The Internet is full of promises of 15$, 17$, 25$ locksmith services from scam companies. Your wise decision can keep you safe from these scams. Try not to fall into this trap. These Companies will quote you one price over the phone and then will charge you a very high price for a simple 5 minutes car lockout. You will find these types of news all over the internet.
Services of the Automotive Locksmith :
• 24 Hour Lockouts
• Car Lock Changes
• Broken Car Key Removal
• Car Lock Repair
• Ignition Switch Repair/Replace
• Replacement Car Keys
• Key-less Entry (Key Fobs)
• Glove Box Locks
• Car Door Lock Re-keying
• Motorcycle Keys
• Car Key Programming
• Trunk Lock Repair
Locksmiths are only required to keep a license in 14 states of America, so in the event you belong to one of these states it is likely to be easy to eliminate a company that does not hold the appropriate license number. A professional locksmith can be just a call away.
Let me give one small example. Carol and Matt live in Weston, Florida. Since Florida is not one of these 14 States, it will be tricky for them to find an authentic Auto Locksmith. They have the option of searching for an auto locksmith both online and offline. If they are looking offline, it means they are looking into referrals from their friends or neighbors. This is safer as people only refer the ones they hired once before and are also happy with the service.
Now let’s say they are looking online. They will search for “Weston Locksmith” or “Locksmith Weston Florida”. Out of the list recommended by the search engine, they will have to be really very careful while selecting one.
What should you keep in mind while searching for an auto locksmith?
Warning Signs of a Bad Locksmith :
1. When the name of the Company is very generic- This is not necessarily a sign of a bad locksmith company, but many of the scammers will have listings in online or print directories that have names such as: (AAA locksmith, A Weston Locksmith, A-1 Locksmiths Weston Florida). The A or 1 at the beginning of a company name is actually helpful getting rankings easily in some directories ahead of their competition, and the names are not necessarily relevant to a real business that you can find or file a complaint against. So you will have to be careful with business name.
2. Very Low Pricing- Service industries incur a certain expense and mobile services must charge a certain amount to make money. No locksmith company can survive by providing $19 lockout services. With the price of gas, the payment of all its employees, parts as well as time, you can see why these prices are just a way of fooling customers. Most lockout services will cost at least $60, with extra service charges for emergency services in most cases.
3. Dispatchers with Foreign Accent- Again this point is not necessarily a sign for any bad locksmith company, but just be something to look out for. Many scamming companies use VOIP (voice over IP numbers) to forward calls to a dispatch center that is not in this country, and then they dispatch the locksmith in your city that they work with.
Some Basic Tips
• Read the Online Reviews of right places such as Yelp.com, Superpages and Citysearch, BBB.org or Angie’s List if you are one of the members.
• Ask for upfront pricing and make sure you know how much a service call will cost you.
• If a locksmith is refusing to take credit cards and is asking for cash – then be very careful from that company.
Hopefully, the above tips will prove to be handy for you and will help you with the selection of an auto locksmith.
