Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions by our clients:

1. How much money can I store in my safe?
2. What can I store in my safe?
3. How often should I service my safe?
4. What type of safe should I purchase?
5. Is a digital lock better than a combination or keylock?

1. How much money can I store in my safe?

A: This depends upon the safe. All of the safes on our site have a 'cash rating'. This rating is the maximum amount of cash insurance companies will normally insure you for. However, if you live in an area with a poor record for burglaries or have a history of break in's, your insurer may reduce the amount they will cover you for. On the opposite hand, if you have a monitored burglar alarm, good history and good physical security around the rest of the premises, they may offer you more - the 'overnight cash cover' is a guideline only

2. What can I store in my safe?

A: Anything which will fit in! Usually of course, it is cash or valuables such as jewellery, but it could be computers, cameras, papers, data.

3. How often should I service my safe?

A: Most people don't bother and that is when they have to call us out - and it can be expensive to have a safe opened after a fault has locked you out. Most manufacturers would recommend every 2 to 3 years, but this does depend on how often you use the safe. For instance, in a busy newsagents, the safe may be used 20 or 30 times a day, whereas in the home it may get used only 20 or 30 times a year. If you find that something is not working correctly (ie you have to 'jiggle' the key in order to open the lock) call us out as soon as possible- that way you can have a basic safe service done which will usually cost around £50-£60 plus mileage whereas gaining entry to a locked out safe may cost ten times more!

4. What type of safe should I purchase?

A: That depends on what you want to store in it. Have a read about the difference between cash safes, fire safes for paper protection and data safes on the other page links on the left

5. Is a digital lock better than a combination or keylock?

A: It can be a lot easier to use - thats for certain. However, the cheap digital locks fitted to these entry level safes at £30, £40 & £50 will cause you greif at some point. A good quality digital lock will set you back anywhere between £150 & £300 depending on what features you want but for that money you will get the ability to change the combination in seconds, have more than one code so that different people have their own code, time delay and possibly time lock facilities and the option to have the lock set up to stay locked during holidays etc. A keylock is easy to use but expensive if you lose a key as the lock has to be replaced usually by an engineer as some of the better quality safes have anti explosive devices attached to the locks. Mechanical combination locks allow you to change codes but can be awkward to use as you need to dial the lock left and right to different number decreasing with each turn of the dial and this often leads to people having to dial there code more than once before they can open the safe 

Robert Bradley
robert@bradleys-blyth.co.uk
01670 540 900