Moving into a new house? – Change your locks!

Keyhole Kate’s understand how busy you are when you are moving home. You need to change your address for so many things; your bank; your driving license; your SKY account; the list could go on and on. You also need to make sure the house you are leaving is in mint condition, as well and moving your possessions and family over to your new house safely. But one thing people tend to forget is, changing the locks of their new home.

Remember, not everyone is as nice as you. Not everyone thinks like you. And not everyone abides by the law like you.

How many people do you think hand every key back that they have a copy of when they move out?

This means, when you move in, you’re leaving yourself wide open to an easy robbery. No damages. no evidence, just a casual open of the door and the chance for the robber to take what they like – in most cases, EVERYTHING!

With that being said, here are 3 questions we’d like to ask before we move on:

1. Have you changed your locks since you moved into your new home?

2. How many copies of your house keys are out there right now?

3. Do you know who has copies of your house keys, for definite?

Surveys carried out at the start of the year revealed that 74% of homeowners fail to change the locks when they move into their new home. This leaves them vulnerable to robberies by anyone who had a key previous to your ownership!

Something people fail to realise is that home insurance providers only allow insurance claims where there have been clear signs of a break-in. Trying to make a claim when your possessions have just completely vanished without a door-dent or window-crack is a lost cause we are afraid.

The studies that were carried out involved an interview which stretched right across the UK. One of the questions was: “Did you get your locks changed within 2 weeks the last time you moved into a new home?”. The results revealed that people in the South of England were the most likely to change their locks with 35% answering ‘yes’ to the survey. Compare this to the 20% of people living in the North of England and Scotland, who answered yes, and you can see a massive difference across the UK.

The age categories revealed some interesting statistics too where 35-54 years olds were the most likely to get their locks changed and those over 55 were the least likely to do so.

As reputable locksmiths operating in the South East of England, Keyhole Kate’s are here to encourage anyone who is planning to move home, or has moved in the last few weeks, to protect their worldly possessions by changing their locks!

Leading insurance companies have been urging people to do this for a long time too. As we mentioned previously, almost ALL insurance policies will NOT pay out if an intruder lets themselves in with a key. Most insurance policies state that there must be a clear sign of a break-in for a claim to be accepted or valid.

Not only does the “lack of lock changing” pose financial risks in regards to insurance policies, but you and your family could also be at risk. You never know how many keys could be out there that match your current locks…  but if you get a brand new lock, you can know for certain that you are the only one carrying the key to your home and everything in it.

No matter how much you trust the former owners, you don’t know whether they had their locks changed, or the people before them did. There’s no way of telling how many sets of keys have been given to relatives down the years and forgotten about.

So please, we urge you, don’t be stupid – be sensible – CHANGE YOUR LOCKS!