Locksmith question

Any local travellers camps nearby ?
Tell t hem your old dad got ripped off, if they wanna go and get say 1200 quid back they can keep it and give them the receipt :D
 
neocon said:
Does £1456 sound too much for replacing a lock that had a front door key snapped in it? I think my elderly father was scammed.

PXL-20240319-120258162-2.jpg[img]
Click to expand...
You could have had a new door supplied and fitted for that much, scandalous
 
locksmith site pretty much iterates what's said above https://www.locksmiths.co.uk/faq/complaining-about-a-locksmith/

had lock gearbox go on 10yr old door which can then cause you to break a key if you are not mechanically sympathetic - but op's bill doesn't itemize that,
they are what wears on older doors.
jpaul said:
suspect it is the gearbox - especially if it occurs when door is open, such that it not misalignment causing the bolts to be tight to extend/withdraw into frame
we have some unreliability on ours for unlocking and locking, so I had specified one of these, there are few utube videos on how to change them.
Click to expand...
 
Mr Jack said:
Am I the only one who thinks its mad that locksmiths aren't regulated?
Click to expand...

Not sure really. I guess it's because it's rarely going to cause anything dangerous. It affects security sure, but there is little you can do as a locksmith that would end up killing someone or causing extensive property/environmental/ infrastructure damage, as opposed to an electrician or gas engineer (for example).

Not sure what you'd regulate/require training for etc? It's just screwdrivers, drills and chisels mainly.
 
Last edited:
Jono8 said:
Not sure really. I guess it's because it's rarely going to cause anything dangerous. It affects security sure, but there is little you can do as a locksmith that would end up killing someone or causing extensive property/environmental/ infrastructure damage, as opposed to an electrician or gas engineer (for example).
Click to expand...

It's more of a trust thing, I'd say. These are people you're calling out in emergencies to enter your house, and/or replace the security system for your house.
 
Jono8 said:
Not sure really. I guess it's because it's rarely going to cause anything dangerous. It affects security sure, but there is little you can do as a locksmith that would end up killing someone or causing extensive property/environmental/ infrastructure damage, as opposed to an electrician or gas engineer (for example).

Not sure what you'd regulate/require training for etc? It's just screwdrivers, drills and chisels mainly.
Click to expand...
it's also a profession you'd imagine is trustworthy and respectable. when in reality they seem to be dodgy Romanian firms preying on the vulnerable and desperate

TBH I was shocked to read anyone can call themself a locksmith and just start doing it with no skills needed, no regulation.

These are people who could easily keep a spare key for your house and be up to no good etc...

The blind trust they must get from people who assume they are regulated.... seems dangerous


They should at least ban anyone with a criminal record from doing the job
 
Last edited:
neocon said:
Does £1456 sound too much for replacing a lock that had a front door key snapped in it? I think my elderly father was scammed.

PXL-20240319-120258162-2.jpg[img]
Click to expand...
Scammed. My mother had her house keys stolen in hospital and when she came out had somebody walk into her kitchen and when she challenged him, he said he had bought the keys.

I got a lovely local locksmith out on emergency callout and she changed all the house locks for £380.

Her callout fee was £40 for starters.
 
radderfire said:
.

Whether it's a "scam" or not depends on whether he agreed to the price first. Regardless, he's paid it now and it would probably be a job to get the money back, unless the credit card company can help.
Click to expand...

Not really. otherwise builders wouldnt be getting jail sentences for charging an elderly person £10k to fix a leaking roof. The elderly person agreed to the price after all?
 
arknor said:
seems like a strange argument to make "but I bought the keys fair and square, It's just an honest mistake"
Click to expand...

It was very surreal. I had the police call me in the middle of the day saying my mother was in distress and they had responded to her ringing the police after the guy had just walked into her house after unlocked the front door. Luckily, when he saw my mother there, he just left peaceable. Thank god the police woman rang me and I could get it sorted. My mother was going to wait until Monday to get the locks changed (think this was a Friday evening).

Well done to the local locksmith I manged to get hold of, who was willing to come out on the Friday night to replace all of my mothers locks.

The crap thing was my mother hadnt even told me she had her handbag stolen while she was in hospital otherwise I would have got all the locks changed straight away. She said she didnt want to bother me :(
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom