I was the victim of a locksmith scam after searching Google and booking through the website advertised at the top of the page (The scary rise of locksmith scams: ‘I was shut out with my baby – and charged £2,200 to get back in’, 15 July). A broken lock resulted in a £490 bill. I stupidly paid the man, then I checked on Amazon for the price of the lock he fitted – £15.
I called the number advertised on Google to complain, but the chap who answered said he knew nothing about the guy who had come to our place. By then I was realising that he was involved – as well as denying accountability, they probably worked the scam together. The guy that came to mine also left a number, which I called, but it was ignored, and I eventually gave up.
The solution was to watch YouTube videos and do the job myself. I sourced a high-quality, high-security lock after all this, as the £15 one was garbage. I’m no locksmith, but I did the job in less time than the scammer who came. He had made it look more complex than necessary. I didn’t get an invoice breakdown or company name. Even more stupidly, I just paid by tapping my phone.
All in all, it’s clearly an industry in total need of a shake-up, rife with grifters just preying on people’s anxieties and naivety.
I’m glad you are raising this issue because the sums involved must be astronomical. I did a quick calculation after being scammed and imagined the scammer sitting half a year later on a Dubai beach, larging it up with his mates.
Chris Lohan
Bristol
• Reading your article on emergency locksmith scams, I felt I needed to offer my story. In 2023, I arrived at my mum’s house in Oxford in a panic because she was not responding to calls. She had left her key inside the front-door lock, so I couldn’t use my key to get in. The back patio doors were also locked. I phoned 999. I was very distressed when I phoned the locksmith and the lady who took the booking was sympathetic. The ambulance and fire brigade came first and broke in by drilling the back-door lock. Mum was getting care when the locksmith arrived. He calmly fitted a new lock and charged a reasonable amount. All in plenty of time for me to go with Mum to the hospital. On one of the worst days of my life – he was a godsend.
Anna Bliss
London
