Note: Don't Call Emergency Locksmiths Late At Night

The Awl points us in the direction of blogger Caroline, and the sad, all-too-typical story of her experience with an emergency locksmith one late night. Caroline called an emergency locksmith at 1 a.m. when she couldn't get into her apartment, and was handed an exorbitant $613 bill, which he demanded she pay in cash on the spot. We can attest to the ridiculous pricing, since we had a similar experience last Fourth of July (the price goes up even higher on holidays, of course). But after Caroline called the locksmith's bluff about bringing in the cops, what happened next is a bit surprising: by her account, the officer who arrived treated her like shit.

When I got home, I couldn’t stop crying and shaking for two hours. I was sick to my stomach. I was $613 poorer. I have never had so much as a speeding ticket. I have never done drugs. I never drank underage. I trusted that the officer would recognize the situation for what it was - a scammer, taking advantage of a young girl living alone, who obviously didn’t know better.

Read her whole account of the terrible evening here. The moral of the story is, whatever you do, don't call a locksmith in the middle of the night. Especially on a holiday. Instead, as The Awl says, "the answer is go sleep at a friend's house, or pick up someone in a bar and sleep at their house, or sleep in a park."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on January 19, 2011 5:23 PM

Comments [rss]

Celina 2011

Before giving a locksmith to do the job, ranging from an estimate of all work and parts. In the event of an emergency block, such as when you get locked out of the car, a blacksmith legitimate to give an estimate of the total cost of the work on the phone. Ask if there are additional costs prior to a blacksmith to do the job.

broomfield locksmith

Jon T

since there was no written invoice, no one can prove that any services were in fact given or received.

Unkle_Bob

What would a written invoice prove? I can write up an invoice right here, right now, for any service I make up, for any price I make up.

On the other hand, I bet having a drilled out locked would be pretty good proof...

Anarekey2000

She should have let the cops arrest her and sued the crap out of the City. The police have no business intervening in a civil dispute.

Petey

The second she refuses to pay for services already received, it now becomes a criminal matter.

Sinchy

Shouldn't the police have taken statements from both parties and then told them to settle it in court since there was no documentation or contract to prove anything at that point in time? I mean that seems like the most courteous, professional, and respectful thing to do. It's not like some one refusing to pay a restaurant bill or cab fare, since there is a menu with a price list or a meter with a price. This wasn't a clear cut case for the police to judge. This girl should take this up with her city council person to rectify both the locksmith and police misconduct.

usernameeeee

everyone in nyc knows one person who this has happened to.
and then you hear about it, and you know to never call a locksmith at night.
but, someone has to be that one person, unfortunately.

keyman424

These are NOT real locksmiths but rather an organized criminal enterprise usually and almost always dealing with Israeli foreigners who are operating this locksmith scam. They operate by deceiving consumers about price. they use phony addresses. This is a real nationwide scam which has been operating all over the united states. You can watch an ABC News story which aired on Good Morning America. Go to www.allhourlocksmiths.com to view this story and many others from around the country.

Coppo808

I have a keyed/ keyless padlock. I just push my code and i'm in. It also makes it nice if I need to have someone come in I just give them a temporary code and delete it the next day. I can't remember the last time I used my key to access my condo. Except for the one time the batteries died but I had my keys on me anyway

Unkle_Bob

Not paying is theft of services. It's that simple. If you don't get an agreed-upon price *before* work starts (including any possible fee for "showing up"), that's too bad.

There is no way on earth you're going to pay less than $200 to have someone show up at 1am. I'm not a locksmith (and have never needed to call one), but I am a computer consultant. Our minimum after-hours charge is $250/hr. Even if it takes 5 minutes to fix. You're calling me out of my social life, my home, possibly my bed. You WILL pay for that service.

blindmalice

And she got to see the 'CPR' logo on the side of the NYPD car as he ignored her pleas for help and threatened to arrest her. Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect indeed. What a joke.

Merf Derf

I laugh every time I look at the CPR on an nypd car

boogpowell

I mean I know maybe this girl was intimidated but I would just refuse to pay . If there is no written invoice then there is no proof the locksmith did any work. Yea maybe your door looks like someone picked the lock but maybe I picked the lock myself and there is just a guy on my block claiming to be a locksmith trying to follow me into my apt. He has no case without documentation.

Merf Derf

if you read her story, you find that a cop threatened to arrest her on the spot if she didn't pay the locksmith

Shawn Chittle

Everyone knows locksmiths in NY are expensive, where do you think they get the money to print 1,412,532 business cards and put them on every door?

TheRealCannibal

It helps being a ninja, ninjas are never locked out.

Hugh G. Rection

she should report the locksmith to consumer affairs. they license those bastards and can put the smack down on them

silver

Buy a pick gun, you never need to carry another key again. Or get a invoice in writing before he starts the work, call cops for trespassing if he tries to do the job without giving you an invoice.

soxinthecity

Leave an extra set of keys at your favorite watering hole.

Guest

I work in real estate, this happens all the time. Then they're surprised when we won't reimburse them.

Leave a set of keys with your landlord, a neighbor or someone else who you trust.

It's actually cheaper to just spend the night at a hotel, if you don't have a friend to stay with. Then just have your super or landlord change your lock the next day.

And lastly, if your lock is acting up, have it fixed before it really falls apart. I can't tell you how many people call, freaking out cause they're locked in or out of their apartment and when I ask when it started giving them trouble, they tell me weeks or months ago. They tell me this after they call the fire department to let them out or a scammer locksmith to help them.