Auto Locksmith FAQ’s

Auto locksmith FAQ’s:

Car locksmith

Do I have to bring my car to you?

No. A car locksmith has all the tools needed to cut your new car key and the computers to do the programming on board his/her van. Recently I made a new Fiat Ducatto key for a customer in Gresham village. I was able to copy his existing key in my van and then plug into his onboard computer via the OBD port and program his new key to the vehicle. This meant he could use his vehicle the same day. Had he taken the key to the dealer or manufacturer, he would have had to leave it with them, possibly waiting weeks without the use of his own vehicle.

Does the locksmith change the locks on my car?

No, if you lose your keys, we will only make new ones, but they will be coded differently, so the old keys will be useless for driving your car away. Unless you leave valuables in your car, this should not be a problem. If you want to change the actual locks on your vehicle, you should, in most cases, go back to the manufacturer. If you have had your locks modified or changed in any way, you must inform the vehicle locksmith if you later require his help. I remember being called out to a Jeep in Brancaster late at night. It was parked in a very quiet beach car park. When I tried, my Jeep lockpick, I found the whole thing felt wrong and asked the customer if anything had been changed, at which point he told me the vehicle locks had been changed for aftermarket products. This meant I was unable to do the job without damaging the vehicle, so alternative arrangements had to be made (they paid me plus an expensive taxi home to get the spare).

How much does a car locksmith cost?

This is like asking how long a ball of string is. Unlike house locks and keys, auto locksmithing has many components. And the cost will be based on how many of those components you need. Will I need to pick the lock? Will I need to work out the key shape from the lock? Will I need to access a database that charges me for certain codes to allow me to program the new key to your car? Can I use aftermarket products or do I have to use genuine branded parts? How far did I have to travel to get to you? Does coding your key require me to a plugin, or do I have to take half of your dashboard apart to get to the chip that I then have to remove, code and return? These and many more factors make up the cost, but in nearly all cases the auto locksmith can sort your problem on the day and will be cheaper than going back to the manufacturer. For example, I produced a key for a customer with a Renault Clio in Fakenham and saved them £300 on the price they were quoted by the dealership. What’s more, it was all done at the customer’s place of work, allowing them to get on with their day.

Will the locksmiths make keys for my old classic car?

To be honest, no. Cobblers and engravers can usually copy the keys of older cars and motorbikes. If not, you may have to change the locks and ignition barrels, in which case scrap dealers are always a good call. But for the auto locksmith, we can only make a profit on keys with computer chips. Travelling to Dereham from my home town of Holt to produce a key for an old Ford Capri is not even going to pay for the cost of the round journey, whereas making and coding a key for a 2015 Ford Mondeo will work for me. A very few auto locksmiths might just be able to produce older keys, but often the cost would be more than the value of the vehicle itself.

Can the auto locksmith make keys for all modern cars?

No. We can make keys for most car brands and models, and there are very few we cannot get into if your keys are locked inside, but there are a few when we have to tell you to go back to the dealer. Land Rover Discoveries and Volvos spring to mind. There just isn’t the data available for us to do our computer work on these vehicles. You might see websites advertising that they can indeed clone your key when the locksmith says he cannot, but these sites include every vehicle in their menus just to drive traffic to their sites. When you actually ring, they are just as powerless as the car locksmith.

What is the most common reason for an auto locksmith call out?

By far it is keys locked in the boot. When you are loading/unloading your vehicle, unlock all the doors. So many people only unlock the boot. They then put the keys down inside the boot, load the shopping, the golf clubs, the tools, etc, and then slam the boot down and swear in the next five seconds when they realise the keys are now in the back and they are locked out. There is no security benefit to only unlocking your boot if you are only going to lock yourself out of your car in a high crime area.

Does my breakdown cover include the cost of an auto locksmith?

No. Some recovery drivers will make a quick attempt for you, but I have been called many times by the biggest recovery service in the UK and I am a registered peripheral of the second largest. In all cases, I charge the customer direct. From Cromer, Fakenham, to Burnham Overy Staithe, call me first and save time. You don’t want to wait hours for the recovery service only to be told you have to wait even longer for me.

Can you make me a new car key if I have lost all the original ones?

