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Have you ever had your car stolen? It is a gutting experience, especially when it's your fault! Now, I can imagine you asking, how can a stolen car ever be the owners fault? In answer to that question, I shall tell you a little story.

I am a terribly forgetful person! I am forever leaving my keys in shops, the car, lying around the house. On this one particular occasion, I made the somewhat catastrophic mistake of leaving the keys in my front door when I entered my house from work. I had opened the door, carried my bags inside and slammed the door behind me, completely forgetting that I had left the keys in the lock.

The next day, I was hurrying around getting ready for work, and I did my morning checks, handbag -check, coat - check, keys - not check! I then proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes frantically searching around my house, hunting for the long-lost keys. I decided to grab the spare key, to my house and my car and ran outside, already late for work.

When I got outside, imagine my horror when I couldn't find my car! Now, I know I'm a forgetful person, but surely even I couldn't lose my car.

I paced my street for about ten minutes and I finally came to the conclusion that my car had been stolen. I rang in work and then proceeded to call the police and all of a sudden it dawned on me! I had left my keys in the front door. Not only my house keys, but my car keys too.

Now I can hear you asking how the thief knew that those keys were to my car. I had a Volvo key chain! I bought the key chain when I bought my car because I was so proud of my first brand new car, I wanted to show it off. I used to feel a great sense of achievement when people spotted my keys and my Volvo key chain and asked if I had that car.

Little did I know, that by having Volvo key chains attached to my keys, I would openly invite a lucky passer by to steal my car. It was so humiliating explaining the whole scenario to the Police. Explaining that not only had I left my keys in my front door over night, but I had quite openly advertised the fact that my car was the one sitting outside my house. Admittedly, it probably wouldn't have taken the thief long to work out which car was mine, seeing as it was parked outside my house and all, but I still felt an enormous sense of stupidity.

I managed to get my poor Volvo back after a few weeks, minus my Volvo keychain, but I was glad. I now know that it is incredibly silly to have the brand of your car on the keys. It only takes an opportunist to wander by and your car will be gone, quicker than you can blink.

So, a little piece of advice to you - don't put Volvo key chains on your keys when it sat outside your house and you decide to leave your keys in the front door!