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

sabinahano

Hey goes they are definite scam artists! They now seem to be operating under the company name ‘Trigger logistics ltd’ although it doesn’t say this anywhere on their website which is now ‘nearest-locksmith.’ Their previous website have been locksmith 24/7 and key 24 and seem to have been registered as ‘Blaga vest Ltd’ before. All of Romanian/Bulgarian nationality. They get to the top of the search engine through google add.

my elderly dad (pensioner) was unfortunately a victim yesterday when he got locked out of his flat. In a panic he called the first one on the list and was quoted a price (although higher than I would ever pay he didn’t inform me) once they had done the job they invoices him £760! which was double the quote!! This included a special lock for ‘£219’, the lock is £15 online. Feeling intimidated he paid by debit card as he didn’t know what else to do. I just really wish he had called me before.

Anyway we have tried to call their number and the lady who picks up is very secretive and rude and has now blocked all our numbers. I’ve spoke to to citizens advice who advised me to write a letter demanding a refund within a set deadline which they clearly won’t do then I will have to try escalate it further. My problem is they are obviously criminals to do this to the vulnerable and I worry that if I make a big fuss they know where my father lives and I wouldn’t even put it past them to have a spare key for the lock they put in!!

I’m not sure if we can join forces on this one as they have operated under different company names but it’s so frustrating they aren’t locked up!!

spaniardclimber

Sorry to hear that...

I had the same concers about them keeping a key, but they are locksmiths so even if they didn't keep one, they could easily open the door.

You should complain to google, stating a fake add and that they are scammers. If Google did something about it, it will help massively, but they don't.

I assume a joined small claims court claim might be our best option? We would need some advice from a lawyeer as to what is the best option...anyone know someone who could help?

henry11vr

Sorry to hear that...

I had the same concers about them keeping a key, but they are locksmiths so even if they didn't keep one, they could easily open the door.

spaniardclimber, I truly think you're right about it. But I would also inform different authority services to inform about such unfair business of this exact locksmith. It's way important for me, especially when I visit my second house in Canada, to get all the necessary emergency services when I would need them. And from my past experience, I can say for sure that these guys ( link: https://emergencylocksmithvancouver.ca/locksmith-locations/coquitlam/ ) know for sure how to manage with issues of doors being stuck. They helped me in few hours after I called them.

Hayley_Kirk

Hello everyone. I have also fallen into Trigger Lgs trap and spent £584.40 to have a lock replaced! I lost of S.75 claim with HSBC and have taken advice from Citizens advice consumer advice. I have also made a complaint to Master Locksmith Association. I am soon to send a letter before action to take them to small claims court. I will happily join forced with anyone. It is criminal how much they charge and they seem to get away with it.

Hayley_Kirk

spaniardclimber said:

Sorry to hear that...

I had the same concers about them keeping a key, but they are locksmiths so even if they didn't keep one, they could easily open the door.

You should complain to google, stating a fake add and that they are scammers. If Google did something about it, it will help massively, but they don't.

I assume a joined small claims court claim might be our best option? We would need some advice from a lawyeer as to what is the best option...anyone know someone who could help?

I am going to be taking them to small claims if I do not hear from them regarding latest letter. 

spaniardclimber

Hayley_Kirk said:

spaniardclimber said:

Sorry to hear that...

I had the same concers about them keeping a key, but they are locksmiths so even if they didn't keep one, they could easily open the door.

You should complain to google, stating a fake add and that they are scammers. If Google did something about it, it will help massively, but they don't.

I assume a joined small claims court claim might be our best option? We would need some advice from a lawyeer as to what is the best option...anyone know someone who could help?

I am going to be taking them to small claims if I do not hear from them regarding latest letter. 

I'm happy to join forces. I think the more we are, the better for a small claims court claim?

You will not hear from them, I sent that letter too.

roddie_london

Hayley_Kirk said:

spaniardclimber said:

Sorry to hear that...

I had the same concers about them keeping a key, but they are locksmiths so even if they didn't keep one, they could easily open the door.

You should complain to google, stating a fake add and that they are scammers. If Google did something about it, it will help massively, but they don't.

I assume a joined small claims court claim might be our best option? We would need some advice from a lawyeer as to what is the best option...anyone know someone who could help?

I am going to be taking them to small claims if I do not hear from them regarding latest letter. 

I am also happy to join forces. Its atrocious they keep doing this after all this time

MattMattMattUK

Hayley_Kirk said:

Hello everyone. I have also fallen into Trigger Lgs trap and spent £584.40 to have a lock replaced! I lost of S.75 claim with HSBC and have taken advice from Citizens advice consumer advice. I have also made a complaint to Master Locksmith Association. I am soon to send a letter before action to take them to small claims court. I will happily join forced with anyone. It is criminal how much they charge and they seem to get away with it.

On what legal grounds do you actually intend to take them to court? Remember that "I don't like the price I paid, but that I agreed to at the point I commissioned the service", is not legal grounds.

spaniardclimber

MattMattMattUK said:

Hayley_Kirk said:

Hello everyone. I have also fallen into Trigger Lgs trap and spent £584.40 to have a lock replaced! I lost of S.75 claim with HSBC and have taken advice from Citizens advice consumer advice. I have also made a complaint to Master Locksmith Association. I am soon to send a letter before action to take them to small claims court. I will happily join forced with anyone. It is criminal how much they charge and they seem to get away with it.

On what legal grounds do you actually intend to take them to court? Remember that "I don't like the price I paid, but that I agreed to at the point I commissioned the service", is not legal grounds.

On this legal ground:

Your contract is potentially governed by the Consumer Rights Act, which states that any service must be carried out at a reasonable price. This means the service should be carried out to a price you would expect for that specific job to be performed by a competent trader in that field.

You may be able to claim a price reduction basing it on what would be considered to be a reasonable price to that line of trade for that specific job.

They are scammers, the price we agreed was £200 and they ended up charging £600. Not to mention false advertising as they were not local, and they charged a call out fee.

Grumpy_chap

spaniardclimber said:

The only thing we can do I believe is to put a claim throught the small claims court.

Dunno if by joining forces there is anythign we can do...I don't even know a lawyer that can advice..

KF8192 said:

If you want to join forces, let me know. 

spaniardclimber said:

we could maybe join forces and go via the small claims court? 

sabinahano said:

I’m not sure if we can join forces on this one as they have operated under different company names but it’s so frustrating they aren’t locked up!!

spaniardclimber said:

I assume a joined small claims court claim might be our best option? We would need some advice from a lawyeer as to what is the best option...anyone know someone who could help?

Hayley_Kirk said:

I am soon to send a letter before action to take them to small claims court. I will happily join forced with anyone. 

Hayley_Kirk said:

I am going to be taking them to small claims if I do not hear from them regarding latest letter. 

spaniardclimber said:

I'm happy to join forces. I think the more we are, the better for a small claims court claim?

roddie_london said:

I am also happy to join forces. Its atrocious they keep doing this after all this time

Are group / class actions even possible at Small Claims Court?

Given the amount of energy expended on this since the OP's first post 18 months ago, surely if anyone was actually going to go to small claims court, they would have done so by now and could share the details of the outcome.