OnGuard Bike Lock Anti-Theft-Warranty: What a Sam!

[[email protected]]

I just bought an OnGuard bike lock that promised
a $1251 "Anti-Theft Protection Offer" on the outside
of the box. "(details inside)"

Inside is only a little note with the OnGuard webpage
address, no details.
Once you buy the thing and go home to register
your lock on line, you find out about the 'details':

- The anti-theft-warranty lasts only one year.

- They will not pay if "Torches, battery operated
tools or power tools were used to open the lock"

- They will pay "if your vehicle is stolen because your
OnGuard lock was broken or opened by force"
So that excludes picking the "pick resistant, over
30,000 key variations lock", with a bic pen or similar?

WHAT A SCAM!

Oh, and I forgot:

- If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.

If the thieve takes the lock, bad luck.
A very limited warranty, indeed.

(My last bike _was_ locked to a solid post, when it was
stolen, the tieves took the broken lock, too.)

SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.

 

[Fred]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just bought an OnGuard bike lock that promised
> a $1251 "Anti-Theft Protection Offer" on the outside
> of the box. "(details inside)"
>
> Inside is only a little note with the OnGuard webpage
> address, no details.
> Once you buy the thing and go home to register
> your lock on line, you find out about the 'details':
>
> - The anti-theft-warranty lasts only one year.
>
> - They will not pay if "Torches, battery operated
> tools or power tools were used to open the lock"
>
> - They will pay "if your vehicle is stolen because your
> OnGuard lock was broken or opened by force"
> So that excludes picking the "pick resistant, over
> 30,000 key variations lock", with a bic pen or similar?
>
> WHAT A SCAM!
>
> Oh, and I forgot:
>
> - If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
> OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.
>
> If the thieve takes the lock, bad luck.
> A very limited warranty, indeed.
>
> (My last bike _was_ locked to a solid post, when it was
> stolen, the tieves took the broken lock, too.)
>
> SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.

I'd take it back and demand a refund on principal - even if it looks like
the best lock on the entire planet.
>

 

[BroTHeR zAcHaRy]

Fred wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >I just bought an OnGuard bike lock that promised
> > a $1251 "Anti-Theft Protection Offer" on the outside
> > of the box. "(details inside)"
> >
> > - If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
> > OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.
> >
> > If the thieve takes the lock, bad luck.
> > A very limited warranty, indeed.
> >
> > (My last bike _was_ locked to a solid post, when it was
> > stolen, the tieves took the broken lock, too.)
> >
> > SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.
>
> I'd take it back and demand a refund on principal - even if it looks like
> the best lock on the entire planet.

Yes. Much better to leave the bike unlocked, and far raise its chances
of being stolen, rather than being made a fool of by the lock company.

 

[raleighist]

Here in NYC, no bike lock guarantee applies. It's a shame that's not
the case for you, then you'd actually be inclined to get the best lock
value: I have an On-Guard mini-U, and it's design surpasses Krypto's
Evo-mini while it costs about $20 less.

Good luck with the perfect lock search. Mine took almost a year.

 

[Diablo Scott]

[email protected] wrote:

>
> SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.
>

That guarantee is pretty much the same as the other lock manufacturers
offer - they're all to blame for deceptive marketing.

 

[Kenny]

People should just wise up. If you commute by bike and cannot park your
bike in a secure location such as an office or guarded garage, you
shouldn't be riding anything nice and or expensive. Nowadays commuters
with a street value of around 100 bucks is considered nice. 125 bucks
for a lock? Sorry dude. If that lock were on my commuter they'd
probably steal my bike just to get the lock. My commuter has a used
street value of around 30 dollars. I still lock it with a cheap-o cable
lock that the LBS threw in as part of my 60 dollar new bike purchase,
but that's only to thwart thieves of opportunity. Just my two cents.

 

[Beav]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just bought an OnGuard bike lock that promised
> a $1251 "Anti-Theft Protection Offer" on the outside
> of the box. "(details inside)"
>
> Inside is only a little note with the OnGuard webpage
> address, no details.
> Once you buy the thing and go home to register
> your lock on line, you find out about the 'details':
>
> - The anti-theft-warranty lasts only one year.
>
> - They will not pay if "Torches, battery operated
> tools or power tools were used to open the lock"
>
> - They will pay "if your vehicle is stolen because your
> OnGuard lock was broken or opened by force"
> So that excludes picking the "pick resistant, over
> 30,000 key variations lock", with a bic pen or similar?
>
> WHAT A SCAM!
>
> Oh, and I forgot:
>
> - If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
> OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.
>
> If the thieve takes the lock, bad luck.
> A very limited warranty, indeed.
>
> (My last bike _was_ locked to a solid post, when it was
> stolen, the tieves took the broken lock, too.)
>
> SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM, SCAM.

For some reason, you seem surprised. I can't think why in this day and age.


--
Beav

VN 750
Zed 1000
OMF# 19

 

[dgk]

On 25 Aug 2006 06:31:24 -0700, "Kenny" <[email protected]> wrote:

>People should just wise up. If you commute by bike and cannot park your
>bike in a secure location such as an office or guarded garage, you
>shouldn't be riding anything nice and or expensive. Nowadays commuters
>with a street value of around 100 bucks is considered nice. 125 bucks
>for a lock? Sorry dude. If that lock were on my commuter they'd
>probably steal my bike just to get the lock. My commuter has a used
>street value of around 30 dollars. I still lock it with a cheap-o cable
>lock that the LBS threw in as part of my 60 dollar new bike purchase,
>but that's only to thwart thieves of opportunity. Just my two cents.

