How to spot a locksmith scam
The locksmith scam is one of the most profitable there is, because it happens at the worst possible moment: at night, in a hurry, with no alternatives. It follows a script, and the script is recognisable.
The script, step by step
It starts with an advert and a bait price: "openings from €30". That number is not quite a lie, which is what keeps it legal: there is some theoretical case where it would apply. It is not yours, and whoever answers the phone already knows that.
It continues with a call in which you are never given a firm price. "It depends", "we will see there", "do not worry, it is cheap". That is deliberate: while there is no figure, there is nothing to argue about later.
And it ends at your door, with somebody already working when they tell you the real amount. By then it is two in the morning, you have been outside for two hours, and the gap between arguing and paying looks small. They did that calculation before you did.
The signs, before anybody comes
They will not give you a firm price in writing. That is signal number one and it is enough on its own. A locksmith who does not know what he is going to charge is a locksmith who has not yet decided how much he can charge you.
The number is an 0900 or a mobile that changes between adverts, and whoever answers cannot tell you which town the van is coming from. Many of those adverts are call centres that resell the job to whoever is nearby.
They tell you it will have to be drilled before having seen the door. Most doors open without breaking anything, and deciding that over the phone is impossible.
There is no address, no tax number and no company name anywhere. Take this one with care: I do not publish those details on this site either, by choice — but combined with the rest, it says a lot.
The signs, once they are at your door
The price has gone up from the one on the phone and the explanation is vague. A price can change if the situation is not what you described, but then you are told BEFORE work starts and told what is different.
They start drilling without saying anything. A drilled lock cannot be undone, and once it is done there is no arguing about whether it was necessary.
No invoice, or a piece of paper with no breakdown. Without a breakdown you cannot complain and your insurer will not reimburse anything.
They push you with time or fear: "this is very insecure", "it all has to be changed tonight". Changing a lock is almost never urgent tonight.
What to do if you are already inside the scam
Ask for the itemised invoice before paying. It is your right, and most of the time asking for it is enough to make the figure come down by itself.
If the price is outrageous, pay by card if you can and keep everything. A card leaves a trail and allows a chargeback; cash does not.
Complain afterwards: the complaints form the business must hold, your regional consumer office, or a police report if there was clear deception. You will not solve it that night, but it does get solved.
And do not let anybody drill anything while there is no price in writing.
What legitimately does cost more
So this does not read as though every high price is a scam: some things genuinely cost more. The small hours, Sundays and public holidays. A security lock rather than a standard one. A door double-locked rather than on the latch. A door already forced, where the mechanism is damaged.
The difference is not the amount. It is whether you were told before or after.
Common questions
- What should a normal opening cost?
- In this area a door shut on the latch on a weekday is around €69-79 including VAT, and in the small hours it goes to about €119. The full rate card is published on this site, price by price, so you do not have to take my word for it.
- I was charged €400 to open a door. Can I do anything?
- Yes. Complain with the invoice: the business complaints form, your regional consumer body and, if there was deception, a police report. Difficult is not the same as impossible, and many of those firms depend on nobody complaining.
- Why publish the whole rate card if it costs you margin?
- Because the margin you get from hiding it only works once per customer. A published price can be compared, which loses me the people shopping purely on price and keeps the ones who call again.
What we do about this
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