Locksmith charged my wife £570, is there anything we can do?

photome

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

spaniardclimber

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Hasbeen

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

spaniardclimber

Hasbeen said:

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

We asked the agency and it´s not covered but any insurance.

We had the key, it´s just that there was another key fitted in the lock inside..

I know it could have been opened through the letter box, but they guy was a professional rip-offer ... the company has a reputation amongst locksmiths for bad practices and overcharging.

Thing is, they use Google ads to attract clients with false statements.

powerful_Rogue

spaniardclimber said:

Hasbeen said:

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

We asked the agency and it´s not covered but any insurance.

We had the key, it´s just that there was another key fitted in the lock inside..

I know it could have been opened through the letter box, but they guy was a professional rip-offer ... the company has a reputation amongst locksmiths for bad practices and overcharging.

Thing is, they use Google ads to attract clients with false statements.

How do you know that and why didn't you ask?

Manxman_in_exile

powerful_Rogue said:

spaniardclimber said:

Hasbeen said:

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

We asked the agency and it´s not covered but any insurance.

We had the key, it´s just that there was another key fitted in the lock inside..

I know it could have been opened through the letter box, but they guy was a professional rip-offer ... the company has a reputation amongst locksmiths for bad practices and overcharging.

Thing is, they use Google ads to attract clients with false statements.

How do you know that and why didn't you ask?

I suspect he's pretty much certain because at least two people (including me) have told him it can be done.  I've stood and watched an old-fashioned (ie proper) and well-equipped locksmith do just that when I locked myself out.  He put an articulated arm through the letter-box, manipulated it to grab the key in the lock, and opened it.  Resorting to drilling the lock out so you can overcharge for a new lock indicates this was not a proper locksmith.

(The OP wasn't present.  The locksmith was called out by the wife and she didn't ask.  I suspect she didn't realise and just wanted to get in.  Perfectly understandable to me).

spaniardclimber

powerful_Rogue said:

spaniardclimber said:

Hasbeen said:

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

We asked the agency and it´s not covered but any insurance.

We had the key, it´s just that there was another key fitted in the lock inside..

I know it could have been opened through the letter box, but they guy was a professional rip-offer ... the company has a reputation amongst locksmiths for bad practices and overcharging.

Thing is, they use Google ads to attract clients with false statements.

How do you know that and why didn't you ask?

I googled it and my wife asked, the guy was a professional scammer, he said it would be faster to drill, he never mentioned the extra cost: £200 for a £20 lock, and £60 for installing it.

It is what it is, I will update the thread as event develop.

Manxman_in_exile

spaniardclimber said:

powerful_Rogue said:

spaniardclimber said:

Hasbeen said:

spaniardclimber said:

photome said:

ripped off

My son locked himself out last week, called someone out at 7pm  £65 plus vat, admittedly he did get the door open without any drilling and didnt need to change the lock.  price paid was £78.
locksmith was recommended by the letting agency OP did your agency not recommend one

It was Sunday, I don't think my wife even thought of calling agency.

I believe it could have been opened via letterbox, but I guess the guy thought: If I'm gonna do a ripoff, let's do it properly.

At least he didn't change the door...

Yes. As I mentioned previously if there is a letter box, it appears to be very easy for old style experienced locksmiths to open door without any drilling / damage. Normal pull down handle, appears to also be easy with the internal thumb style locks.
With correct tools to reach into internal handle etc.

Not sure if I missed it but is there any landlords or other insurance cover?

Perhaps not exactly great advice, but some people bury a key at a depth in the garden, under paving slab etc. Not under the flower pot. LOL

We asked the agency and it´s not covered but any insurance.

We had the key, it´s just that there was another key fitted in the lock inside..

I know it could have been opened through the letter box, but they guy was a professional rip-offer ... the company has a reputation amongst locksmiths for bad practices and overcharging.

Thing is, they use Google ads to attract clients with false statements.

How do you know that and why didn't you ask?

I googled it and my wife asked, the guy was a professional scammer, he said it would be faster to drill, he never mentioned the extra cost: £200 for a £20 lock, and £60 for installing it.

It is what it is, I will update the thread as event develop.

   

Many many years ago, when we were young and naiive, we were locked out in the middle of the night and a "locksmith" (well they were according to yellow pages) drilled our lock out.  It took ages to do and their drill got through two battery packs.  They were worried how much longer it was going to take.

When my "proper" locksmith used the letter-box route, it took him about 90 seconds.

jlf6280

This afternoon I locked myself out and my purse and phone were in the house with my keys. A helpful neighbour called a locksmith and sadly it was Locksmith 24 hours Blaga Vest that she’d called. They lied and said they were a local company and would be with me in 20mins. An hour later they arrived to my house in Kent (probably from London where they seem to be based). They kept insisting they were local and charged me £333.60 for less than a minutes work opening my front door. £89 call out fee plus £189 to put something through the letter box- plus VAT. I questioned the outrageous price and was crying at this point but they didn’t care and I had no choice....and they knew it! I’m so upset and angry that they’re allowed to operate like this :-(

JamoLew

You could have asked for the total cost upfront and declined their services
Or was it only after they had let you in that you got upset ?