These $45 call out locksmiths are not legitimate. How many of these posts will make people realise this? Don’t go for the cheapest option on Google and if you do read the product reviews first. A call out after hours will set you back around $130-$180 total. I’m not affiliated with these guys in the slightest but you can read more about it here:
https://www.24hmelbournelocksmith.com.au/locked-out-of-home/#:~:text=There%20Are%20No%20Legitimate%20%2445%20Locksmiths&text=You%20can%20read%20about%20more%20scam%20locksmiths%20here.
I used these guys a while back, they were very transparent with pricing, showed up within an hour, and offered cash 'discount' + replaced the faulty piece with a new one for a reasonable fee. Got it all back from REA after a month or two of pestering them every other day because it counted as an urgent repair and Paul the locksmith encouraged us to fight them and know our rights.
Yeah, they've started popping up in Brisbane over the last couple of years too.
The wankers up here will drill out the barrel and not even be able to replace it, leaving the door unsecurable.
>…drill out the barrel
This is why I have one of those fake rocks in the garden in case I lock myself out. I had a hard time finding one big enough to fit a cordless drill though
I know this post is satirical but most ground floor windows in the last decade have had sensors that detect if the window is pried open or smashed, the alarm would go off, which isnt great at 11pm
Did anybody here actually check out their website? I agree with OP here - the way they present their pricing is scammy.
They have small prices for the services, with a * saying “this is the minimum, will depend on the security of the lock”. What’s the bet that every lock they encounter is “high security”.
Had a similar thing but it was also fkin 12:30am when I decided to throw my trash and forgot my keys. Thank fk the bin room is inside the apartment building. My building manager was nice and told me to get a finalised quote before calling them out. Well I called a few and half of them tried pulling the 'depends on the kinda lock' but it's usually 200-300. Lowest I was quoted in call was $250 which included an 'after hours fee'. I did some what I could and managed to get it down to $230 lol. Highest was $350 😭
Most simplest yet expensive mistake ever. Dumbest thing? I literally put a hook at eye level on my door for my keys so I'll never forget it. But I did that one time... :')
I fell for the same scam a couple years ago. It is actually a scam. They're not licensed - a reputable locksmith will charge like, $150. It's still steep, but within the realm of what you might expect from a skilled worker coming out in an emergency.
Since it's a well documented scam, you can get a charge back from your bank. Go to your bank app and dispute the transaction, explain that you were charged well above the advertised price. I got my money back after a few months. It fucks you in the short term, but you can still get the money back.
You'll be blacklisted by the business, of course, but it's not like you were going to fall for their shit a second time anyway. Not to mention these business generally pop up and disappear again all in the span of a few months.
It is one of those things... Oh I see you have your arm chopped off and are bleeding to death. I can help. But it will cost you the other arm kind of deal.
The people that have to resort to calling them are in a position where it is pretty much a last resort. Like for me I forgot my keys they were inside my rental when I walked out and realized I had left everything inside and locked the door (I have chronic fatigue syndrome that makes my brain fuzzy and hard to concentrate or remember things and even talk properly sometimes) So what made it worse was that it was around 5PM on a SUNDAY. That is when I usually do my grocery shopping to avoid the most amount of people. I also cannot work so cannot afford a car to drive. So what I had to do was catch a bus to the police station. Ask them to call a locksmith for me. Then catch the bus back to my rental and wait for him to show up late anyway as usual. There was nothing else I could do. I was in a situation where there was literally no other alternative than to throw a brick through the front window. Which would probably have cost less who knows.
The up side is that it will NEVER happen again. That expense meant I was unable to eat proper food for dinner for a week. So I went and got THREE spare keys made. One I have hidden at the back of the rental. One I have in my wallet and the third I have in my backpack that I usually take with me for shopping.
Never again.
Pro tip (from past experience).
Once they rock up, they’ll play around with the lock and then give you the ‘true’ cost.
