UPVC doors - break in

Emily1975

Hi - not sure if this is the best place to post this, but here goes.

Got home from work yesterday evening to find I'd been burgled. They accessed the house through the kitchen back door which leads onto the patio. They used a screwdriver or jemmy to prise it open, damaging it in the process. I can no longer shut it let alone secure it as the lock is buckled, and the plastic part of the door has ugly marks on it where it has been scratched and chipped in the process.

I have a high excess (£400) with my insurers (L&G). They have said if I wish to pursue a claim with them I'll have to wait 2-3 days before they can send some kind of surveyor to inspect it and assess the damage. In the meantime they can send someone to secure it on an emergency basis, but if I end up not claiming through the policy (if the cost is below the excess) I'll have to pay for this. In which case I would be better off just getting someone round to fix it myself today.

So question is...how much would it typically cost to fix/replace UPVC patio doors? If clearly above £400 then I'll definitely get the insurer to fix it. If borderline or below, probably better to sort it myself and not wait until Monday/Tuesday.

A follow up question (possibly impossible to answer) is - could the insurer say they are only responsible for fixing the lock (much cheaper) but not the doors on the grounds that the damage to the door is largely cosmetic and wouldn't stop it functioning.

Thanks!

Silver-Surfer_2

Measure the size of your doors, look at something like the wickes site at the price of unfitted doors. If it's more than your excess you are unlikely to get them supplied and fitted for less and make a claim.

phill99

But how do you know it is only cosmetic? You don't know if the locking mechanism has been kicked out of alignment.

I think you are being penny wise and pound foolish.

A replacement multipoint locking system can easily be £300. A replacement door will be £1000 - £1500.

Emily1975

Thanks Phil.

Sorry but I think you may have misunderstood my point. I fully intend to get the door properly fixed. I just have no idea if it is a £200-£300 job or £500+.

If the latter I'll claim through insurance, if former I'd be better off sorting it out myself with a local tradesman to save on my no claims given the excess (and I could get it booked in today rather than waiting for the insurer to assess the damage which will delay things by several days).

Figures I've got seem consistent with what you mention below so I've decided to pursue the insurance route.

Added bonus of this is they will send someone to secure it in the short term. Otherwise I'll either have to leave the house unlocked or not leave it!

TheCyclingProgrammer

Sorry to hear you've been burgled. I would claim is on the insurance, have them come out and secure it and get a brand new door. Use this as an opportunity to upgrade your door to one with a better locking mechanism, even if you have to pay the extra (it's not clear from your post whether your door has a multipoint locking mechanism and they just attacked the barrel or it was an older door that they just forced open - sounds like the latter).

Get a multi point locking system with the best cylinder you can get - a diamond standard cylinder only costs about £40 (I have a Brisant Ultion on my French doors) - and nobody is going to get the door open in a hurry or without making a lot of noise.

Emily1975

It is/was a multi point locking system. They somehow managed to force it open with a screwdriver or crowbar or something. There are marks up and down the length of the door where you can see he/she was trying to prise it open.

We've had it secured now and the chap who came said we'll get a new door, so that's hopefully an opportunity to get something even more secure.

According to the police who attended, there were nine separate burglaries in the neighbourhood the same day as our house was targeted!

TheCyclingProgrammer

Just make sure you have a decent cylinder, as all the multipoint locks in the world are useless with a a weak cylinder.

Poppy9

Do you have combined building and contents insurance as if you do your claim for the one incident might be treated together so you only pay one excess if you are also claiming for loss of contents.

Also in future, even if you do not claim, you will have to declare the burglary when you search for quotes if it asks if you have suffered a loss previously etc.

PheoUK

Sorry to hear this - not nice

I would consider adding sash jammers to the new doors as well to better resist this kind of attack in future

TheCyclingProgrammer

PheoUK wrote: »

Sorry to hear this - not nice

I would consider adding sash jammers to the new doors as well to better resist this kind of attack in future

Maybe useful as retrofit on an older style weaker uPVC door but I really don't think sash jammers will add anything to a new uPVC door with a good, strong multi-point locking system and a 3* TS007 or better cylinder.

Emily1975

Sash jammers have been added by the emergency fixer as a short term fix to secure the door until it is replaced. The door is now shut even more securely than it was before the break in!