Tips for hiring a locksmith
Saw this on craigslist thought this was something good to share... copied and pasted onto here.
BEFORE I GO INTO MY RANT, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP....
Take a second out of your day and call around to a few locksmiths. Lock in his phone number and hold nto it just in case of an emergency.
Many locksmiths are a mobile service, working out of a van, but some have an actual shop, stop by a legitimate locksmith shop, with a physical location and get a card from them...keep it on your wallet, your purse, your speed dial, your car or house.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU MADE NEED A LOCKSMITH in an emergency or just to do some work you have been planning on your building or vehicle. That way you wont have to panic to find a locksmith in an emergency...thats what these scammers are counting on.
First, I am a real, legitimate locksmith. I have the legally required State of California Locksmith License, I am unsured and bonded. Ive been in the business a number of years in Southern California. I recieved On-The-Job training as well as two seperate accredited school course in the trade. I regularly attend manufactuer trade shows to keep up to date on whats new in my field.
Since roughly 2006, there has been a nationwide trend in the Locksmith Industry with customers being scammed. All major cities are having this problem.
What it boils down to, is Israeli's that start a number of fake locksmith listings, using many different company names and then flood the internet with their ads. All the major business listing sites have been overtaken by these guys.
The guys that work for them are mostly in the country illegally from Israel and move around the region scamming customers. One fake locksmith has moved from San Francisco to LA to San Diego and eventuall Las Vegas where he was arrested and fined for scamming customers.
1- SO, that high tech, really cool website that you find, or the company that seems to have shops on every block in town from Google is actually an out-of-state call center.
The guy will ALWAYS say that his company is only a mobile service (many real locksmiths are)...FUNNY...Google Maps has one "mobile locksmith" working from 113 locations around Los Angeles. THAS A SURE SIGN OF A SCAM. Listings for the locksmith in other states is also a SURE SIGN OF A SCAM. Listings in other major cities is the SURE SIGN OF A SCAM! There are NO nationwide locksmith companies that are NOT a scam. ONLY hire a LOCAL company.
2 - You call him, a person with a middle eastern (doing the research, 99% of these scams involve Israelis or other middle easterners) accent answers, almost rudely quotes you a great low price. He gets very vague about the "labor" costs of course.
3 - He will dispatch out a creepy, shady, Israeli, UNLICENSED, UNINSURED, UNBONDED "subcontractor". Almost ALWAYS he will TRIPLE the price of the quote. They always claim that your lock is special, or your vehicle is very hard to open, etc...
Many times, these guys will want to drill out your lock, destroying it, all in order to charge you for a new locks, instead of the simple "lock-out". BUT, ON OCCASIONS, IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE A LOCK DRILLED. NOT EVERY LOCK CAN BE PICKED OR BY-PASSED.
4 - Car or building lockouts are just a small part of what locksmiths do. You can be assured that man y of these scam artists dont take lock repair or new hardware install jobs because they have no experience and really dont know what they are doing. These guys love to pray on people that need a locksmith in an emergency. Thats why they often advirtise as 24/7 or Emergency locksmith.
5 - Once the job is finished, these guys will zap you with a huge bill, often triple of that you were quoted. They dont tell you this ahead of time...they wait until they have the keys to your house or car in thier hand. Many times they will have damaged your locks/doors. Installs in new hardware will be poor quality and look bad.
6 - Many of these fake locksmith companies will also attempt to weasel their way into your IDENTITY. Identity theft is on the upswing involving these guys.
SO...here are some VERY simple ways to avoid getting ripped off.
A - ALWAYS ensure that the person you are talking to is IN the LA metro area. Not out of state or in Northern Cal.
B - ALWAYS ensure that the person you are talking to is licensed by the State of California to do work as a locksmith. Demand that they give you the license numbers. You can, if you choose, verify those numbers given to you by going on the State Of California BSIS website to verify. ALSO, when the guy shows up, demand that he give you the same numbers to cross verify. if he doesnt, HE ISNT A REAL LOCKSMITH. KICK HIM OFF YOUR PROPERTY HE IS OPERATING ILLEGALLY. Locksmiths MUST always operate under the same business name that they are registered with the state with. If not, its most likely a scam.
C - If you are locked out of a building or a vehicle, ALWAYS nail down an exact price for the job. These guys operate by using very vague terms and numbers. GET AN EXACT QUOTE or a quote that doesnt have a dramitic window. Example...$85 to $100. Only a $15 difference...thats realistic. They will always say "$39 dollars for the service trip and then labor..." but they refuse to say what the labor is. Leaving it up to the guy that shows up to RIP YOU OFF!!
D - If the guy shows up in a car...get rid of him. Any real locksmith has a service vehicle stocked with the tools and parts he needs...a van or a truck with a utility camp shell. Not an 85 Corrolla or a 2005 BMW 325.
E - After the guy shows up, after he looks at the job you want him to do, get an solid quote from him. Do not allow him to start work without giving a price window with different options.
F - Do not allow these guys to scare or intimidate you. Any real licensed, legitimate locksmith will take care of what he has to in civil court if there is a problem. The unlicensed scammers will ALWAYS back down when you threaten to call the police. After you call the police, they split fast before the cops get there. ALWAYS get a license plate.
DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF! THINK BEFORE YOU CALL THESE GUYS! Take a few minutes...do the research...never call the first locksmith you run across in an internet search....get the business card or the phone number of a real locksmith BEFORE you need it in an emergency!!
MOST IMPORTANT-----
ALWAYS HIRE A REAL, LOCAL, LEGITIMATE, LICENSED, INSURED, BONDED, AMERICAN LOCKSMITH!!!
