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Advice regarding Locksmiths
Lertoc
Posts: 18 Forumite
TL:DR:
I have been a long time reader of these forums and they have given me good advice over the years, so, thank you everybody!
I know I am a little late for Halloween, but I thought I'd share with you a horror story, meant to serve as a cautionary tale, but I also thought I’d see if you guys could give me some advice.
I was helping my girlfriend move into her new flat last weekend, and as we left it on Saturday night to grab some food she realised the keys in her pocket were not those of her new flat.
So, locked out and with limited research tools (my phone) we went about finding a locksmith. The most legitimate looking one was a sponsored link on Google, had a very nice website (even one that had been mobile-optimised) I won’t post the company details in public (yet) just in case it gives them a heads up. PM me if you want more information.
I placed an enquiry through a form on their website, and someone called about 10 mins later, fairly polite phone manner, and informed me that a call-out is charged at £79 (a bit expensive, but what do you expect for a Saturday night) and they could get there in about 45 minutes.
They also told me the £79 did not include any “materials” if the lock needs to be damaged in order to open it (I know, this should have been my first alarm bell) I informed them that it was a standard Yale lock and it was just “on the latch” they said that should be fine.
After a bit more research (and some food) we called them back to get them to come to the flat. I spent this time telling my very angry and upset girlfriend that “it was all ok” and “things like this happen”.
The “engineer” arrived fairly promptly (20 minutes) in an un-liveried van without the smart uniform polo shirt as depicted on their site (which should have been my second alarm bell) He seemed alright, all be it a bit quiet and English was clearly not his first language.
We showed him to the door, and out one of his two toolboxes he pulled a simple plastic sheet, that he used as a shim to try and get between the lock and the door. He tried this to no avail for about 2 minutes, and then without asking, and very quickly, pulled out a drill and proceeded to drill through the lock. No picking, no bumping, no raking, (I do know a little about lockpicking, and with the right tools I probably could have got into there, I might have even been able to get it with a coathanger through the letterbox) but no, he didn’t try anything else just straight to unauthorised destruction of property. I stop him and ask him what the hell he is doing, he apologises for not making it clear that he “had” to do this, the lock is now useless and so he proceeds. This is particularly unfortunate as it was rented accommodation and any lock changes are supposed to be authorised by the landlord.
Sure enough the lock went flying through the door and onto the carpet behind, and we were left with a hole in the door (oh and way-to-go Neighbourhood watch, loud metal drilling in the hallway at 11pm and no-one bats an eyelid, but I digress)
He then asks do we want him to fit a new lock, our first reaction after what he has already done was “NO!” (as I could probably go out and buy and fit a new lock for £25) but then after thinking about it, no lock and a hole in the door, even overnight, is probably a bad idea, so we enquire how much it will cost, he tells us £50, we reluctantly go ahead.
After fitting a new lock (not even a Yale one) he presented us with a bill for £250 and a mobile Point of Sale device (which was the most sophisticated bit of kit in his toolbox)
Looking at the breakdown it was £79 for the call out, £50 for the lock, and £79 for the “labour” (whih we had not been told about, no matter how much he tried to convince us otherwise) plus VAT. £249.60
I informed him that he was a crook (in more words than that) and that it was not the way to run a business. It was clear that the pricing was deliberately vague and ambiguous, that they never intended to open the lock without breaking it, and planned on charging through the roof for a replacement.
We had some trouble paying, we took out £150 for it but as this wasn’t enough we had to pay by card (I think the bank blocked our transaction as it was so much!) I asked to be invoiced so we could pay at a later date, he then got rather intense, and refused to leave until I paid, I eventually found a credit card and managed to pay, we were tired I just wanted it to be over.
And as soon as he was paid he scarpered. Oh, and he didn’t even clean up the metal shavings after himself!
In summary, 20 min drive + 15 min of work + £25 lock = £250 apparently
So yes, hindsight is a beautiful thing, I should have seen the "BBC Rogue Traders" webpage on this subject and should have looked for them on the "Master Locksmiths Association" website (I would post links, but it currently does not allow me to)
I have resigned myself to the fact that the money is gone, and there is no way to get it back.
My main aim now is stop people in similar situations from losing out like we did, and out of spite I want to cost them more than the £250 they swindled out of us. Can anybody think of any cheap/free legal things that I could do to, or any other avenues that I could investigate?
So far I am thinking; spread the message on other forums, ask Google to remove their sponsorship, inform BBC Watchdog and send a formal letter to the Master Locksmiths Association.
Are there any other authorities that I can inform?
Thanks for taking the time to read this monster of a first post.
got scammed out of £250 by a seemingly legit locksmiths company who did not tell us prices and destroyed the lock without permission. What do?
I have been a long time reader of these forums and they have given me good advice over the years, so, thank you everybody!
I know I am a little late for Halloween, but I thought I'd share with you a horror story, meant to serve as a cautionary tale, but I also thought I’d see if you guys could give me some advice.
I was helping my girlfriend move into her new flat last weekend, and as we left it on Saturday night to grab some food she realised the keys in her pocket were not those of her new flat.
So, locked out and with limited research tools (my phone) we went about finding a locksmith. The most legitimate looking one was a sponsored link on Google, had a very nice website (even one that had been mobile-optimised) I won’t post the company details in public (yet) just in case it gives them a heads up. PM me if you want more information.