Yes, I can read the lock using a special tool or get the information for many vehicles from your registration document, providing I have proof of ownership. Once I have cut the key blade, I can then let my computer talk to your car and program the new key to your vehicle. It is a much faster job copy from an existing key, though.

What is cloning?

Cloning is simply replicating an existing key. As far as the car computer is concerned, it believes there is only one key when you may have two or even more. You can clone some keys without having to plug into the car. This is a cheaper way to replace lost keys, but it does not protect you from those lost keys being used should someone else find them and want to steal your car. Making new keys that are uniquely programmed to your vehicle gives you the option of deleting the old keys, in exactly the same way you would put a stop on a lost credit card.

How do you get into my car if there is no keyhole?

There is always a keyhole. On modern cars, the keyhole is covered and the key is hidden in the key fob. But for safety, there must be mechanical access. A customer of mine in Norwich was astounded when I turned up to get him into his vehicle. His fob battery was flat and he could not get in. So I showed him the hidden key blade and then revealed the hidden keyhole on the vehicle. Had he listened to the dealer (if the dealer had even told him), or read the car paperwork, he could have made his meeting that day because the car will still work when the fob battery is dead. The customer was still happy though as he had expected a very expensive job. It was still expensive for a battery change he could have done himself.

How long does it take to pick the lock?

Seconds – hours depending on the vehicle, age, possible rust/damage inside the lock. I’ve taken two hours to open a car in Hunstanton and one and a half minutes to open a car in Beeston. Conditions like cold and rain might also slow me down. It takes as long as it takes.

How easy is it for thieves to hack the signal and steal my car?

Thieves that do this have bought special equipment. They are stealing cars to order. While not impossible, it is not likely for those of us with standard cars to have our signals stolen. You can, if you wish to, buy signal jamming pouches and I am happy to source them for you. But the biggest growing way for cars to be stolen is via your home letterbox. I see it all the time. People come home and put their keys on a table or other piece of furniture near the door so they can easily pick those keys up as they leave. Thieves are now fishing through the letterbox to get keys which can give them access to your home and they can use your own car as a getaway vehicle. Don’t make it easy for them.

If you would like more information on the above questions or have others to ask, please get in contact via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading!

admin December 16, 2019

auto locksmith / Car locksmith / Car thieves / Cloning car keys /

More Common Locksmith Questions Answered

Common Locksmith questions I am asked
AC Locksmiths Norfolk

 What is Lock Snapping?

This is a particularly vile form of attack burglars use to break in where the house has a upvc or composite door (any door where you lift the handle before locking). The intruders use simple tools to rip the handles off the door and then break the lock itself to gain access to a small lever inside the door that unlocks all the hooks and bolts. It takes less than 60 seconds with ordinary hand tools. If you have a upvc or composite door, look just below where your key fits and you will see a brand name. If you do not also see the British Standard Kitemark, you are definitely at risk of this type of attack. Moreover, I have come across some kite marked locks that still fail to protect. You should always consult your local locksmith when upgrading locks as they have the knowledge and experience to sort the good from the bad. At the time of writing, AC Locksmiths Norfolk are upgrading superior locking euro cylinders to properties in Sheringham and Holt.

How long does it take to fix a broken lock?

This really depends on the lock. Some of the simplest cabinet locks with small parts and tight springs can take surprisingly long if you don’t want to damage the expensive furniture they are housed in. Sometimes, a part inside may have broken and gotten itself lodged out of sight. In my experience, half of the repairs I do are routine and half throw up something completely unique, or at least very uncommon. Just the other day, I was working on a composite door in Fakenham where the only way I could get the door open was to hammer the hooks into the open position as a gear had broken and become stick within the locking mechanism. Doing this with all the wrong angles and trying to preserve the door as well slows a job down. There is a quick way to do every job. If we are taking a long time, it’s because we care about your property. Time frustrates us as well. For a locksmith, there is nothing worse than leaving one job knowing you are already late for the next one, especially in rural areas where phone signal problems deny you the chance to explain to that next customer.

How long should I expect to wait in an emergency?