You mean that I should bike 30 miles a day on a piece of ****? Does
that make sense?

 

[nash]

you might want to know this then,
Kryptonite Evolution 2000 U- Lock hacked by a Bic pen - Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2004/09/14/kryptonite-evolution-2000-u-lock-hacked-by-a-bic-pen/
The video was not working when I got there but the posts are good
enough.

I have a Krypto New Yorker. Their guarantee is pretty good but not if
the lock is gone.
I rely on it being pick proof and too hard to tamper with while people
are about constantly.
Although in NYC that would probably not save me.

 

[Mike Elliott]

On 8/25/2006 6:31 AM Kenny wrote:

<snip>

> I still lock it with a cheap-o cable
> lock that the LBS threw in as part of my 60 dollar new bike purchase,
> but that's only to thwart thieves of opportunity.

Speaking of which (cheap-o cables and thieves of opportunity, that is)
my favorite lock for many, many years was a skinny-ass sheathed cable
that couldn't have been more than 5mm in diameter. It had loops at both
end for the $2 padlock I used, and wasn't pre-coiled, which is a bonus
because the pre-coiled cables are, to me, a total pain. I would never
count on it to foil an interested thief -- what lock will, really? But
it could slow down the mildly-tempted.

I mislaid that cable years ago, and I need it now. I have to go to the
doctor's office in a couple weeks and the last time I went, I parked the
bike in the lobby. Security got all grumpy on me and told me to park the
bike in the parking structure, where there is reputed to be a bike rack.
But no supervision. Fire codes and strutting security guards are not
worth fighting with.

I have a Kryptonite U-lock for my school bike, but for this office all I
need is my little cable because the clientele at this medical building
is mainly old scudders, like me (or even older -- mumbling and shuffling
into the lab for tests, we are the walking dead). I'm not worried about
some punks with their hats on backwards taking a cutting torch or a pair
of scissors to my cable, because there are no punks with their hats on
backwards in this structure.

I can't find another cable like this. Not "extreme" enough, I reckon.
8mm is the skinniest I can find, and it's pre-coiled. Meh.

-- mike elliott

 

[Espressopithecus (Java Man)]

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
> I can't find another cable like this. Not "extreme" enough, I reckon.
> 8mm is the skinniest I can find, and it's pre-coiled. Meh.
>
I made a living manufacturing them in our garage when I was a U-student.
I sold ~ 150 of them a week to LBSs in our city for ~ 5 months in 1971.
I cleared about $1 on each cable. It took about 3 days a week to get
the materials, make 150 of them, and sell/deliver them. It was one of
the best summer jobs I ever had.

You could make one the way I made the prototype. I bought 6 foot length
of blue plastic-coated 1/4" stainless steel sailboat cable (too
expensive for mass production, but it looks great). I stripped ~4" of
the sheath from each end, bought 2 aluminum nicopress sleeves, and
hammered them on to form the loops. I still have this original, which I
use for locking up my BBQ on the deck.

http://www.bosunsupplies.com/products2.cfm?product=NicroS

Rick

 

[Mike Rocket J Squirrel]

Espressopithecus (Java Man) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> I can't find another cable like this. Not "extreme" enough, I reckon.
>> 8mm is the skinniest I can find, and it's pre-coiled. Meh.
>>
> I made a living manufacturing them in our garage when I was a U-student.
> I sold ~ 150 of them a week to LBSs in our city for ~ 5 months in 1971.
> I cleared about $1 on each cable. It took about 3 days a week to get
> the materials, make 150 of them, and sell/deliver them. It was one of
> the best summer jobs I ever had.

I reckon I got mine ~ 1980, but it sounds like yours were identical.

-- mike elliott

 

[Mike Rocket J Squirrel]

Espressopithecus (Java Man) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,

Oh wait -- you write,

> You could make one the way I made the prototype. I bought 6 foot length
> of blue plastic-coated 1/4" stainless steel sailboat cable

My cable was about 1/8'' diameter -- no where near 1/4''. But the
construction style is the same.

-- mike elliott

 

[Robert Bolton]

"Fred" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>>I just bought an OnGuard bike lock that promised
>> a $1251 "Anti-Theft Protection Offer" on the outside
>> of the box. "(details inside)"
>>
>> Inside is only a little note with the OnGuard webpage
>> address, no details.
>> Once you buy the thing and go home to register
>> your lock on line, you find out about the 'details':
>>
>> - The anti-theft-warranty lasts only one year.
>>
>> - They will not pay if "Torches, battery operated
>> tools or power tools were used to open the lock"
>>
>> - They will pay "if your vehicle is stolen because your
>> OnGuard lock was broken or opened by force"
>> So that excludes picking the "pick resistant, over
>> 30,000 key variations lock", with a bic pen or similar?
>>
>> WHAT A SCAM!
>>
>> Oh, and I forgot:
>>
>> - If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
>> OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.
>>
>> If the thieve takes the lock, bad luck.
>> A very limited warranty, indeed.
>>
Sounds like you have to buy two locks at a time then. Should your bike get
stolen you present the remaining lock, broken of course.

Robert

 

[firecow]

simple solution engrave on the lock " theft of this vehicle dose not
include the lock "

 

[NanC]

> - If your bike gets stolen, you have to submit your broken
> OnGuard lock within seven (7) days by certified mail to them.
>
In other words it is just like the rebate scams.
You surrender the evidence, and mail it to them.
They discard it and forget it.
Ever notice the rebates all need the ORIGINAL label, no photocopies?

Same thing..just TOO cute.