I placed an enquiry through a form on their website, and someone called about 10 mins later, fairly polite phone manner, and informed me that a call-out is charged at £79 (a bit expensive, but what do you expect for a Saturday night) and they could get there in about 45 minutes.
They also told me the £79 did not include any “materials” if the lock needs to be damaged in order to open it (I know, this should have been my first alarm bell) I informed them that it was a standard Yale lock and it was just “on the latch” they said that should be fine.
After a bit more research (and some food) we called them back to get them to come to the flat. I spent this time telling my very angry and upset girlfriend that “it was all ok” and “things like this happen”.
The “engineer” arrived fairly promptly (20 minutes) in an un-liveried van without the smart uniform polo shirt as depicted on their site (which should have been my second alarm bell) He seemed alright, all be it a bit quiet and English was clearly not his first language.
We showed him to the door, and out one of his two toolboxes he pulled a simple plastic sheet, that he used as a shim to try and get between the lock and the door. He tried this to no avail for about 2 minutes, and then without asking, and very quickly, pulled out a drill and proceeded to drill through the lock. No picking, no bumping, no raking, (I do know a little about lockpicking, and with the right tools I probably could have got into there, I might have even been able to get it with a coathanger through the letterbox) but no, he didn’t try anything else just straight to unauthorised destruction of property. I stop him and ask him what the hell he is doing, he apologises for not making it clear that he “had” to do this, the lock is now useless and so he proceeds. This is particularly unfortunate as it was rented accommodation and any lock changes are supposed to be authorised by the landlord.
Sure enough the lock went flying through the door and onto the carpet behind, and we were left with a hole in the door (oh and way-to-go Neighbourhood watch, loud metal drilling in the hallway at 11pm and no-one bats an eyelid, but I digress)
He then asks do we want him to fit a new lock, our first reaction after what he has already done was “NO!” (as I could probably go out and buy and fit a new lock for £25) but then after thinking about it, no lock and a hole in the door, even overnight, is probably a bad idea, so we enquire how much it will cost, he tells us £50, we reluctantly go ahead.
After fitting a new lock (not even a Yale one) he presented us with a bill for £250 and a mobile Point of Sale device (which was the most sophisticated bit of kit in his toolbox)
Looking at the breakdown it was £79 for the call out, £50 for the lock, and £79 for the “labour” (whih we had not been told about, no matter how much he tried to convince us otherwise) plus VAT. £249.60
I informed him that he was a crook (in more words than that) and that it was not the way to run a business. It was clear that the pricing was deliberately vague and ambiguous, that they never intended to open the lock without breaking it, and planned on charging through the roof for a replacement.
We had some trouble paying, we took out £150 for it but as this wasn’t enough we had to pay by card (I think the bank blocked our transaction as it was so much!) I asked to be invoiced so we could pay at a later date, he then got rather intense, and refused to leave until I paid, I eventually found a credit card and managed to pay, we were tired I just wanted it to be over.
And as soon as he was paid he scarpered. Oh, and he didn’t even clean up the metal shavings after himself!
In summary, 20 min drive + 15 min of work + £25 lock = £250 apparently
So yes, hindsight is a beautiful thing, I should have seen the "BBC Rogue Traders" webpage on this subject and should have looked for them on the "Master Locksmiths Association" website (I would post links, but it currently does not allow me to)
I have resigned myself to the fact that the money is gone, and there is no way to get it back.
My main aim now is stop people in similar situations from losing out like we did, and out of spite I want to cost them more than the £250 they swindled out of us. Can anybody think of any cheap/free legal things that I could do to, or any other avenues that I could investigate?
So far I am thinking; spread the message on other forums, ask Google to remove their sponsorship, inform BBC Watchdog and send a formal letter to the Master Locksmiths Association.
Are there any other authorities that I can inform?
Thanks for taking the time to read this monster of a first post.
0
Comments
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You say you paid with a credit card, you could try them saying you paid for a service under duress and that you feel you were overcharged.You may click thanks if you found my advice useful0
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Sorry, no time to read all that.0
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Phone Trading Standards, Citizens Advice, Consumer Direct, or whatever the latest name is. They will give you advice. Make sure you keep any receipts, and make notes of times. Your only redress might be the Small Claims Court as it is commonly known.Warning: This forum may contain nuts.0
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Start by rereading the website then follow the in house complaints procedure - yes that means writing. If you get no joy move on to outside agencies. You should give any company a chance to rectify their poor service. It's possible the telephone operator was badly trained or the locksmith was a contractor not following protocol and you could be offered a decent refund.Declutterbug-in-progress.⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️⭐️0
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i would have thought if you called any emergency trades at that time of night you're going to have to pay a premium for it,
my neighbour locked herself out and called the locksmith , he came and was there for 30 seconds and charged her £80 , this was a early evening call out and no new lock was fitted0 -
i would have thought if you called any emergency trades at that time of night you're going to have to pay a premium for it,
my neighbour locked herself out and called the locksmith , he came and was there for 30 seconds and charged her £80 , this was a early evening call out and no new lock was fitted
From the description it appears that the trade destroyed the lock without first seeking permission. Is that not an unacceptable practice? If you are going to do a job, you first present the person with the options and costs, especially when the cost is so high. It does sound as if the person was a rogue. Just a guess though.Warning: This forum may contain nuts.0 -
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