Emergency callout
When a shop cannot be locked at night, or cannot be opened in the morning, the job is not a repair yet. It is making the premises safe and secure until the repair can be done properly. That is what an emergency callout is for.
Before we arrive
If a break-in is in progress, call the police on 999. Afterwards, report it on 101 or online and keep the crime reference number; the insurer will ask for it.
Photograph everything before anything is moved: the shutter, the door, the glass, the inside. It takes two minutes now and is hard to reconstruct later.
If a motorised shutter is running on, smoking or smells hot, switch it off at the isolator. Do not try to drag a motorised shutter down by hand. The motor’s brake is holding it, and forcing it damages the gearing or the person pulling.
Keep clear of broken glass still in a frame. A cracked toughened pane can drop out in one piece. A cracked laminated pane is still holding, and is best left for us to take out.
What happens on site
The first job is always to leave the premises lockable. Depending on what has happened, that means winding a stuck shutter down on its manual override, temporarily securing a curtain that has left its guide, fitting extra locks to a forced door, or boarding a broken window or door, fixed from the inside wherever possible.
Once it is secure, we look at the permanent repair: what is needed, what it costs, and how soon it can be done. You get that in writing with photographs, which is generally what an insurer wants to see.
Shutters that will not close
The most common emergency is not a break-in. It is a shutter that will not come down at closing time, usually because of a failed motor, a key switch that has taken in water, or limits that have drifted. A manual override will close most motorised shutters even when the motor is dead, so a shutter stuck open can normally be closed and locked the same night, with the motor replaced afterwards.
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Asked on survey
- How soon can someone get here?
- It depends on where you are and what else is happening that night. You will get an honest arrival time on the phone rather than a promise.
- Will my insurer cover the callout?
- Many commercial policies cover emergency make-safe work after a break-in. You will have an itemised invoice, photographs and a written description of the damage to support the claim.
- Is it cheaper to wait until morning?
- Usually, if the premises can be left secure overnight. If it cannot, the callout is small against the stock and the insurance position. We will tell you on the phone which situation you are in.