This all depends on how large an area your locksmith covers, time of day and what work the locksmith is currently doing. Larger companies and the Nationals who sub-contract can usually find someone to be with you within 2 hours, but it is surprising how often people get a call near the end of those two hours to say their locksmith has broken down! A genuine local locksmith can usually be with you in a sensible time. For example, my base is in Holt and if you need me to attend an emergency in Aylsham or Cromer, I can usually get to you easily within the hour. If you need me in Downham Market, or Stalham, or Caister, then you need to expect me to take an hour and a half to two hours. If I am working on a job when you call, I will give you a realistic expectation of time and update you as often as possible. If that time is too long, I will suggest another locksmith, but I can neither guarantee their ability to get to you sooner or the quality of their work.

Do you carry the parts to fix my locks?

In almost all cases we can fix or replace your lock, and if we can’t fix it on the first visit, we can make your door secure until we have had a chance to order the parts required. Carrying everything for every occasion would mean towing a small DIY store around with us! Before writing this blog today, I attended a property in Fakenham where they need a completely new mechanism for their composite door. The brand they need has about 20 different variations of mechanisms and that brand is only one of about 15 common brands, so I have locked their door and rendered it usable in emergencies only. The new part will be with me tomorrow. There is no additional charge for the second visit, just the cost of the part itself and my standard flat fee. Beware, some locksmiths will charge labour for every visit.

Do you cover evenings and weekends?

Yes. AC Locksmiths Norfolk is a 24/7 365 day per year service. However, I am human. I do like to celebrate peoples’ birthdays and observe other traditions and even sometimes get to go on holiday. My phone is always on me. If I cannot cover emergencies, my voicemail will tell you so. If I am away and cannot answer the phone, for non-emergencies always leave a voicemail and if possible, back it up with a quick text and I will get back to you with honest advice, and/or work timeframe estimations. Unlike many other locksmiths, my flat fee labour charge is fixed. So if you have an emergency on Sunday evening in Dereham, the labour charge will be exactly the same as if you call me out on Wednesday morning from Reepham. Pricing for distance is a little different when dealing with car keys due to the minimum amount of time they take to produce, but when you call me, you can be sure you are getting a fair price.

Should I change the locks when I move home?

Yes. If the home has had people living in it before you, you just cannot know how many copies of keys have been made. I once changed locks for a couple in Norwich who after having been moved in for six months, found a neighbour ‘just checking’ their home after they had not arrived back at their usual time. This neighbour had been given a key by the previous owner to use in emergencies. If you move into a new home on a large complex, the developer will have fitted the same brand and types of lock in all the houses on that development. Statistics show that several properties will have keys that open other properties on the estate. Best to change to a completely different brand and upgrade.

What are the insurance requirements for homes in the UK?

For wooden doors, insurance usually states a five-lever mortice lock on all final exit doors or a kite marked equivalent. Basically, if the locks on your wooden door do not have kite marks, then they are probably not covered unless you have a special agreement because of preservation orders, etc. Some five lever mortice locks do not have kite marks and are fine with your insurance, but make life so much easier for the burglar. Be very careful when looking at ‘smart’ locks as many will actually downgrade your security. For upvc and composite doors, there is no kitemark requirement for most insurers, but having kite marked cylinders might well reduce your premiums. For peace of mind, you should always upgrade to kite marked products. At a time when we are all worried certain standards will drop after we leave the EU, rest assured, in many cases the kitemark outstrips EU standards in the area of locks. Insurers will try all things to get out of paying. If you have a kite marked lock and the burglar does manage to defeat it, the insurer might inspect your home and find another lock that does not meet standards and refuse to pay because you have a lock that does not conform. All ground floor windows should have locks and most insurers will insist on first-floor windows as well with a note that all accessible windows be lockable. If you have children of any age, window locks or cable restrictors are highly advisable anyway as kids are very good at falling from windows and they make such a fuss when bones break!

If you have any questions regarding the above, please don’t hesitate to get in contact via any of the usual methods found on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading
Alan,
AC  Locksmiths Norfolk

admin November 22, 2019

British Standard Kitemark / broken locks / emergency locksmith / lock snapped / locksmith emergency / Locksmith questions /

Christmas present ideas – for a secure christmas

Christmas present ideas

Christmas security
I’ve noticed the Christmas goodies starting to pop up in the shops so thought I’d get in there with some early Christmas present ideas:

Do you get frustrated every Christmas trying to find a present for your parents that isn’t a boring jumper they never wear? Do your parents have pretty much everything they could want that doesn’t cost thousands of pounds?

