The Lock Up Proper Set, by Graham Pennock

The door, the phone and the winter. What to do, what it costs, and where it says so.

The three books of The Lock Up Proper Set shown side by side, with dark covers. Digital PDF, nothing ships.
Digital PDF

3 books, 507 A4 pages. 14-point type. Digital PDF. Nothing ships.

Get the 3 books, £37

Home security, scams and winter, written for the UK. UK law, UK prices, and the source of every rule listed in the back, so you can look it up yourself.

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What this is

Don’t take my word for it.

I’m Graham Pennock. I live on my own in a 1930s semi, and I wanted one plain place that said what to do about the things people on their own worry about: the door at night, the man on the step, the call from “your bank”, the power going off in January.

The good information exists. It’s spread across hundreds of official pages, and a lot of it is written for people who already know the answer. So these books gather it up, put it in order, and say it plainly, with what each thing costs.

Every rule in here comes from a page you can look up yourself. 613 sources, read in November 2026, are listed in the back with their web addresses. Where the official pages disagree, the book tells you. Where a page couldn’t be read or a fact couldn’t be found, it says that too, and leaves the gap.

How it works

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A word on trust. You should be careful about paying for things online, and this page is no exception. Buy through the Gumroad button here and nowhere else. You can read a page of the book for free below before you pay a penny.

Real prices

What the first few fixes cost.

Every fix in Book 1 has a price from a real shop page, read in November 2026. These are from the plans in the back of the book. Shops change their prices, and these don’t include anybody’s time to fit them.

From Book 1Price

  • Door chain£3.99Toolstation or Screwfix. Lets you see who it is before the door is open.
  • Door viewer£4.45Toolstation. Needs a hole through the door, so a job for someone with a drill.
  • Plug-in 24-hour timer£4.99Toolstation. For a lamp.
  • Bolt for the side gate£2.69Toolstation.
  • Dusk-to-dawn bulb£3.83Toolstation. Bayonet fitting.
  • Hinge bolts, a pair£4.29Screwfix. For doors with hinges showing outside.
  • 5-lever mortice deadlock£25.70Toolstation. Listed as BS 3621. Add the cost of fitting.
An engraved illustration of a quiet street of British semi-detached houses at dusk.

Book 1 has four plans, at £20, £50, £100 and £250, one for a wooden door and one for a uPVC door, with the sums shown. Six of the first jobs cost nothing at all, and you’ll find them on this page, further down.

I won’t tell you any of this stops a burglar. Nothing can promise that. What the figures do show is where burglars tend to get in, so you can spend your money there first.

Look inside

Real pages from the books.

Tap a page to see it bigger.

Page from the set: The front door.
The front door. Book 1, page 33.
Page from the set: If someone gets in.
If someone gets in. Book 1, page 114.
Page from the set: The knock at the door.
The knock at the door. Book 2, page 13.
Page from the set: The first hour.
The first hour. Book 2, page 118.
Page from the set: The power cut.
The power cut. Book 3, page 17.
Page from the set: Fire alarms.
Fire alarms. Book 3, page 83.
What is inside

Three books, 507 pages, and where to find things.

Lock Up Proper

Doors, keys, letterboxes, windows, gardens, lights, alarms and cameras. What each fix costs, with the shop and the price. The nightly lock-up. What to do if someone gets in, and the law on intruders in plain words.

You Don’t Owe Anybody an Open Door

Bogus callers, distraction burglary, rogue traders and your 14-day rights. Fake bank and fake police calls, the 159 number, texts, emails and scam post. If it has happened: the first hour, and how to go after your money.

When the Lights Go Out

The 105 number, the Priority Services Register, the power cut box, and your phone when the power is off. Keeping warm, frozen pipes, and winter money nation by nation. Fire, gas, floods, falls, alarms, and making sure somebody knows.

