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A lesson learned the hard way!


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Last Sunday my husband arrived at our holiday cottage to find that our Abri had been broken into (locked with a padlock) and all our gardening machinery stolen (mower, chainsaw, strimmer and hedge cutter). Our insurance refuses to pay and states the following:


Le vol dans les dépendances est garanti si les mesures de sureté et moyens de
protection sont mis en place(serrou ou verrou de sureté). Un cadenas n'est pas
considéré comme un moyen de protection.

Compte tenu de votre déclaration, nous ne pourrons pas garantir ce vol.

Well this is an expensive lesson for us and I want to pass it on, although I feel quite embarrassed because we should have known better!


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So exactly how are you meant to secure the shed?

Do they expect three doberman pinchers, searchlights and an armed guard?

This sucks - insurance companies just do not like paying out - at the least change companies and tell them what you think of them.

 

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The lesson (if there is one) is to read carefully the policy and play them at their own game before submitting a claim or making a police report, even if it means fitting and accidentally breaking a serrure.

Hate them (or specifically A*A) as I do I dont think that French insurers are any worse in this respect its just that they get away with it and dont seem to mind alienating customers, there will always be new customers switching to them after an equally bad experience with their competitors.

Its certainly how it seems to work in the restauration trade around where I live.

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I too am so sorry to hear of your experience Monika.  A friend of ours had a similar experience although they were only out for the day when their burglary took place.  The insurance company threw out their claim stating that because the shed was made in England it was "obviously not up to the job".   When my friend pointed out that not only had she bought it in France (producing the receipt) but that they had purchased a very substantial locking mechanism too.  The insurance company still refused to pay!!
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[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]

All very well but where are you supposed to put such items? In your lounge perhaps?

[/quote]

Well if that is the only secure place you have for stuff that is too valuable to leave in a wooden shed for weeks on end with just two screws and a padlock to protect it..........  yes.[:P]

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Yes I think that's where we will leave all our gardening tools etc. in the future, in the lounge, we have now already put the bikes and ladder in there.  Strangely enough, they were left! The gendarmes seemed to think that it was an English "gang", they look in telephone books for English sounding names and then survey the property and that they have a ready market. We are also going ex directory!
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We found ourselves in this position, when a door secured by a padlock and a second chain and padlock, had the locks removed; after the break-in, (which they refused to payout for)[+o(] we asked for the insurance agent to inspect our property and advise what we needed to do to have confirmed insurance cover. In our case we were advised that external locks do not count for security, and we should have a locksmith fit a lock with an internal lock so that only the keyhole was visible from the outside; (so that the lock could not be cut or ground off from the outside without first forcing the door. After this was done the agent would visit again and confirm cover if the lock was satisfactory. From the conversation it appeared that the company would not payout unless the access was gained from physically breaking open the door). We did this (and changed Insurance Company)[:P]
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