Why not get them a new security feature? The older generation are the most at risk of burglary, and many just don’t get to see the products that can make them much safer.

From upgraded locks to burglar alarms with SOS features so they can call you if they have a fall, there are products to suit every pocket and you will be buying your parents (or grandparents) something that is genuinely useful.

Collaborating with other family members will allow for even better products.

Here are just a few ideas for security features;

Lock upgrades.
Safes.
CCTV.
Video Doorbells.
Wireless alarm systems with connection to your phone.

CCTv camera

Why not talk to your local locksmith today for a free consultation?

If you would like any information on any of the products stated, please get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading

admin October 11, 2019

Christmas security / Present ideas /

Time to Catch up with Europe (Or at least Italy)

I don’t know what it’s like for other small business owners, but when I go on holiday, I find it really hard to just switch off for two weeks. Apart from worrying about letting people down, I look at doors and the locks they hold.

So while we, as a family were tromping all around Rome on our latest getaway, my family were taking in the sights while I had one eye on the security features as well. In previous jobs, I have travelled around Europe a fair bit and always felt a bit proud that here in the UK, we produced the British Standard Euro Cylinder. Euro Cylinders are the locks that go in any door where you have to lift the handle before locking. Since becoming a locksmith and installing these locks, my visits to Europe have seen nothing like the British Standard ones anywhere else. Indeed our own insurance industry has failed to make them compulsory. Despite years of burglars snapping, picking and drilling the standard style Euro cylinders with ease (You Tube has plenty of helpful demonstrations), and despite campaigns from the locksmithing industry, the police and others, only a tiny fraction of people have the British Standard locks that are a proven deterrent to burglary. But at least we had some.

Well, no longer am I proud of our achievement. Italy certainly, has embraced a better level of security, or at least the areas I saw have, and we travelled a lot in our two weeks away. At least half the cylinders I saw were of our own British kite mark level.

Crime is rising in our own country. Safe villages are now being hit by burglaries. When was the last time you assessed your home security. Why not book a free security check. There is no obligation when a locksmith does your security check, but there can be a high price when a burglar does the same check without asking permission. Kite marked cylinders come in several security levels now to suit most pockets.

If you would like any more information, please get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin August 2, 2019

How secure is your property? /

Keys on Show

Thumb turnYesterday, I got to called to a house where the customers had accidently shut themselves out of their house. A nice easy job, I thought. Most nightlatches (often referred to as ‘Yale’ type locks) are simple to bypass. As I arrived, I got a bit more excited. The lock was a kite marked BSI 3621 variety, meaning I was in for more of a challenge and probably late for the next job of the day.

But the challenge was not to be. The door had a convenient window and less than an arm’s distance away, hanging on hooks, were all the customer’s keys. Flexible metal rod through the letter box and less than a minute later, the door was open. No special tools. On any given day, a burglar could have done the same thing and entered the house, or as is becoming more common, got the displayed car keys, and easily taken the car.

Car theft is growing in the UK with most cars now being stolen direct from the driveway or with signal cloning. The thieves know we keep our keys near the front door, so having them in plain view is just an open invitation to have your car stolen.

Most of us put front door keys and car keys together, so you need to leave your bunch near the front door in case of fire. But you can put them in a wall mounted cupboard with a door, or even a key safe. Some key safes now come protected from signal cloning.

While we are talking about signal cloning, Faraday pouches are a great way to protect your keys while you are out and about. These are signal protecting pouches for your keys.

If you wish to know more about any of the above, please get in touch via my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin June 23, 2019

Home security advice / Where to keep your keys /

When is a Smart Lock not so smart?

The answer to the above question, is ALL TOO OFTEN!

I have just done an online check of UK available smart locks on Google and I don’t like what I see. If you have a standard wooden door, getting a smart lock to replace your existing lock might look flashy, but you could well be invalidating your insurance because you are reducing your security levels.