Book 1: Lock Up Proper, 177 pages
  • A note before you start 6
  • Six things to do tonight 8
  • How a house gets picked 12
  • The walk to the end of your path 19
  • Tricks that don’t work 25
  • The front door 32
  • Letterbox, keys and spare keys 43
  • Chains, viewers and video doorbells 50
  • Back doors, patio and French doors 57
  • Windows 64
  • Gates, side passages, sheds and bins 71
  • Lights 79
  • Alarms and cameras 85
  • The nightly lock-up 93
  • When you’re out, or away 97
  • Cash, valuables and marking your things 102
  • Neighbours and insurance 107
  • If someone gets in while you’re home 114
  • The law on intruders, in plain words 120
  • The day after a burglary 129
  • What to buy first: £20, £50, £100, £250 135
  • The room-by-room checklist 141
  • Pages to fill in 145
  • Numbers and words 148
  • Where It All Came From 153
Book 2: You Don’t Owe Anybody an Open Door, 175 pages
  • A note before you start 6
  • Seven rules that stop most of it 8
  • The knock at the door 12
  • Distraction burglary 20
  • Rogue traders 25
  • Your rights on the doorstep 33
  • Finding a trader you can trust 41
  • Charity collectors and cold callers 47
  • How a phone scam works 52
  • "This is your bank" and "this is the police" 59
  • Fake HMRC, DWP, TV Licensing, and tech support 67
  • "Hi Mum" and voice tricks 73
  • Quieter phone: blocking and registers 77
  • Texts, emails and websites 82
  • Scam post 89
  • Staying safe online without giving up 93
  • Investment and pension scams 99
  • Romance scams 107
  • Funeral plans, wills and power of attorney 112
  • If you’ve been had: the first hour 118
  • Getting your money back 124
  • After it: shame, sleep, and who helps 132
  • For sons and daughters 136
  • Numbers by nation 142
  • Pages to fill in 146
  • Where It All Came From 149
Book 3: When the Lights Go Out, 155 pages
  • A note before you start 6
  • The numbers on the fridge 8
  • When the power goes 12
  • The Priority Services Register 18
  • The power cut box 24
  • Your phone when the power’s off 30
  • Food, warmth and light in a cut 36
  • Compensation for long cuts 43
  • Doors, alarms and callers in a cut 46
  • Keeping warm 50
  • Boilers, pipes and the stop tap 57
  • Money for the winter 62
  • Bills, meters and the energy firm 76
  • Fire 82
  • Gas and carbon monoxide 91
  • Floods, storms and snow 97
  • Falls 104
  • Personal alarms and check-in calls 108
  • 999, 111 and being found 113
  • Not being on your own too much 117
  • Papers, plans and telling someone 120
  • The winter plan: month by month 124
  • Pages to fill in 129
  • Where It All Came From 132
Free sample

Six free jobs for tonight, and a scam card for nothing.

Here’s a page just as it sits in the book. None of it costs a penny.

Page 8 of Lock Up Proper: Six things to do tonight.
Read the six jobs in big type

Six things to do tonight

  1. Lock every outside door, and lock it right. On a uPVC door: lift the handle, turn the key, take it out.
  2. Shut the windows and use the locks.
  3. Take the keys out of the locks and give them one home: out of sight, out of reach from outside, and easy to find in the dark.
  4. Fetch in any hidden spare key.
  5. Clear the view. Handbags, phones and chargers out of sight from the window.
  6. Put the phone within reach and the numbers beside it. Charge it during the day, not while you sleep.

The free Scam Card

First page of The Scam Card: seven rules and four phone numbers.

Two pages to print: seven rules and the numbers to keep by the phone, and cards to cut out for your purse. Digital PDF. No email needed. It’s yours either way, and you can print some for your neighbours.

Download the free Scam Card
The offer

One price, one time, and it’s all digital.

Cover of Lock Up Proper, a digital PDF.

Lock Up Proper

Home security on a pension, room by room.

Digital PDF, 177 pages
Cover of You Don’t Owe Anybody an Open Door, a digital PDF.

