Guaranteed to make selling easier
Homeowners want security and reassurance from the fear of burglary, says VBH Systems sales manager Rob Norman.
Holidays and social media make life easy for burglars, claims new research by insurer provider Swinton. Millions of homes sit empty while homeowners advertise their absence by sharing their holiday experiences on social media.
Even if privacy settings are applied, many of us have more than 200 friends on Facebook and other social media, and crime data shows that 49% of burglary offenders are known to the victim.
The research published interesting figures on the risks of over-sharing information with possibly hundreds of strangers too, finding a correlation between the number of indiscreet postings and the number of break-ins.
The research analysed 72,558 risky social media posts, with 42,858 posts referring to an upcoming holiday, 6,248 to when they’d be out of the home, and 33% riskier social media posts this year across the UK.
So, what can be done? The simple answer is to install good quality locks and hardware that’s backed by a guarantee. That’s why we set up our Q-secure guarantee with the needs of homeowners and installers in mind. It provides practical help when the worst has happened, without the all too common small print exclusions which frustrate genuine claims.
The Q-secure guarantee is a new sort of guarantee. It’s free to join and covers windows, residential doors and folding patios with hardware from VBH’s greenteQ range and hardware from selected partners, when the product is manufactured in accordance with VBH’s Document Q specification.
Hardware covered includes the VBH greenteQ range, locking systems from Maco, Roto and Yale and Invisifold Slide & Fold and Clearspan bifolding systems, as well as products from Hoppe, Maco, Roto, Securistyle, Siegenia and Yale that have all been included in our PAS24 test programme.
The only requirement from the householder is that the locks and other hardware are maintained once a year.
Jayne Lovett of Climatec said: “Our customers can reassure their customers – the end-users – that the locks and handles on their new windows will be secure. It’s reassuring for the homeowner and a great selling point for the installer.”
The Q-secure guarantee is simple, with no get-out clauses or quibbling. If there’s a break-in due to hardware failure, it pays the homeowner up to £3,250 broken down by:
- Up to £250 towards the cost of employing an emergency locksmith, glazier or boarding up company to gain access or secure the property in the immediate aftermath of a break-in.
- Up to £1,000 towards the cost of repairing or replacing the door or window (arranged through one of our approved installers).
- Up to £1,000 towards the homeowner’s insurance excess payment.
- And a goodwill payment of £1,000 to the homeowner to go some way towards alleviating the distress caused by a break-in.
Mark Hutchinson, MD of trade fabricator Tradesmith, said: “We’re delighted to be part of Q-secure. We supply high-end, quality products, which we are confident will perform well for many years. This additional guarantee is an extra benefit for our installer customers. We don’t expect their homeowner customers will ever have to claim, but it adds to their confidence and peace of mind.”