Misrepresentation and Fraud
Misrepresentation and fraud are widespread in the safes and vault industry in Ireland.
Second hand safes sold as new.
Uncertified steel boxes sold as high security safes.
DIY deposit systems which invalidate certification and insurance cover.
Misleading terms like "Euro Grade" imply Euorpean certification while offering none.
"Recommended cash covers" which are two, five or even ten times higher than what an insurer would ever pay out.
Non-accredited "certification" bodies who "certify" products based on completely invalid criteria with no legal basis.
All these and more have been endemic in the safe and vault trade for decades. Even though it can be hard to know valid certification from invalid, the insurance industry are happy to leave that particular issue up to the customer, at least until a claim is made. When it comes to insurance it is the customers responsibility to see that all details regarding a safe, strong room or vault are correct. Insurance companies will often only inspect these details after a claim is made and discrepancies between security products as described on policies and the security products that are actually fitted may result in a denied claim.
For overnight insurance purposes, safes are graded according to their tested resistance to attack. The testing must be done according to E.U. standards, by test houses accredited according to ISO/IEC 17025:2012 and then the rating itself must be certified by certification bodes holding ISO/IEC 17065:2012 accreditiation.
When a safe is tested according to European standards it has a test badge fixed to the inside of its door stating its grade in Roman numerals, its weight and its type.
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| Example of legitimate badges of safe certification |
This information can be verified on any of the recognised test houses web sites.
Remember it is fraud to:
- Alter a certified safe for a deposit system and claim the altered product as a graded safe for insurance purposes.
- Claim a safe with unaccredited certification as a recognised grade safe accedited to European standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012.
- Claim a cash cover for a safe based on the "recommended cover" proposed by the manfacturer.
- Sell a safe that has been damaged due to being cut open after a lockout as a refurbished certified safe.
- Claim a certified fire cover where none has been certified.
Genuine Marks Of ISO/IEC 17065 European Certification.
The only certification bodies who can issue valid European certification for these standards at present are:
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CNPP - France - Cert mark is A2P | www.cnpp.com |
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ECBS - Germany | www.ecb-s.com |
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ICIM - Italy | www.icim.it |
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SBSC - Sweden | www.sbsc.se |
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VdS - Germany | www.vds.de |
Marks Often Mistaken for ISO/IEC 17065 European Certification.
 LPCB - a U.K. Testing & Certification Body not accredited according to ISO/IEC 17065 to certify safes. |
 The Association Of Insurance Surveyors "AIS Approved Safe" mark is NOT a certification mark.The AIS is an independent organisation of people working in the safe industry and risk market throughout the UK. The AIS produces a list of safes many of which were manufactured before European certification. The list's stated intent is to act as an aid to the UK insurance industry. |
