Kryptonite Theft Reimbursement For $2000 Real?

[classic33]

L

Thanks, wouldn't have figured it out myself. Would you rather commit a little fraud to get around the fact that they try to make life hard on you by asking for the lock that may have been stolen or lose $1000+?

^If you choose the second option, you're a better man than I.

I'd be honest with them. If they realise their bike locks can be beaten, they may make a better lock. One that doesn't require paying for to get cover that has had very little success in getting paid out since they introduced it.

An all metal locking mechanism is worth looking for.

http://thebestbikelock.com/best-bike-lock/abus-vs-kryptonite-vs-onguard/

 

[zapshe]

L
I'd be honest with them. If they realise their bike locks can be beaten, they may make a better lock. One that doesn't require paying for to get cover that has had very little success in getting paid out since they introduced it.

The way I see it, they already know it can be beaten. There was an amazon review for the forgetaboutit (Which is their flagship 10/10 security rating top lock) where the lock was destroyed with an angle grinder. The guy calls them and they wouldn't reimburse since he didn't register the lock and bike with them.

Moreover, The Lockpicking Lawyer (on Youtube) lock picked their lock in a minute or two. It's not a normal lock, but a pro could be carrying the needed tools for this lock and could pick it. I'm sure they know all this, they simply know they can't defend against all attacks.

EDIT: They also do all this complicated stuff to keep from reimbursing you. No company makes money through easy reimbursements. It's why attorneys have commercials on insurance companies!

 

[classic33]

The way I see it, they already know it can be beaten. There was an amazon review for the forgetaboutit (Which is their flagship 10/10 security rating top lock) where the lock was destroyed with an angle grinder. The guy calls them and they wouldn't reimburse since he didn't register the lock and bike with them.

Moreover, The Lockpicking Lawyer (on Youtube) lock picked their lock in a minute or two. It's not a normal lock, but a pro could be carrying the needed tools for this lock and could pick it. I'm sure they know all this, they simply know they can't defend against all attacks.

EDIT: They also do all this complicated stuff to keep from reimbursing you. No company makes money through easy reimbursements. It's why attorneys have commercials on insurance companies!

I'd place more trust in the insurance company paying out, having met their requirements, than a lock company.

There's a case going through the system at present, over a lock that couldn't be beat. Done in less than 17 seconds.

 

[ColinJ]

So, who pays you when the frustrated thief/vandal smashes up your expensive bike instead of stealing it?

I have seen lots of securely locked wrecked bikes ... Buy a cheap bike and replace it if you have to! (The money saved on the second lock could buy you an extra bike ...)

 

[zapshe]

So, who pays you when the frustrated thief/vandal smashes up your expensive bike instead of stealing it?

Who smashes a car/motorcycle if they can't steal it? Cars have security that is practically unbeatable, yet I don't see cars being smashed. I've never seen a bike destroyed because a thief was frustrated they couldn't steal it. Moreover, they look at the lock before stealing to see if they are equipped. People may not stop someone stealing the bike, but perhaps on a campus someone would question why someone was destroying a bike.

I'd place more trust in the insurance company paying out, having met their requirements, than a lock company.

Same as well, but I don't exactly have cash flow to make monthly payments.

 

[ColinJ]

Who smashes a car/motorcycle if they can't steal it? Cars have security that is practically unbeatable, yet I don't see cars being smashed. I've never seen a bike destroyed because a thief was frustrated they couldn't steal it. Moreover, they look at the lock before stealing to see if they are equipped. People may not stop someone stealing the bike, but perhaps on a campus someone would question why someone was destroying a bike.

Well...

I went to watch a circuit race in Manchester City Centre once. I walked down the length of Deansgate and there was a nice bike locked to nearly every lampost, traffic sign, and bus stop. I walked the circuit and by the time I got back somebody had trashed every bike wheel. There was a crowd of thousands, but that didn't stop the idiots doing it!

I walked past bike stands at Sheffield university. The bikes that hadn't been stolen (broken locks lying about where bikes had presumably once been secured) or had bits stripped off them had been kicked and stamped on.

As for cars not getting smashed... I have seen scores of them smashed and/or burned up on the moors round here. My sister had her car nicked by local teenagers who drove around in it until they got bored and then they torched it!

 

[zapshe]

Well...


As for cars not getting smashed... I have seen scores of them smashed and/or burned up on the moors round here. My sister had her car nicked by local teenagers who drove around in it until they got bored and then they torched it!

Well, after reading this I suppose I probably don't even need a bike lock anymore. Seems all the bad things happen wherever everybody else is! However, the fact that you had to quote someone else's experience of a destroyed bike means it's not common. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[classic33]

They'd to remove the front end of the trike because they couldn't cut the lock & chain combination, when they took mine.

It can happen to you. It's just "always someone else it happens to". Slight contradiction but "It'll never happen to me" gets thrown about too easily.

Check youtube for "Gone in 17 seconds". The owner thought his was secure.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Who smashes a car/motorcycle if they can't steal it? Cars have security that is practically unbeatable, yet I don't see cars being smashed. I've never seen a bike destroyed because a thief was frustrated they couldn't steal it..