Most of the wooden door smart locks are based around a latched lock. In the industry, we call them Nightlatches, but you might be more familiar with calling them Yale type locks. There are very few insurance standard nightlatches out there and part of what gives them their British Standard 3621 rating is the anti-pick and anti-drill key hole. Replacing that key hole with something else gives your insurer an excuse to not pay out in the event of a claim, even if a burglar entered via another route. If you are fitting a smart lock to a standard nighlatch, chances are, the burglar can bypass the whole thing with a method called ‘slipping’, faster than you can activate the lock via your phone app (more on that later). I did see a couple of smart locks that operated deadbolts. But the deadbolts that come as part of the kit were very small. One available on Amazon plainly states it replaces your existing deadbolt. But taking your existing deadbolt out and putting the replacement in would be like putting an apple in a hole big enough for a melon! And again, to conform to British Standard 3621, and therefore insurance, the dead bolt has minimum size requirements and should have anti-saw capabilities, a feature this lock certainly does not have.
Smart lock

If you have any door with a multipoint locking mechanism, you are a bit luckier because the insurance industry still does not require British Standard locking barrels. Or are you? Over the last few years, burglars have increasingly attacked these door types because they are easy to get into and once you are in, the door is open for you to carry out whatever you want without leaving DNA on broken window glass. None of the new smart locks make this any harder. And you can’t use them very well in conjunction with Kite marked locking cylinders. One of the big things that deter burglars is an obviously strong cylinder. Smart locks cover up the cylinders so the burglar who cannot tell your house is well protected, is just likely to have a go anyway, destroying your expensive smart lock in the process.  
smart locks

A better investment would Kite marked cylinders and a smart doorbell that records people approaching the door. Era

But a smart lock is more convenient and saves the hassle of keys, I hear you argue. Let’s face it, we all want to be able to open the door without having to put our bags down while getting soaked in the rain and a smart lock allows us to do that. Or does it?

Without a smart lock, you approach your door, retrieving your keys from your pocket/bag put the key in the door and you are in. Maybe you do have to put some bags down first. With almost all smart locks, you have to take out your phone, wave it front of your face so it recognises you (put in a code if it doesn’t recognise you or your fingerprint), open the smart lock app, find the unlock feature, and activate it. You might need two hands where the key only required one. All in all, it might take longer to use the smart lock rather than lock and key. Your alternative is the code version entry. These not-quite-smart locks still enable you to go key free, but what if the batteries go or the electronics fail. You are still better off with the key. Besides, knowing your eldest childs’ birthday will probably let me into your home anyway. People are too obvious with key codes.

So, you really want smart technology. What do I actually recommend? Well, I’m not changing my mind anytime soon on multipoint doors. You really need a good Kite marked cylinder as a deterrent to keep you safe. And the best ones are only available through locksmiths to my knowledge. Even smart products still require you to lift the handle before locking and you still have to use the handle to open the door. Coupled with a smart doorbell, this is your best option by far. Smart doorbells are a great Xmas prezzie idea for your older generation relatives if they are able to use smart phones. It lets them see who is at the door without having to get up. I know there are plenty of people with mobility issues who could benefit from this technology.
Doorcam

If you have a wooden door, it gets even better. A new smart lock is due out in September. It is a Nightlatch, but it carries the all important BSI 3621 kite mark, making it acceptable to insurers. It will link in to Alexa and other smart devices. While it will require you to have an app, the app will run in the background on your phone, so you won’t need to take your phone out and turn it on. As long as the phone is on you, you will be able to open the door. All you do is approach your door and place your finger on the sensor. A truly secure, smart, lock.

If you require any more information regarding the above, please do not hesitate to get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin May 31, 2019

Keyless locks / Smart locks any good or not? /

What Simple Security Steps will make your home much Safer?

Simple security steps to help make your home safer 

Every other week, I help my kids out with the delivery of the local community magazine. We do just over two hundred houses in a small town. Every time I do these deliveries, I am shocked to see people’s front doors with keys in which I could have taken, using their own cars as getaway vehicles (‘It was only for five minutes,’ they tell me), or doors ajar, just waiting for someone to poke their head inside with no one around. In these latter cases, you can’t use the letterbox as the door swings, but you can open the door a bit more, unchallenged, which reveals all sorts of easily stolen items. I also see letters piled up, indicating no one has been home for a few days at least (easy prey). Just today, I noticed the magazine I posted two weeks ago, which told me a lot.

