We’ve all been there – standing in the parking lot of a grocery store, at a friend’s house, or somewhere else far, far away from a spare key for our vehicle – looking at our key chain locked inside. It was an accidental slip of the mind, of something fluke-like happened and our dog stepped on the lock button on the door. Or, you could have accidentally locked yourself out of your own house or apartment, and you’re just standing there at the front door, in disbelief. In either case, you are flat out of luck. Now what?
Naturally, you have one of two options:
- You can either try and find someone with a wire clothes hanger or Slim Jim, if it’s a vehicle. If it was your home, you can try and see if there’s an unlocked window to crawl through.
- Or, you can call a locksmith.
5 Tips for Finding a Trustworthy Locksmith
A reputable locksmith will have formal training either in the form of an apprenticeship, or through an educational program. Some will have a certificate, a diploma, or even an engineering degree. They can have a physical store, or they can have a mobile office in the form of a van or an RV. Here’s five tips from the Better Business Bureau on how to go about choosing a reputable locksmith:
- Get recommendations from friends, family, or neighbors.
- Interview or investigate reviews of locksmiths.
- Call for an estimate for the work to be done.
- Check the company or individual’s credentials.
- Save and rank the list of locksmiths for future use.
How to Steer Clear of Locksmith Scams
Denver certainly has no shortage of legitimate locksmiths, but there’s also plenty of scammers and swindlers out there looking to rip you off. Here’s a list of suggestions from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office on how to avoid being taken advantage of by a locksmith scam:
- Be wary when a web advertisement claims super low fees, like $14 to $40 per hour for service calls. The bait and switch here is that they won’t disclose up front that that fee is for just showing up, and doesn’t include pricing for any service performed or parts fees. They’ll often say they can’t quote you a price over the phone, because they need to see the level of difficulty first and what they have to work with. A reputable locksmith will give you a nearly exact and fair quote over the phone.
- A lot of locksmiths advertise a 15-minute response time, when in fact they may actually be located 40 to 60 minutes away. And, by the time they show up late, they know you’ll be vulnerable to just get the work done, so you don’t have to wait for another more reliable and affordable locksmith. Be sure to check the business names with your local Better Business Bureau.
- Once you have a reliable and reputable locksmith’s information, keep their business card in your wallet or their number in your contacts list in your smart phone.
- Have a verbal agreement and confirmation of a fixed price over the phone for a full-quote price before agreeing to hire the locksmith’s services.
Contact a Denver Locksmith at Alexius Denver’s Locksmiths
Don’t get taken advantage of by even one of the many locksmith scammers out there, who charge unfair and outrageous rates. For more than 16 years, the Denver Locksmith at Alexius Denver’s Locksmiths has provided affordable and honest services. We’re a full-service locksmith that provides the following services:
- Commercial – For rekey jobs, keyless entry systems, panic bars, etc.
- Residential – For rekeying or changing locks, lock install and repair, mailbox lock replacement, break in repairs, and more.
- Vehicles – Servicing all makes and models, replacement keys, broken key extraction, ignition and switch repair, rekey or car key door/ignition lock change, etc.
- Safes – Combination reset and change, installing keyed or electronic keypad lock systems, safe and vault repair, safe cracking, and more.
Call our friendly and courteous staff today at 303-974-021 , or click our “Contact Now” button to send us your information, so one of our technicians can get right back to you.
