How to Avoid Locksmith Scams

Being locked out of your vehicle, home, office or place of business can be pretty frustrating and stressful all at once. You may be in a rush to open up your store, attend an important meeting or be at a particular location at a specific time.

Losing or misplacing your keys, or forgetting them inside your car or home, can prove to be harrowing especially if this happens in the middle of the night or some other odd time. In desperation, you may end up looking for locksmiths online and hire the first one you notice in the search results on Google.

How Scammers Operate

All credible and professional locksmiths will have well-designed websites with detailed information on them. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous operators too have websites that may look professional and credible, making it very difficult for you to identify that they are scammers. It isn’t rare for locksmith scams to take place and many people fall prey to these slick operators. They could be smart talkers and seem credible because they use some technical jargon while talking to you.

When you call them they send out a locksmith to your location. After checking the lock they will quote a low price of about $40-$50, which is their way of baiting the customer who is desperate to get out of the situation. Once the customer agrees to the stated cost estimate, they take out their tools and act like they are busy trying to get the lock opened up. If you have called them in some other lock emergency, they may act like they are attempting to repair the lock.

But, they will soon just stop tinkering with the locks and tell you that the lock is very complex and that repairs will not do the trick. If you are have been locked out, they may state something on similar lines and will tell you that the only solution is to replace the entire lock. Most people in this kind of a situation feel that they have no other option left and agree to the expensive services the locksmith recommends.

How to Spot Scammers

Locksmiths that scam customers aren’t licensed or even skilled to handle these jobs and it’s important to avoid them. Here are some ways in which you can do this:

• Scammers generally won’t have any physical address mentioned on their website, nor will they have local numbers listed.
• When you call the number that shows up on their site, you may get a very odd ring tone or may face a long hold time. This indicates the call has been diverted to some overseas destination rather than a local one. Scammers won’t have the necessary licence to practice their trade.
• They will arrive at your location in an unmarked vehicle that doesn’t have any name or number mentioned on it.
• The locksmiths wouldn’t be able to provide IDs.
• Be wary of a locksmith who provides an excessively low quote for the job. If it seems too good to be true, they are probably scammers just looking to bait you.

Taking all these pointers into consideration will help you stay away from locksmith scams. For information about our reliable and certified services, call Campbelltown Locksmiths today or contact us via this Online Form.

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