Nearly everyone gets locked outside their own car or house at one point in their lives and while everyone’s first reaction is to freak out, at the end of the day, we usually end up asking an emergency locksmith for help.
But how would you actually know if the locksmith you call over is a scam or not?
These days, there are literal businesses that rely on scamming people. So, you really can’t trust every locksmith you see listed. That’s why, in this post, we’ve gathered a few tips that will help you avoid ending up in a locksmith scam!
Check their reviews
If you’re actually locked out of your home or stranded with a locked car, then you’ll probably call the first emergency locksmith you see on the internet. Even if you are in a very stressful situation, you need to stay calm and collected, or else you might get into an even bigger problem!
When you look for a locksmith to help you, the first thing you should keep in mind is the reviews. Check if the company actually has any reviews and if they do, if they’re real or fake.
If the locksmith has a bunch of small, 5-star reviews, chances are, the reviews are completely fake. A legitimate locksmith in Birmingham AL, or in any other area of the world, will have all sorts of reviews that are long and short! Even better if the reviews have pictures attached too! The more variety in the reviews the better!
Not shady about their costs
Almost all good and reliable locksmiths will tell you an estimate of what they’ll charge you and write it down, right before they start working on the problem. But a lot of scammers only tell you the full amount after they’re done “fixing” the problem.
Most people get so overwhelmed when they get locked out, that they totally forget to ask their locksmith the estimate beforehand and end up getting scammed because once the job is done, a scammer can try to intimidate you into paying the amount they’ve asked for.
These fakers will probably charge you a ridiculous amount for cheap work. That’s why you need to ask a locksmith about their charges first on the phone and then get an estimate once they’re on-site.
Watch out for red flags
Another red flag from a locksmith you should look out for is if they just keep insisting on drilling or completely replacing your lock altogether, without ever even attempting to fix it first.
Most experienced locksmiths know exactly what to do on nearly any lock, no matter what the problem might be. While there are some cases where locks need to be drilled, this is usually very rare and is only the case for locks that have no hope at all.
Fake locksmiths that don’t actually know what they’re doing, will usually do this instead of trying to actually fix your lock. Some even replace good locks with really bad quality ones that probably won’t even last you a week. That way, you’ll probably end up getting into the same situation again and will need another round of fixing up!
So pay attention to what they’re doing, and don’t fall for the “you have to get this lock replaced” line if they haven’t checked the lock first.
Conclusion
The next time you get stuck in a situation where you’ll need to call an emergency locksmith, you should keep all these tips in mind! This way, you won’t have to worry about hiring the right locksmith for the job. So remember, check the reviews, ask for the piercing, and watch out for red flags and you’ll be just fine!