Plenty of malicious damage occurs. Cars and motorbikes get torched - it's the easiest way of destroying them and gets rid of any forensic evidence a would-be thief has left behind.
Push bikes regularly get smashed up, either just by mindless vandals or because attempted theft has failed. A look around any decent sized London bike rack will reveal bikes where the wheels have been kicked in and the rims bent, tyres slashed, saddles slashed or stolen, gear mechanisms kicked in. Easy-to-remove bits like pedals, saddles, bars, unsecured wheels - all go missing every day. Many an owner has returned to find their expensive bike reduced to a bare frame and back wheel with everything else gone. You're naïve if you think this doesn't happen to others or won't happen to you if you ride an expensive bike to uni. Get a hack bike for high risk locations and leave the expensive bike at home. As already said, a good lock or bike insurance, is more money than a cheap knockabout bike so it's a no-brainer.

 

[Tin Pot]

Thanks, wouldn't have figured it out myself. Would you rather commit a little fraud to get around the fact that they try to make life hard on you by asking for the lock that may have been stolen or lose $1000+?

^If you choose the second option, you're a better man than I.

Your proposal is to steal money if your bike is stolen. Is that really who you are, and who your family think you are?

Perhaps you think that their lock guarantee is actually insurance? It’s not. It is only a guarantee of strength of the lock - not insurance against any theft.

 

[zapshe]

They'd to remove the front end of the trike because they couldn't cut the lock & chain combination, when they took mine.

It can happen to you. It's just "always someone else it happens to". Slight contradiction but "It'll never happen to me" gets thrown about too easily.

Check youtube for "Gone in 17 seconds". The owner thought his was secure.

I was only being being sarcastic and I've seen that video. This is why I've been posting and gathering information. I want to be prepared for if/when it happens.

Plenty of malicious damage occurs. Cars and motorbikes get torched - it's the easiest way of destroying them and gets rid of any forensic evidence a would-be thief has left behind.
Push bikes regularly get smashed up, either just by mindless vandals or because attempted theft has failed. A look around any decent sized London bike rack will reveal bikes where the wheels have been kicked in and the rims bent, tyres slashed, saddles slashed or stolen, gear mechanisms kicked in. Easy-to-remove bits like pedals, saddles, bars, unsecured wheels - all go missing every day. Many an owner has returned to find their expensive bike reduced to a bare frame and back wheel with everything else gone. You're naïve if you think this doesn't happen to others or won't happen to you if you ride an expensive bike to uni. Get a hack bike for high risk locations and leave the expensive bike at home. As already said, a good lock or bike insurance, is more money than a cheap knockabout bike so it's a no-brainer.

That sounds like a rare event at a university which is where I'll be locking up my bike 99% of the time.

Your proposal is to steal money if your bike is stolen. Is that really who you are, and who your family think you are?

Perhaps you think that their lock guarantee is actually insurance? It’s not. It is only a guarantee of strength of the lock - not insurance against any theft.

Let me put it this way. The whole point of this is not to steal money. They say they will reimburse if their lock fails - that is their guarantee of their lock. If it does fail, they want proof - the lock. If the lock is stolen, I can't prove to them their lock failed. Think of it as a lie to reveal the truth. I'm NOT saying if the bike was stolen through another method - such as someone stealing the whole bike rack - that I would go through with this plan, since their lock did not indeed fail in that scenario. And let me make this clear as well, my morals are not your morals.

 

[User16625]

Your proposal is to steal money if your bike is stolen. Is that really who you are, and who your family think you are?

Perhaps you think that their lock guarantee is actually insurance? It’s not. It is only a guarantee of strength of the lock - not insurance against any theft.

His proposal is to get back at a company using "small print" to avoid fulfilling a promise they made. In this hypothetical case, paying out for a lock that got bust. The only reasonable stuff would be to register what ever bikes you intend to lock up using the lock. What's certainly not reasonable is requiring the broken lock as proof. As has been mentioned, thieves often take the locks with them, presumably not to leave any evidence.

With companies using unreasonable T&Cs and small print to void deals, I have absolutely nothing against people doing what you call fraud if it means they ultimately get what the company said they would give in an ad, online or wherever.

 

[Bazzer]

......................... Think of it as a lie to reveal the truth. ......

You cannot produce the lock to satisfy the terms and conditions attached to the lock, so produce another one instead; not by way of example, but solely to meet the terms and conditions of the missing lock. Therefore isn't it fraud?

His proposal is to get back at a company using "small print" to avoid fulfilling a promise they made. In this hypothetical case, paying out for a lock that got bust. The only reasonable stuff would be to register what ever bikes you intend to lock up using the lock. What's certainly not reasonable is requiring the broken lock as proof. As has been mentioned, thieves often take the locks with them, presumably not to leave any evidence.

With companies using unreasonable T&Cs and small print to void deals, I have absolutely nothing against people doing what you call fraud if it means they ultimately get what the company said they would give in an ad, online or wherever.

I don't doubt that the lock company are well aware of that locks will generally be taken with the bike and disposed of away from the scene of the crime, which is probably why they make the offer. Plus of course it would be attractive to a potential buyer. But if you buy the lock in the full knowledge of the terms and conditions, surely you are accepting those conditions? If you don't like the terms and conditions, surely you have two choices: 1) Don't buy the lock, or 2) If the bike is stolen along with the lock, challenge the terms and conditions.

 

[rivers]

Or you can just insure the bike so if it does get stolen, you know you are covered and you don't have to worry about Kryptonite trying to weasel out of it. Just a thought

 

[smutchin]

If I was going to commit fraud, I wouldn't write about it on a public internet forum.