I do also see good things, and it is those I would like to talk about because they offer security you wouldn’t think about. An awful lot of the non-destructive entries I do are through the letterbox. And if I can do that, the burglar can. So if you have locks that look like this on the inside:

Thumb turn Thumb turn

Night latch Night latchI can get to these through the letterbox and open the door in seconds. Even kitemarked products are not impossible to open. Leaving keys on the inside of the lock is just as bad. You can get letterbox guards that stop me using my specialist tool, but even these can be bypassed. But here is something that is going to cause me problems.

Letter box cage

A letter cage stops all tools being able to get more than a few inches through the letterbox.

Better still, bolt your letterbox shut and get one of these external letterboxes;

Not only will this mean no one gets in through your letter plate, but a separate letterbox at the end of your garden will have you loved by the postman and paper deliverers everywhere.

If you have any questions regarding the above information, please get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin March 17, 2019

Improving your home security / letterbox security / make my home safer /

Blow torch attacks and door maintenance

It seems there is a new spate of attacks in the UK where the burglars use a blow torch on plastic (upvc) double glazed doors. Because they are using fire, this makes a major mess of the door and frame. You are not just looking at replacement locks, but a whole replacement door. If you have the anti-snap cylinders available in DIY stores, then you are still going to be a victim with this sort of attack. If you have an inner anti-snap protector, as used on many new build properties, the burglar will still have a go before he sees the protector. You might not be burgled, but your door is ruined.
Kite marked lock

To be properly protected, you need the advice of a good local locksmith who has access to the very best locks and equipment. They will provide you with the locks that show the burglar they are wasting their time attacking your property. The potential intruder needs to see from a distance that easier pickings are to be had elsewhere.

Thinking anyone can get in if they really want to is unfortunately usually correct, but burglars want to get in as quickly and quietly as possible. The other worry with this blow torch method is heat transference; the intruder can see the damage they are doing to the outside, but they cannot see if they are causing flames inside. It is a very dangerous form of attack especially as nearly half of all burglaries occur when someone is home.
Moving on from that last point, recent reports show that adults and children suffer long term effects of insecurity following burglaries.
Finally, while I was halfway through writing this piece about blow torch attacks, I had a recall from a customer whose lock had failed. Once I got the lock open, I discovered the door was sticking a lot at the bottom. Where the door was not closing properly, the latch was being placed under long term pressure, which led to the lock breaking internally. Doors warp, drop, swell and buckle. Kids will try and slam them with the bolt extended and all sorts of other damage can occur. As a general rule of thumb, if the door is even marginally difficult to lock/unlock, then something, somewhere, is going to be out of alignment. If your door needs a boot at the bottom to get it closed, do something about it before the cost becomes prohibitive. If the door is ok, but the lock is still difficult, a good locksmith will lock at the problem without charge. It’s then up to you whether or not you enter into a situation where the locksmith corrects the problem for a fee. If your lock is stiff and you don’t sort out the problem now, chances are it will fail when you get home from the school run with three screaming kids and their buddies on a sleepover and all of them will be wanting the toilet. On top of that, all the local locksmiths will be busy for the next seven hours or not even picking up the phone, meaning you have to call a national, who will charge you double, and you will wish you had gotten around to dealing with the problem when time was on your side. This same advice applies to locks where you need a special knack to unlock it. That knack might have been good for five years, or five minutes, but sooner or later, a lock that does not function normally, will fail and it will be at an inopportune moment.
Thanks for reading.
If you have any questions regarding the above, please get in touch via the contacts page.

admin February 28, 2019

Home maintenance for locks / Keeping safe / Minimising risk of burglary in your home /

Why should I change the locks on my brand new property?

There seems to be a massive drive to build new homes lately. Almost everywhere you go, you are bound to be driving past a new build construction site. You might even be looking at a nice newly built home in your area. The beauty of a new home over an older one is that you can move in knowing you have nothing to do. The carpets are already fitted to your criteria, the sparkly kitchen gleams and there is no worry that some random neighbour has a spare key to your home.Home security

So why change the locks? Quite frankly, the developers will do the minimum possible to meet regulations, and currently, in the UK the regulations just are not up to the same level as the burglars. New homes are all being built with multipoint locking mechanisms and while all the hooks, bolts and rollers look impressive and secure, the system is only as good as its’ weakest part, which is the locking cylinder. While standard locking Euro Cylinders are acceptable for insurance purposes, they are incredibly weak to a form of attack called “cylinder snapping.” Property developers will use these standard cylinders wherever possible.

