Beware of this increasing scam.
In the UK the best way to choose a genuine locksmith in the UK is the Master Locksmiths Association www.locksmiths.co.uk
For a genuine Locksmith in Stockport, Manchester or Macclesfield
"I locked my keys in my car Monday
afternoon. It was in the parking lot of a bank/grocery store. i waited
a couple hours for my boyfriend to bring me an extra key. when he
couldn't find it, my dad came to try to break into my car. No go. My
2005 Focus cannot be slim-jimmed. So, after almost 4 hours, I decide to
call a locksmith. I used google 411, and picked a locksmith that was
supposedly on a road nearby, because i thought it would be quick. The
two I called before I got this one didn't answer their phones. A1 24 hr
Locksmith answers and tells me $39.99 + about a $19 service charge. I
tell him the kind of car, the address, etc. They say 25-30 mins.
I start to think things might be weird when I get two calls from
two different people to confirm the address, my name, etc. The
"locksmith" shows up over an hour later, in an unmarked car, with no
uniform. I show him my car and he decides that my 2005 ford focus is
VERY hard to break into, and that the labor charge is gonna go up to
$125, for a total of $177 after tax. About $19 does not = $125. I'm
sure he saw 20 year old female college student and thought $$$$$. He is
very intimidating. He tells me he's charged people $260 to get into
their cars, and that he is giving me a deal, it is late at night, what
am I gonna do. He insists that I have to pay him for the service charge
anyways. It's almost 9, I've been locked out of my car for almost 5
hours with only a sweatshirt, and I'm cold (live in the seattle area).
We argue awhile. I, on the verge of tears, agree to pay him. It takes
him all of 2 minutes to unlock my car. I give him my credit card, and
ask him if he has a business card, invoice, etc as I was planning on
reporting them to the BBB. He could not give me anything that linked
him to a business of any sort. This all seems way too suspicious. I
drive home, seething.
When I woke up and won't to work the next morning, I noticed
that the door of my car was all bent up. I didn't see it in the dark
the night before. I decided to call the company back and ask for a
partial refund, due to the bait and switch, the late locksmith, and
especially the damage to my car. The manager lies, saying that he
didn't even have an appt with me. I said "well, I have the license
plate number of the car. I will just call the cops to report it, and
cancel my credit card." He suddenly "remembers" me. Refuses to discuss
the damage to my car or a partial refund. He just kept repeating that
it wasn't a scam since the driver told me the price before he did the
work. I told him if he wouldn't help me, that I would file a
charge-back and report him to the bbb, etc.
I called my bank and they were very helpful. They canceled the card
so it could not be used again, and began the charge-back process. When I
researched online, there were all kinds of stories about a couple
companies back east who have local numbers with made up addresses and
ads all over the country. People have lost $300 and more. They
dispatch the calls in their main offices, and send out local
contractors. They do this all the time- there are hundreds of horror
stories, and some of them are about A1 24 hr locksmith. Hopefully the
charge-back works. These people lie, and kick you when you are down.
Its really hard to google the business name or check out it's reputation
when you're locked out of your car in a parking lot. I shudder t think
what the charge (and intimidation) would have been like if my dad
hadn't been there with me.
Is there anyone else I can file complaints with? I want to get them
in trouble and I want to keep this from happening to other people.
Businesses should not be able to get away with this. From reading the
stories, I doubt they were even licensed, etc. Out of curiosity, I
contacted more locksmiths and got the same sort of response. Finally, I
got one who seemed reputable. He told me it would be $60 flat no
possibility for change, etc, and said he had helped an old woman who was
charged $200 to be let into her car”
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