Burglary repair · tonight · Greater Manchester
Secure tonight. Repaired properly after. In that order.
Get a price in 2 minutes
If it has just happened, ring 999 first, then us. The form is for after.
- Make safe £80-160
- 24/7
- Photos before we touch it
- Itemised invoice
- £1m public liability
If this has just happened, close this page and ring 999. Do not go inside if you are not certain the house is empty. Do not touch anything. We are not the first call and we would be a bad one.
When the police have been, ring us. 0161 394 2625, any hour.
Do not tidy up
This is the instinct everybody has and it costs people money. The damage is your claim. A snapped cylinder in a bin is not evidence of anything.
- Photograph everything, from several angles
- Photograph the whole door, not just the lock
- Keep the broken parts
- Get the police crime reference number
- Ring your insurer before we start if you can
We photograph it too, before we touch anything. Every job, without asking, because the single most common reason a reasonable claim gets reduced is that nobody documented what was there before it was fixed. See insurance work.
Tonight, then properly
These are two different visits and it is worth understanding why.
Tonight: make safe
Temporary cylinder, screwed frame, boarding if the glass is gone. It will not be pretty. It will lock, and you can sleep. £80-160.
After: repair right
Proper hardware, frame repaired or replaced, anti-snap fitted, insurer's spec met. Booked, in daylight, with the right parts.
Anyone promising a full, permanent, insurer-compliant repair at 2am is either carrying a warehouse in a van or is about to do a bad job. Make safe is the honest answer at 2am.
What they actually broke
| Damage | What happened | Repair |
|---|---|---|
| Cylinder in two pieces | Lock snapping. Seconds, no skill. | £65-110 |
| Frame split at the keep | Kicked. The timber gave, not the lock. | £90-180 |
| Cylinder drilled | Rarer. Noisier. Slower. | £65-110 |
| uPVC panel levered | Bottom panel popped out whole | £90-200 |
| Glass gone | Boarding tonight, glazier after | £80-140 |
| Nothing broken | They had a key. Change everything. | £70-110 |
That first row is why anti-snap cylinders exist. If yours came out in two pieces, it was not an anti-snap one, and the replacement should be.
That last row is the one nobody wants to hear. No damage anywhere usually means a key, and that means every lock, tonight.
The upgrade conversation, and when to have it
Not at 2am. At 2am we make it secure and we go.
In daylight, with the claim number, the questions worth asking are: was the cylinder anti-snap (it was not), is the frame actually strong enough, did the back door get looked at, and does the policy require something you did not have. Insurers frequently pay for the upgrade as part of the claim. Ask them before you pay for it yourself.
Security upgrade · BS3621 · Lock change
Questions people actually ask
I've just been broken into. Who do I ring first?
The police, on 999 if it has just happened or there is any chance someone is still inside, and 101 if it is historic and everyone is safe. Do not go inside unless you are certain the house is empty. We are not the first call and we would be a bad one. Once the police have been, ring us on 0161 394 2625 and we will make the property secure the same night, any hour.
Should I clean up and fix the damage before the insurer comes?
No, and this is the instinct that costs people the most money. The damage is your claim. A snapped cylinder in the bin proves nothing, and a loss adjuster cannot assess a repair that has already been done and tidied. Photograph everything from several angles, including the whole door rather than just the lock, keep the broken parts, and get your crime reference number. We photograph it all before we touch anything on every job, because undocumented damage is the most common reason a reasonable claim gets reduced.
What does it cost to make a house secure after a break-in?
£80 to £160 for a make-safe, which covers a temporary cylinder, screwing a split frame back together, and boarding an opening if the glass has gone. It will not look pretty and it is not meant to: it locks, and you can sleep in your own house. The proper repair is a separate booked visit in daylight with the right parts. Boarding is £80 to £140 per opening, a frame repair £90 to £180, and a new anti-snap cylinder £65 to £110.
My lock is in two pieces. What happened?
You were snapped. A standard euro cylinder has a structural weak point at the central screw hole, and part of it sticks out past the handle where it can be gripped. Lever it and it breaks in two, exposing the cam, which can then just be turned. It takes seconds, needs no skill and makes very little noise, which is exactly why it is so common. If yours came apart like that, it was not an anti-snap cylinder, and the replacement should be a TS007 3-star or SS312 Diamond. Your insurer will often pay for that as part of the claim.
Nothing looks damaged but someone has been in. What now?
Change every lock, tonight, and this is the one situation where we would push you rather than let you think about it. No forced entry almost always means a key: one that was lost, one that was never handed back, one cut at a kiosk by somebody who had yours for ten minutes, or one taken in an earlier theft you did not connect. Whoever it was can come back whenever they like and you will not know until they do. Front and back keyed alike is £70 to £110 and it takes an hour.
Can you fix everything properly the same night?
No, and be wary of anyone who says they can. At 2am we make it secure: a temporary cylinder, the frame screwed back together, boarding over broken glass. That is the honest answer, because a permanent insurer-compliant repair needs the right hardware, sometimes a new frame section, and daylight to do it in. Anyone promising a full repair at 2am is either carrying a warehouse in a van or is about to do a bad job that your insurer will query.