cheaplocksmiths.net a scam

Rufotron

so , locked my car keys in my boot like a fool.
Panicked a bit so called a locksmith, claimed to be local , the website had a pic of the town, the guy on the phone asked where I was and said he knew it well when I said where I was, took my reg  Said they would be 20 mins max, 20 mins passed, noticed i had a text from 'Tom' the guy didnt sound like a tom , confirming the 20 mins. I called, said he would chase it, then texted back saying 30/40 more mins. something to do with systems??? 40 mins passed, texted back saying whats going on? they said 30 mins more, I said forget it, they said there was a cancelation fee,
I really had to get back to work at this point .
they said I had 3 choices, wait and pay the discounted rate?? 
pay full rate 
they send the bailiffs, using my reg
www.cheaplocksmiths.net
now I know I Panicked, and should have known better,
but we made no agreements, cant see anything on their website about cancellations
im just going to ignore? any other advice ?

flaneurs_lobster

Ignore is what I'd do.

How did you retrieve your keys (or is the car still there)?

DE_612183

Did you pay anything - or agree to pay anything?

This is their cancellation policy....

• Cancellations can be done by yourself via Text, Telephone or E-mail.
  – No refunds will be given for any cancellations made within 72 hours of the date work is set to commence.
  – No refunds are available once the work has commenced.
  – No refunds are given in case of either delay or non-appearance on the part of the customer.

If you agreed to the work, then a contract has been formed - they could hold you to it, and if unpaid pursue you via a MCOL and ultimately a CCJ if it remains unpaid - will they do this though? I doubt it.

saajan_12

DE_612183 said:

If you agreed to the work, then a contract has been formed - they could hold you to it, and if unpaid pursue you via a MCOL and ultimately a CCJ if it remains unpaid - will they do this though? I doubt it.

Agree sounds like they had a contract, to do XYZ work in 20 minutes time. If the trader instead didn't arrive for 90 minutes and counting, ie at least 4x as long for something that's inherently an urgent item, I'd say they breached a material term. 

MyRealNameToo

Rufotron said:

so , locked my car keys in my boot like a fool.
Panicked a bit so called a locksmith, claimed to be local , the website had a pic of the town, the guy on the phone asked where I was and said he knew it well when I said where I was, took my reg  Said they would be 20 mins max, 20 mins passed, noticed i had a text from 'Tom' the guy didnt sound like a tom , confirming the 20 mins. I called, said he would chase it, then texted back saying 30/40 more mins. something to do with systems??? 40 mins passed, texted back saying whats going on? they said 30 mins more, I said forget it, they said there was a cancelation fee,
I really had to get back to work at this point .
they said I had 3 choices, wait and pay the discounted rate?? 
pay full rate 
they send the bailiffs, using my reg
www.cheaplocksmiths.net
now I know I Panicked, and should have known better,
but we made no agreements, cant see anything on their website about cancellations
im just going to ignore? any other advice ?

Most locksmiths arent a one man band so even if you speak to Russel on the phone he may well send Tom to you as the guy thats likely to get there first based on where they are and what job they are currently doing. 

You can see on their website they cover a significant proportion the north of England and Wales. Given there is a single telephone number on their site it's fairly unlikely that it's a one bloke covering all that area. 

Terms are at https://cheaplocksmiths.net/terms-and-conditions/ which says you must give 72hrs notice for cancellations. 

To me there are many points to say they arent a big firm covering a wide area nor a slick intermediary passing jobs to local guys. It's up to you if you want to call their bluff or not. Maybe they are the type that would sue, maybe they are the type that think you finding your car having no windows is more effective. 

Beeblebr0x

The guy didn't turn up twice. They can't hold you to a contract that they failed to fulfill at their end. What "systems" do they need, apart from a working telephone? 🙄