Timpsons - massive ripoff

robatwork

I'll be round to give you your keys back soon which I found outside Timpsons. Under the first bridge to the right it is.

robatwork

Oddly I had to get some pretty obscure keys cut last week, and gave Timpsons a swerve in favour of the more specialist locksmith shop in town.

The guy there really knew his key onions, spent ages trying to find a match, and had to manually file down the nearest match. He spent about 30 minutes on cutting 3 copies, and I was almost embarrassed to only pay £12 for the keys.

So a vote in favour of the independent specialist from me.

marlot

hollydays wrote: »

I have my address on my keys.

And your car registration number?

And times when the house is normally empty?

enfield_freddy

robatwork wrote: »

Oddly I had to get some pretty obscure keys cut last week, and gave Timpsons a swerve in favour of the more specialist locksmith shop in town.

The guy there really knew his key onions, spent ages trying to find a match, and had to manually file down the nearest match. He spent about 30 minutes on cutting 3 copies, and I was almost embarrassed to only pay £12 for the keys.

So a vote in favour of the independent specialist from me.[/QUOTE]


now I thought they were a franchise , not independent

prowla

I've used Timpsons for keys, and have always had to go back and get them replaced.
They're also expensive; the last keys I needed I went to a specialist locks and doors company and they were cheaper and better.

robatwork

enfield_freddy wrote: »

So a vote in favour of the independent specialist from me.[/QUOTE]


now I thought they were a franchise , not independent

I think you got the wrong end of the stick/key.

The one I went to was a genuine owner-run independent. Not a Timpsons.

enfield_freddy

sorry , my bad , misread your post

Joe_Horner

grayme-m wrote: »

My watch is kinetic, but the wife's Casio has a battery from Timpsons.

It's a lifetime replacement, or free refills.

The problem with that is that you pay double, or more, for the "lifetime" battery service and they know that the chances are high that one of the following will happen in the (say) 3 years average that the new one lasts:

(a) You'll get another watch because you fancy a change and stick that one in a drawer, so never go back to claim.
(b) You'll lose your paperwork so won't be able to claim on the free replacement
(c) The watch will get damaged in some other way and you'll replace it.
(d) The watch will develop a fault so that, when you go for the replacement, you'll be told "Sorry, it's not the battery" and your "lifetime" service expires at that point.

The chance of one of those happening during the 6 year + life of the first TWO batteries (which you've paid for in the first place) is very high indeed, especially when you think that the recommended service interval for most quartz watches is about 5 years, you've already had 3 years out of the original (or possibly more), and those two from Timpsons would take it to 9 years since the watch was made. So the chance of it "not being the battery" by the end of the second is well into odds-on territory.

Don't forget that the actual cost for the most popular cells (in bulk) is well under £1 per cell for good quality brands so, even if you manage to get a third one against the odds, it's going to take no more than £1 and about 5 minutes out of their profits that day. Good marketing, but not a bad gamble from their point of view

sabrinas707

Very expensive. I've had keys cut and shoes reheeled at various branches over the years. Its been when there are no other shops around that I could go to instead. If I have a choice I wouldn't go there as it is very poor value for money.

paddyrg

robatwork wrote: »

Oddly I had to get some pretty obscure keys cut last week, and gave Timpsons a swerve in favour of the more specialist locksmith shop in town.

The guy there really knew his key onions, spent ages trying to find a match, and had to manually file down the nearest match. He spent about 30 minutes on cutting 3 copies, and I was almost embarrassed to only pay £12 for the keys.

So a vote in favour of the independent specialist from me.

I once needed keys cut for a lock dating to 1836 (according to Chubb, who had kept the records) on a blank that you just can't get any more. Independent locksmith and enthusiast dismantled the lock and created a key from the mechanism, took him nearly a whole day, he was excited to show me the mechanism that it had an anti-pick curtain, and that if the wrong key was tried, would go into a state where it would indicate to the right keyholder that someone had tried. 5 levers, all in a lock half the size of a matchbox! £12 for two copies