Police damage to front door - possibly excessive

lisyloo

diystarter7 said:

lisyloo said:

diystarter7 said:

Hello OP
I saw similar on our raod a few years ago. Carer came no response, then rang cops.
Cops used a battering ram on a new-ish double-glazed composite door that has high-security locks.
Like some people, the lady had locked the door from the inside at night time.
The frame eventually started to come away from the door. The lady had suffered a stroke.
She lived alone. Lady never came back home as went into care home for a year.
I saw the family when they were selling the house but they never said anything about a like-for-like new door

A chain usually breaks so I was surprised by the damage. However, if that was my dad, I'd be grateful to the cops
for having the guts to kick the door in and ensure dad got the help he needed

Cops have to make a judgment call based on the info proved and their instincts as a matter of life or death
can be a few seconds difference.

Calling out the fire brigade - not only the costs but there could be a serious fire or crash and in my judgment not justified.

If dad is on benefits has no money, seek help from the council, I'm sure cops will direct you if requested, otherwise please just be grateful.

Edit = However, you could ask and not demand but ask, you never know - but at the same time praise the officers - good luck.

I am grateful, I was just asking for information/advice.
i didn’t mention calling the fire brigade - not sure how that’s come up.

Im wondering if his own house insurance will cover this?

The "fire brigade" was mentioned by another poster but I guess you did not read that and I mentioned it in the same/one post.

Re house insurance, what is the excess, what quote did you get and how many. The "professional" you called, in what line of work   IE double glazing, carpenter. etc?

NB: I think you missed the bit I said try to speak with the officers.

Either way and I'm very sorry I missed the chance to say it before, I'm glad your dad was ok. Hopefully the door is sorted soon and you guys have a plan should anything like this happens again

Thanks

Thanks.
yes I saw it, I would never expect the fire bridgade to come out to save a householder money.

will check the house insurance tomorrow.
quote is on the way but I thoroughly trust the professional involved. Hes a relative and works in the windows/door/conservatory business.
they just did a great job on my dads windows so I have no worries about them at all.

we did have a plan, which was a key safe and my dad leaving the chain off when he went to bed.
unfortunately as he was ill, he fell asleep without taking the chain off.
the new door will not have a chain, so we should always be able to get in.
he also has a lanyard and fall sensor and the call centre have the key safe number.
so we did have a plan it just didn’t work when he fell asleep without taking the chain off.

my plan now is to check the insurance policy and quote.
will claim if quote is high enough bearing in mind excess and likely costs of claiming.

thankyou !

DanDare999

lisyloo said:

Bendy_House said:

Would the house insurance possibly cover this?

Thanks 
Will look into that if the cost justifies it, considering excess, increased premiums etc.
if the insurance believe the police force was excessive then they can pursue it.

They weren't excessive, one attempt at a reasonable point of entry. It's not their fault there was a chain. Most people would think the screws holding a chain would give before the fixings holding a door to a building. 

lisyloo

DanDare999 said:

lisyloo said:

Bendy_House said:

Would the house insurance possibly cover this?

Thanks 
Will look into that if the cost justifies it, considering excess, increased premiums etc.
if the insurance believe the police force was excessive then they can pursue it.

They weren't excessive, one attempt at a reasonable point of entry. It's not their fault there was a chain. Most people would think the screws holding a chain would give before the fixings holding a door to a building. 

Thanks, yes we (including the professional) are surprised at the amount of damage to have both the door and frame written off.
yes absolutely my Dad shouldn’t have left the chain on, it was a lapse due to being fatigued and ill.

lisyloo

Thanks everyone.
i have the info I need now.

TELLIT01

I have a lot of sympathy for anybody being hit with unexpected bills and maybe house insurance will cover the cost.  To put the situation in context though, police had received a call over 'concern for life' and couldn't gain access.  Which is the lesser loss, the cost of repair or replacement of the door, or the possible consequences of police having to wait until somebody with the correct tools arrived to let them in?

As others have said, a PCSO or local officer wouldn't carry heavy duty bolt cutters.  At least most wouldn't.

twopenny

A stressful time for all.
There was a thread on here recently where someone had accidentally wrenched a door with the chain still on and the damage was significant but anything less secure defeats the object.

My neighbour has given me her key code since she's had falls even though she has a piper alarm. Could that be a possibility as back up?

lisyloo

TELLIT01 said:

I have a lot of sympathy for anybody being hit with unexpected bills and maybe house insurance will cover the cost.  To put the situation in context though, police had received a call over 'concern for life' and couldn't gain access.  Which is the lesser loss, the cost of repair or replacement of the door, or the possible consequences of police having to wait until somebody with the correct tools arrived to let them in?

As others have said, a PCSO or local officer wouldn't carry heavy duty bolt cutters.  At least most wouldn't.

Thanks for your comments and sympathy.
I would certainly not expect any police office to delay.
I would not expect the fire brigade to be called out to save a household money.

We were suprised at the extent of the damage (as was the professional).
I would not expect a bobby on beat to turn up with an array of tools.
However if 999 are called then I'd expect a "unit" of trained officers to come equipped for the job. A pair of cutters doesn't seem to me as a lay person to an unreasonable expectation if they are turning up in a car or van where they may be expected to be knocking down doors etc. and doing similar jobs. 
I wouldn't have thought it's an exceptional circumstance to find a chain on a door.
However that's the part I was asking about.

My plan is to check with the police (expecting a no), check my Dad's insurance and get the quote.

One issue is that he wants something specific (stained glass with yellow roses) after his wife passed away recently and that was her favourite flowers.
This is "like for like" but I know what insurance companies can be like, so I need to assess whether it's worth making an insurance claim given we have a favoured installer and product.

lisyloo

twopenny said:

A stressful time for all.
There was a thread on here recently where someone had accidentally wrenched a door with the chain still on and the damage was significant but anything less secure defeats the object.

My neighbour has given me her key code since she's had falls even though she has a piper alarm. Could that be a possibility as back up?

Thanks
There is already a keysafe and people present had the code and hence the police had the key.
I had the safe put in a few days after his wife passed away.

He won't be having a chain on the new door.

Bendy_House

Are door chains actually accessible from the outside - are the door gaps large enough? Wouldn't that defeat their purpose if someone wanted to get in - an easy 'snip' rather than a 'smash'?

If the gaps are large enough to get a bolt-cutter in there, then I'm surprised the services don't use a BC before a battering ram - the time taken must be very similar, and far less chance of injury (and property damage, of course).

Section62

lisyloo said:

twopenny said:

A stressful time for all.
There was a thread on here recently where someone had accidentally wrenched a door with the chain still on and the damage was significant but anything less secure defeats the object.

My neighbour has given me her key code since she's had falls even though she has a piper alarm. Could that be a possibility as back up?

Thanks
There is already a keysafe and people present had the code and hence the police had the key.
I had the safe put in a few days after his wife passed away.

He won't be having a chain on the new door.

Is there an accessible back door?  Would it be possible to have a separate keysafe and key for the back door, so he can still have a chain on the front door?