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

He willingly damaged their property.

He had no choice. He had to do that to get in. And the defect that caused this was not his fault.

 

[Pingfah]

So why didn't you call maintenance or something? Or were you thinking "Oh man, when I post this on TBBS they'll think I'm so cool."?

This is what is known as projecting.

 

[Lindley]

A) It would have called attention to me from neighbors.

Who cares?

B) I would have gotten a phone call from the alarm company about the alarm. Which, I may have been able to tell was me and get them to deactivate it, but I'm honestly not sure how that all works.

They call, you give them your phone password, they wish you a good night. In some cases they may be able to remotely deactivate the alarm.

C) If not that, the police would have came and found me breaking into an apartment which I could not prove was mine without being inside of it.

Unlikely to be a big deal. Isn't your address on your driver's license?

D) I would've been charged for a false alarm by the alarm company, provided I was able to adequately able to prove it was my apartment and the alarm went off on mistake.

I don't know your specific terms of service, but I've never heard of false alarms leading to major fees.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ They do. The first is like $25, and it goes up after that.

 

[Amaris]

He willingly damaged their property.

He had no choice. He had to do that to get in. And the defect that caused this was not his fault.

Exactly. All of his options were closed to him, and he still needed to gain entry to his own apartment. I think if he shows the apartment manager what happened, they'll let it slide, because he obviously had no other recourse.

 

[Trekker4747]

Who cares?

I dunno, if I looked outside while an alarm is going off and saw a guy trying to break a door down I'd have questions.

They call, you give them your phone password, they wish you a good night. In some cases they may be able to remotely deactivate the alarm.

True. But, still, while that's happening an alarm is going off at a time of night people are probably trying to sleep.

Unlikely to be a big deal. Isn't your address on your driver's license?

Not this address, no.

I don't know your specific terms of service, but I've never heard of false alarms leading to major fees.

My first false-alarm is something like $30, and it goes up from there pretty sharply.

 

[Lindley]

Huh. I would have thought any alarm fee would be waived if a simple phone call is enough to disregard it. If they had to mobilize the police or something then I could see it....

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ If you're home and you can respond when the alarm company calls you, they will waive the fee (at least mine will).

 

[Lindley]

Do they require a landline, or can you give them your cell phone?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

My alarm company doesn't require a landline. I just had them install a wireless monitoring service so I can get rid of my landline. Yours may vary.

 

[Lindley]

My question was more to do with whether someone locked out of their home could reasonably be expected to field that call and avoid the fee.