Any tips for lost keys?

peter021072

I normally carry two sets of keys around with me, one in my coat pocket and another in a sort of dog belt.  Yesterday evening I noticed the keys in the dog belt are missing.  These will have probably fallen out whilst dog walking or at the shops.  I'm reasonably certain they haven't been stolen although they might end up in the wrong hands. I've dropped them a few times in the past, but I normally hear them drop.  I've searched all the usual places I might have left them, but due to my poor memory I will never put them anywhere but two places or the door!

They will be similar to my last set which consists of a door key and old 2005 Hyundai key (basic turn type not remote).  Has anyone any tips, for a) finding them b) replacing them cheaply?  Does it really cost £85 to replace an old style car key? http://carkeypeople.co.uk/car-makes/hyundai-key-replacement/

My plan is to report it to the police followed by shops, I don't cant too many people to know for obvious reasons, although any burglar would be disappointed!

tacpot12

If you still have a key to the car, it should not cost that much. Only if all the keys have been lost and the engine management unit needs replacing should the cost approach £865. What model of Hyundi do you have?

You should replace the lock at home so that even if the keys do fall into the wrong hands they can't be used to enter your home.  

peter021072

tacpot12 said:

If you still have a key to the car, it should not cost that much. Only if all the keys have been lost and the engine management unit needs replacing should the cost approach £865. What model of Hyundi do you have?

You should replace the lock at home so that even if the keys do fall into the wrong hands they can't be used to enter your home.  

Sorry I must have fat fingers, £85!

victor2

As already suggested, replace the lock in your door so that the lost key won't operate it. If it's a common cylinder "Euro" style lock it's an easy job to do yourself and will probably cost less than the car key. If the car key is found and falls into the wrong hands, they could in theory try all the locally parked Hyundais to see if it fits any, hence identifying the house it belongs to, but it probably isn't worth their effort.

In the good old days, you would find a key, wallet etc. and hand it in to your local police station, but there aren't such things now, or any similar respect for people's belongings.

Princessa_2

Check Facebook pages, people don’t seem to hand stuff in anymore and would rather put a post on fb

NSG666

Finding your keys: I used to be on a Facebook page for my local town and people were finding keys all the time and asking for the owner to get in touch. This was all done very sensibly and safely. If you are not on social media then hopefully your local shops are and will see any posts about lost keys.

Car key replacement: Try a local auto locksmith - it might be cheaper especially if you can take the car to them.

House key: Check your Home Insurance as it might include cover for lost keys

peter021072

I'm hoping new keys/locks will cost less than my excess on either car or house insurance, I'm not insured for contents anyway, and my car is only worth a couple of hundred quid. Possibly just 3rd Party F&T

I'm always wary about insurance, because I could lose far more in no claims, and future premiums. I could inform the police of course. Still have a faint hope they might turn up.

BUFF

re. finding have you considered something like a Tile? https://uk.tile.com/how-it-works

Doozergirl

victor2 said:

As already suggested, replace the lock in your door so that the lost key won't operate it. If it's a common cylinder "Euro" style lock it's an easy job to do yourself and will probably cost less than the car key. If the car key is found and falls into the wrong hands, they could in theory try all the locally parked Hyundais to see if it fits any, hence identifying the house it belongs to, but it probably isn't worth their effort.

In the good old days, you would find a key, wallet etc. and hand it in to your local police station, but there aren't such things now, or any similar respect for people's belongings.

That's not true.  People are inherently good. It's true to say there aren't
many police stations around, but people are constantly posting found keys and bank cards on local community facebook sites and often hand them into shops.  

I lost my keys out walking the dogs in the fields near my house and someone had posted about them before I'd even realised they were missing.   I'd gone on there to ask for help, but it was always there waiting.    Thank goodness I didn't have to retrace my steps in the dark! 

It's definitely worth joining some local pages for that reason, amongst others.  

I'd also recommend investing in a Tile.  Really useful for retrieving lost keys in and outside of the home!    

https://uk.tile.com/

There are often offers on them around the internet.  I've bought quite a few for people as gifts as I've found mine to be really useful. 

Brie

check your household and car insurance policies.  they may do lost key replacement.  face it - it's in their interest to pay tiddly£ for a couple of keys as opposed to mega£££££ to replace the whole car and the contents of your house (not that that's likely - quite seriously)

failing that Timpson's do car keys for about £25 unless they are the IT whiz keys favoured by the latest car models.  

and a locksmith should be able to sort out changing the locks quickly and without too much £ if you can wait til Monday.

EssexExile

Is there anything with the keys that gives your address and car number? If not you'd be very unlucky if they were used by the finder.