Some of the more reputable developers will at least have the decency to install kite marked Euro cylinders in their doors, but beyond the kite mark, there are still three grades of security, which cover the three main forms of attack, those being snap, pick and drilling. So a cylinder with one star will be proof against picking but not the other two, and a cylinder with two stars will still be susceptible to attack by one of the three main methods. You can supplement the star rating by having anti-snap collars placed inside the handles, or anti-drill handles. You may even have these, but if you don’t know, then the burglar doesn’t know either and he is likely to have a go, fail and leave your door a mess before he leaves. Only a three-star cylinder should be used if you want the burglar to go away before even trying.

With total honesty, there is a tool that can be purchased to bypass even some of the best three-star cylinders, but it takes time to use and is fiddly. Entry with this tool is trial and error, sometimes taking many minutes to get in the door, whereas a standard cylinder can be snapped in under 60 seconds with household tools and no sound. For the same reason, a burglar will not take the time to remove your roof tiles and enter that way, he will not purchase a tool that takes him many times longer to get in than the cheap tools he can get from a DIY store.

Cylinder snapping is no longer about normal burglary any more. Intruders know that most people leave their car keys somewhere in the vicinity of the front door, be they left on a surface, hanging on a convenient hook, or just in a coat pocket. They can now look for the car they want to steal parked nicely on your front drive. As most of us are now two-car families, at least one will sit on the drive, and if that car is your brand new Mercedes or BMW and you keep your keys close to an easily attacked door, your insurance might decide not to pay out because you didn’t take enough care. How many people tell their insurance the car is kept in the garage, knowing that actually, the garage is full of the toot we don’t want in our actual houses? Breaking into a house and stealing the keys is now the easiest way to steal their car.

And while a barking dog is a deterrent to some degree, what protects your home when you are on holiday or even out walking that dog?

Most three-star Euro cylinders are visibly different to standard cylinders. They shout at the burglar you are serious about home security and that attacking your home is going to be noisy and time-consuming. Noise and time are the enemy of the burglar. If he knows breaking into your home is going to be noisy and take up precious time, he is going to move on. If you fit the proper cylinders, chances are you will be angry with the locksmith after years and years of never seeing any signs of attack. You will never know how many intruders scouted your home and mentally noted to leave you alone. It’s not hard. I help my kids with their paper round, and the best locks stick out like a sore thumb. I know exactly how few there are and where they are. A potential intruder only has to deliver some bogus leaflets in any area to work out who is best avoided.

While on this subject, I was emailed a question asking if it is worth putting extra strength glue in an externally beaded window so that if the burglar got the beading off the window would still be stuck in place. Beading removal was never a hugely popular method of attack. There was always too much potential to make noise and take a long time. Also, the risk of breaking glass and then cutting oneself is too high, even without extra glues. Cylinder snapping is quick, quiet and easy. So faced with a choice, you should always upgrade your cylinders.

If you have standard cylinders or even kite marked one-star cylinders, you should upgrade now. If you don’t know what you have, a good locksmith in your area will come and assess your locks via a free security check. Unless a locksmith has provided your locks, I very much doubt they will be the best on the market. You cannot buy the best locks in the DIY shops. While you are ensuring you have the best locks, you should be sending a copy of this information to everyone you care about, because of the following reasons:

* Burglary is on the rise.

* Traditionally ‘safe’ areas are being burgled more often.

* Only a tiny fraction of burglaries get investigated by police.

* You are now at risk from car thieves as well.

* Burglars pass on information to each other, so if you are burgled once, you stand an increased chance of being hit again.

* Every victim I speak to, reports a feeling of personal violation, sleepless nights and detachment from their home.

