Have I been overcharged by a Locksmith?

Les1867

I have French patio doors that would not open, the key was spinning in Euro cylinder, on the left door.

I called a locksmith who told me multipoint lock system had failed and he would have to change it. He told me would charge no more than £170.

He took off the handles and drilled 3 holes either side of door trying to find unlock points on the gearbox. He told me that he had released both hook bolts but could not release top and bottom shoot bolts. He then told me he would have to snap the cylinder to open the door. He snapped it and still could not open the door.  

He was at my property for approximately two hours trying to open the door. He even loosened one of the hinges on the door outside. He could not open the door and said he would need a glazier to take out the glass to open it. I declined this and he said he would get another locksmith. He came and they wedged the door from both sides. The locksmith the took then took a hammer and chisel to the bottom hook bolt (he clearly had not unlocked it) and broke it in half. They wedged the top of the door and opened it.

The  second locksmith (the first one disappeared) changed the gearbox and replaced the cylinder. He attached the gearbox to the damaged multipoint system and put it back in the door.

I was charged £200 for the gearbox and cylinder. Also, the door is less secure with the broken hook bolt.

Have I been overcharged? It was not my fault the first locksmith was incompetent. I presumed they were going to replace the whole of multipoint locking system and would have happily paid £200 if this was the case.

Help!

tacpot12

It doesn't feel like you have been overcharged by either locksmith; you didn't pay the first locksmith anything, but had you have paid he fee, he would have owed you the cost of the multi-point locking system. I expect he hasn't sent you a bill because he knows that he owes you more than you owe him!

£200 seems a fair price for the work and parts installed by the second locksmith. If it were me, I would pay to get the multi-point locking system replaced.  

Les1867

tacpot12 said:

It doesn't feel like you have been overcharged by either locksmith; you didn't pay the first locksmith anything, but had you have paid he fee, he would have owed you the cost of the multi-point locking system. I expect he hasn't sent you a bill because he knows that he owes you more than you owe him!

£200 seems a fair price for the work and parts installed by the second locksmith. If it were me, I would pay to get the multi-point locking system replaced.  

Hi thanks for your reply.
I think the second locksmith owns the company and the first works for him.

tacpot12

In which case, I would offer to go halves with the second locksmith to get the multi-point locking system replaced. 

maisie_cat

How old was the multipoint system? they degrade with time. We had to replace multi point locking bars last year, the old ones were clearly degraded and had seized. In our case I sourced parts online and we managed ourselves.
To be fair to the locksmith, they won't know if the mechanism is knackered with age or simply failed prematurely. £200 doesn't sound too much for the amount of time they spent

d0nkeyk0ng

I vaguely recall paying £200 or so when our multipoint locking system gearbox failed. He managed to get his hands on a new one (it was an old design) and fit it. Your home insurance may be invalid if the locking system doesn’t work like it should. 

Les1867

maisie_cat said:

How old was the multipoint system? they degrade with time. We had to replace multi point locking bars last year, the old ones were clearly degraded and had seized. In our case I sourced parts online and we managed ourselves.
To be fair to the locksmith, they won't know if the mechanism is knackered with age or simply failed prematurely. £200 doesn't sound too much for the amount of time they spent

Thanks for your reply.
The system is 9 years old. My issue was, I felt that the first locksmith did not know what he was doing. I would have been happy to pay for his time if he was competent. 

Les1867

d0nkeyk0ng said:

I vaguely recall paying £200 or so when our multipoint locking system gearbox failed. He managed to get his hands on a new one (it was an old design) and fit it. Your home insurance may be invalid if the locking system doesn’t work like it should. 

Thanks for your reply.
I did not think about my home insurance. I will get quotes to change the locking system asap.
Thanks again

daivid

Les1867 said:

d0nkeyk0ng said:

I vaguely recall paying £200 or so when our multipoint locking system gearbox failed. He managed to get his hands on a new one (it was an old design) and fit it. Your home insurance may be invalid if the locking system doesn’t work like it should. 

Thanks for your reply.
I did not think about my home insurance. I will get quotes to change the locking system asap.
Thanks again

You could consider changing it yourself. Provided the old one isn't stuck, which it sounds like it no longer is, changing over is likely to be straightforward and require minimal tools. Making sure you get exactly the right new part may be the most taxing part, and make sure you support the track across it's length when removed as they are prone to bending/snapping when not in situe.

chrisw

I doubt your home insurance will cover it unless it's been damaged through an incident such as an attempted break in.