You Don’t Owe Anybody an Open Door

Conmen at the door, on the phone and in the post.

Digital PDF, 175 pages
Cover of When the Lights Go Out, a digital PDF.

When the Lights Go Out

Power cuts, cold snaps and living on your own.

Digital PDF, 155 pages
  • The 3 books177, 175 and 155 pages, A4, 14-point type, with contents, index and working links.
  • A print version of eachWhite pages, for your own printer.
  • Phone-side scam cardsSix cards for six kinds of call or message.
  • Room-by-room checklistTick your way round the house.
  • “If it happens” sheetEight bad moments and what to do first, for the fridge.
  • Free updatesIf I issue a corrected edition, you get it through your Gumroad receipt.
£37One payment. Everything is digital. Nothing ships.

Launch price ends soon. Then it goes to £47, once.

Get the 3 books, £37

Instant download through Gumroad, also emailed. Just one book? Any single book is £19. Choose it at checkout.

A sheet from The Print-and-Post Pack, a digital PDF.
Add-on, if you want it

The Print-and-Post Pack, £7

13 sheets to print and put up: who to ring on the fridge, the door rule in the hall, the phone rule by the phone, a No Cold Callers notice. You choose it at checkout, and with the set it comes to £44.

Digital PDF

30-day guarantee

Read them, try them. If they’re not for you, ask for your money back within 30 days of buying, through your Gumroad receipt.

A note from Graham Engraved illustration of Graham Pennock.

I don’t promise you anything about your house. I don’t know your doors, your street or your neighbours, and no book can stop every bad thing.

I can promise you won’t be frightened on purpose. There’s no scaremongering in these books. There’s the door, the lock, the phone and the number to ring.

Start with one job, tonight, while it’s on your mind. If you’re in doubt, keep it shut and ring 101. If you’re frightened, 999.

Lock up proper.

Graham Pennock
Autumn 2026

Questions

Before you buy

Is this a printed book?

No. These are digital books, PDF files, and nothing ships to your house. Some pictures show them as books because that’s how they read, but what you get is files.

You can print them yourself. There’s a version of each on white pages, to save ink.

Will it open on my phone?

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I can’t find my download.

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The link in that email works on any device, as often as you need it.

Is the type big enough?

Everything in the books is 14-point or bigger, on A4 pages: the body, the tables, the page numbers, even the source list.

Does it cover Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

Yes. The law and the schemes aren’t the same in all four nations, and the books say so wherever they differ, with the right number for each. There are a few gaps where an official page couldn’t be read. Those are named in the book, so nobody is left guessing.

Where do the rules come from?

From official and well-known UK pages: GOV.UK, legislation.gov.uk, Citizens Advice, Age UK, the FCA, Ofgem, the NHS, Report Fraud and others. 613 pages in all, each read in November 2026 and listed in the back with its web address, so you can check any of it yourself.

Rules and prices change. Each book tells you the date, and which page to check before you act.

Is this legal, money or medical advice?

No. It’s general information from public sources, in plain English. For your own case, the books tell you who to ring. In an emergency ring 999.

Can I buy just one book?

Yes. Any single book is £19. Choose it at checkout.

Is there a monthly charge?

No. You pay once. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel.

Will the price go up?

Yes, once. The £37 launch price ends soon. Then it goes to £47.

Do I need the Print-and-Post Pack?

No. The books stand on their own. The pack is an add-on for £7: 13 sheets ready to print and put up, such as who to ring on the fridge, the door rule in the hall and the phone rule by the phone. If you want it, choose it at checkout. With the set it comes to £44.

What if it isn’t for me?

You have a 30-day guarantee. Ask for your money back within 30 days of buying, through your Gumroad receipt.

Questions and refunds are handled through your Gumroad receipt.

Three plain books. Every rule with its source.

Get the 3 books, £37

Digital PDF. Nothing ships. 30-day guarantee.

Get the 3 books, £37