Scammer Locksmiths – Home and Vehicle Owners Beware
People use locks for safety, for security, and for their peace of mind. However, on some unavoidable instances, you may lose your key or forget it inside your house or your vehicle. In such cases, you often turn to professional locksmiths. You finally have the door open. However, your worries might not end there. You may experience paranoia especially if you are not sure that you can trust your locksmith. Sadly, many vehicle and home owners in Calgary fall victims to these scammer locksmiths.
How does a scammer locksmith work?
Watch out for these signs and actions that are telltale signs that you are dealing with a scammer locksmith:
You saw an advertisement about ridiculously low-priced locksmith services via Google AdWords.
This advertisement also promises a ridiculously, lightning-flash response time as quick as 10 mins for night calls. When was the last time you could get anywhere is Vancouver in 10 mins let alone find parking?
The “locksmith” cannot provide a license.
Most often, such scammer locksmith service providers show up as results when you look up “locksmith Vancouver” on search engines.
They promised to be there in fifteen minutes or so but shows up hours later.
They show up with a drill and a hammer.
Then, they charge you with ridiculously expensive service fee to install an inferior cheap deadbolt.
When this happens, you will feel trapped. It seems like there is nothing else to do but to give in and pay the amount that the scammer locksmith asks for. Of course, you do not know how to put the lock together yourself so you will just pay the price of what you think was your mistake anyway. The problem is that these scam locksmiths are so bold that sometimes, they actually threaten you that they will call the police if you refuse to pay for their service.
Stay away from scammers
As much as possible, ask for recommendations for good locksmith service providers. If possible, ask for recommendations from people that you can also trust. Also, do not rely on what you read on online advertisements. It is also important to stay away from offers that just sound too good to be true because chances are; they really are too good to be true. You should also ask the locksmith to provide license information or actually ask the locksmith to show you his license.
Aside from the license, you should also ask for the final price of their services. The company should also offer you some kind of an agreement or a contract before closing the deal. There is no way that the locksmith will not be able to provide a final price because as an expert, all that the locksmith should need is the information of the make and model of the car, and the information about where your house or your vehicle is. These should be enough to know how much providing the service will cost them.
Once the locksmith arrives, always check if he arrives in a marked vehicle because he should.
On the other hand, a real pro has a license, insurance, works with a contract, and definitely an expert.
Use only British Columbia Government Licensed Locksmiths.