BEFORE I GO INTO MY RANT, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP....
Take a second out of your day and call around to a few locksmiths. Lock in his phone number and hold nto it just in case of an emergency.
Many locksmiths are a mobile service, working out of a van, but some have an actual shop, stop by a legitimate locksmith shop, with a physical location and get a card from them...keep it on your wallet, your purse, your speed dial, your car or house.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU MADE NEED A LOCKSMITH in an emergency or just to do some work you have been planning on your building or vehicle. That way you wont have to panic to find a locksmith in an emergency...thats what these scammers are counting on.
First, I am a real, legitimate locksmith. I have the legally required State of California Locksmith License, I am unsured and bonded. Ive been in the business a number of years in Southern California. I recieved On-The-Job training as well as two seperate accredited school course in the trade. I regularly attend manufactuer trade shows to keep up to date on whats new in my field.
Since roughly 2006, there has been a nationwide trend in the Locksmith Industry with customers being scammed. All major cities are having this problem.
What it boils down to, is Israeli's that start a number of fake locksmith listings, using many different company names and then flood the internet with their ads. All the major business listing sites have been overtaken by these guys.
The guys that work for them are mostly in the country illegally from Israel and move around the region scamming customers. One fake locksmith has moved from San Francisco to LA to San Diego and eventuall Las Vegas where he was arrested and fined for scamming customers.
1- SO, that high tech, really cool website that you find, or the company that seems to have shops on every block in town from Google is actually an out-of-state call center.
The guy will ALWAYS say that his company is only a mobile service (many real locksmiths are)...FUNNY...Google Maps has one "mobile locksmith" working from 113 locations around Los Angeles. THAS A SURE SIGN OF A SCAM. Listings for the locksmith in other states is also a SURE SIGN OF A SCAM. Listings in other major cities is the SURE SIGN OF A SCAM! There are NO nationwide locksmith companies that are NOT a scam. ONLY hire a LOCAL company.
2 - You call him, a person with a middle eastern (doing the research, 99% of these scams involve Israelis or other middle easterners) accent answers, almost rudely quotes you a great low price. He gets very vague about the "labor" costs of course.
3 - He will dispatch out a creepy, shady, Israeli, UNLICENSED, UNINSURED, UNBONDED "subcontractor". Almost ALWAYS he will TRIPLE the price of the quote. They always claim that your lock is special, or your vehicle is very hard to open, etc...
Many times, these guys will want to drill out your lock, destroying it, all in order to charge you for a new locks, instead of the simple "lock-out". BUT, ON OCCASIONS, IT IS NORMAL TO HAVE A LOCK DRILLED. NOT EVERY LOCK CAN BE PICKED OR BY-PASSED.
4 - Car or building lockouts are just a small part of what locksmiths do. You can be assured that man y of these scam artists dont take lock repair or new hardware install jobs because they have no experience and really dont know what they are doing. These guys love to pray on people that need a locksmith in an emergency. Thats why they often advirtise as 24/7 or Emergency locksmith.
5 - Once the job is finished, these guys will zap you with a huge bill, often triple of that you were quoted. They dont tell you this ahead of time...they wait until they have the keys to your house or car in thier hand. Many times they will have damaged your locks/doors. Installs in new hardware will be poor quality and look bad.
6 - Many of these fake locksmith companies will also attempt to weasel their way into your IDENTITY. Identity theft is on the upswing involving these guys.
SO...here are some VERY simple ways to avoid getting ripped off.
A - ALWAYS ensure that the person you are talking to is IN the LA metro area. Not out of state or in Northern Cal.
B - ALWAYS ensure that the person you are talking to is licensed by the State of California to do work as a locksmith. Demand that they give you the license numbers. You can, if you choose, verify those numbers given to you by going on the State Of California BSIS website to verify. ALSO, when the guy shows up, demand that he give you the same numbers to cross verify. if he doesnt, HE ISNT A REAL LOCKSMITH. KICK HIM OFF YOUR PROPERTY HE IS OPERATING ILLEGALLY. Locksmiths MUST always operate under the same business name that they are registered with the state with. If not, its most likely a scam.
C - If you are locked out of a building or a vehicle, ALWAYS nail down an exact price for the job. These guys operate by using very vague terms and numbers. GET AN EXACT QUOTE or a quote that doesnt have a dramitic window. Example...$85 to $100. Only a $15 difference...thats realistic. They will always say "$39 dollars for the service trip and then labor..." but they refuse to say what the labor is. Leaving it up to the guy that shows up to RIP YOU OFF!!
D - If the guy shows up in a car...get rid of him. Any real locksmith has a service vehicle stocked with the tools and parts he needs...a van or a truck with a utility camp shell. Not an 85 Corrolla or a 2005 BMW 325.
E - After the guy shows up, after he looks at the job you want him to do, get an solid quote from him. Do not allow him to start work without giving a price window with different options.
F - Do not allow these guys to scare or intimidate you. Any real licensed, legitimate locksmith will take care of what he has to in civil court if there is a problem. The unlicensed scammers will ALWAYS back down when you threaten to call the police. After you call the police, they split fast before the cops get there. ALWAYS get a license plate.
DO NOT GET RIPPED OFF! THINK BEFORE YOU CALL THESE GUYS! Take a few minutes...do the research...never call the first locksmith you run across in an internet search....get the business card or the phone number of a real locksmith BEFORE you need it in an emergency!!
MOST IMPORTANT-----
ALWAYS HIRE A REAL, LOCAL, LEGITIMATE, LICENSED, INSURED, BONDED, AMERICAN LOCKSMITH!!!