If you have any questions regarding the above information or any of the other blogs I have written, please get in touch via any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading.

admin February 9, 2019

Minimising risk of burglary / New build homes & security / Why change my locks? /

Rental & holiday home locks

Just recently, I was called to a holiday let property at midnight because the lock had failed and the holiday makers were unable to get in. By the time I got there, the property owner had also arrived and there was an atmosphere you could have cut with a knife. It was cold, dark and wet. The holiday makers wanted to get in from a night out, the owner had been in bed and both were insinuating it was the others’ fault that the key was not working. Luckily, I was able to jiggle the key and get them all into the house quickly. But the lock was old and both keys were having problems, so I showed the landlord as discreetly as possible it was her problem and got that lock changed as fast as possible in order to get away from the tension that was growing with every minute.

A C Locksmiths Norfolk

The landlord had made several mistakes:

Firstly, she had let a lock get too old. The industry recommends that you change your locks every five years as standard. Of course, in the home, we hardly even think of changing our locks until they go wrong, but as another recent customer told me, she got her locks changed because her teenage son kept hiding keys in the garden so his friends could let themselves in when they wanted! He then forgot where he would hide them and she thought he might have lost around seven keys and even had more cut that she didn’t know about. With a holiday let home, you should be more vigilant with locks. Especially near the coast where they get weather beaten and corrode more quickly. Also, we trust our houses to strangers. How do we know none of them are making copies to return in a year or two to break in when other holiday makers are out? For security and peace of mind, it is good practice to get into the habit of changing the locks on a holiday let yearly. If you do it in late March, you won’t even notice the cost because it’s tax deductible. You have nothing to lose.

The second mistake was giving customers copy keys: locks come with two or three keys as standard. Always keep one key to have for emergency copy purposes. The others should be for the use of customers. They will be the ones using the lock the most. If you damage a lock using inferior cut keys, you have no come back on guarantees. If you have cleaners and/or management companies looking after your property, they should be using the copies because they only usually need to go in once a week on change over day. But the keys that are used the most should always be the originals. As a side note, in my experience, the worst key copiers are chain stores. Support your local cobbler/engraver as they usually do a much better job. But most of the time, even the local key cutters will only stock non-original brand key blanks. Customers don’t want to pay for the branded keys. But branded keys last longer and work better with the locks. If you have a Yale lock, you want a key that also has Yale written on it, not JMA or worse still, no marks at all. The absolute best thing you can do is to order all the keys you need when you talk to your locksmith about fitting a new lock. Remember, it’s a business expense, so you might as well get something for your money rather than lose it to the tax man.

Holiday let owners know the peace of mind that comes with having customers who come back year after year or recommend their property to others. It’s a lot better than having to refund a customer because of something that could easily have been avoided. And unfortunately, you can’t rely on the cleaners/management company to notice. The cleaners quickly get used to locks that need a knack (they need changing quickly) and the management companies don’t want to keep hassling you for jobs that require expenses, especially if they have to pay the trader and then wait for you to pay them. A good holiday let owner will have a locksmith go in and look at all their doors and windows, either at the start or end of the season. UPVC doors might need adjusting, wooden doors might have swollen or as was the case with some doors this dry summer, contracted to a point of the locks being unusable. Mechanisms should be oiled twice a year (when clocks go forward and back is a good habit to get into) and handles might have lost their spring. A door and lock might seem like a boring thing, but it is your customer’s first point of contact with your house. They won’t notice if it all runs smoothly, but if it looks shabby or is a bit stiff, that sets the tone for more things to find wrong, whether they know it or not.

For property owners of longer lease homes, you really should be changing the locks between tenants. No matter how good your outgoing tenant s may have been, you simply don’t know how many copies of keys they have had made. Scarily I’ve seen it a number of times when people buy homes for themselves, and later discover the old owner letting themselves in. Again, as this is a business expense, there is nothing to stop you installing new locks. And better you do it rather than the tenant. At least you can use the same locksmith every time who will usually use the same brands so your door is not being weakened by different sized locks needing ever bigger holes in the door.

As a tenant, you are well within your rights to demand that your new landlord provide new locks with original cut keys. Any additional keys should be discussed with the landlord because if you get bad cut copies, the lock becomes your problem.

If you have any questions regarding the above information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch using any of the methods on my contacts page.

Thanks for reading

admin November 23, 2018

Changing the locks / Holiday homes / Rental homes /

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