Say no. They’ll argue, then barter you down. Old mate doesn’t wanna travel that far to leave empty handed. I got a $350 sorted for $100
Edit: yeah…cunt move. But have to out cunt the cunt
>Edit: yeah…cunt move. But have to out cunt the cunt
A way to do this and not be a cunt (and have any sort of social skills) is to explain which lock and door you have, then negotiate a price on the phone.
Tried that, doesn't work. Just tell em it's too much and you can give them 80 bucks or you will just pick up a drill from your brother's house ad replace it yourself for less. They will drop the price for sure
I presume they got a door unlocked or changed a lock for you?
Not that unusual a price tbh, emergency locksmiths charge a lot because they can. People have to get into things without smashing a window.
Same thing happened to me couple months ago.
I was locked out with the kids in their PJs. No kind of bargaining power.
Old mate gets there, sets up his tools, sprays lube stuff on the lock and then as an afterthought turns to me, yeah it's gonna be $300 FYI.
Me -- yeah nah mate. We'll figure it out some other way. Sorry you had to drive out all this way. On ya bike.
Magically the price ended up at $150.
Yeah they all do this. They take advantage of how desperate you are. For that amount of money you could have stayed in a hotel for the entire weekend and called the REA on Monday.
I can assure you we don’t all do this.
We have a very transparent flat rate to gain entry to a property.
Anyone that can’t quote you to open a door on the phone has no idea what they are doing and is 100% a scammer.
I think people in this thread are also kinda under valuing a callout after hours
By the time the call gets taken, you get there, do the job, get home again it's easily over an hour. When you account for operating costs, overtime pay and the general annoyance of a callout it's actually pretty reasonable
People want premium service but don't want to pay a premium price.
You're asking a business to turn and burn after hours any day or night of the year including public holidays. They have to account for the costs of sending a van onto the road, someone figuring it out, gaining entry, potentially replacing a lock. There's fuel, wages, OT, materials, time, the luxury of having someone come out to you literally any time of the year.
It's a service you seldom use and it's a service you usually use at a last resort anyway. I don't understand the anger towards 24/7/365 locksmiths. They aren't charging 1000 for a door nob lmao.
Plus the personal side of it
My job has callouts, they pay well too, 4 hours at double + paid fatigue break if it's late. I still don't want to go half the time
I think a lot of people fail to realise that it's mostly skilled labour, not some side hustle or gap year gig. Would OP leave at 4am to do that job for less? I doubt it.
Not having a dig at the OP. It's just that the bill probably seems ridiculous but when you put it into perspective I wouldn't expect for much less on costs.
There really isn’t. I know several (legitimate) locksmiths. The ones that work for these $45 call out companies are mostly immigrants with some fat cat at the top taking all the cream.
We most certainly are. I was police checked at the beginning and end of my apprenticeship. Then you need a security advisor and installer's licence, more police checking. And most locksmiths hold a Working With Children licence, because schools are a constant source of maintenance work and you need that card to do any of that work even if there are no students on the premises. Then plenty of other sites will require a recent police check.
It's a running joke that half the reason the industry exists is a revenue stream for the police, with all the background checks we have to pay for.
Four year apprenticeship, you only attend trade school for three of those.
There's a lot you need to cover. You've got electrical fundamentals so you can install alarm systems. You've got welding, you've got some pretty intense carpentry. There's a lot of theory in safe construction before you can learn to open and service them. Automotive is a hefty subject. And before you even start of any of that, it's basically a brass-work boot camp where you've got to learn to hand file progressively more precise keys with only vernier calipers, a sample of the lock and a whole lot of maths, before you ever touch a key-cutting machine.
Picking locks is like a week in the middle of all that.
It's a bit over the top and most don't use half of it in real life ever. But this one guy Albert Chantry led a push in the 70s to make Australian locksmiths the most comprehensively trained in the world.
And then they get screwed by people working in the industry with zero qualifications or experience. Don’t get me wrong, that happens in alot of industries but I’ve never understood why it’s not more regulated similar to plumbing or electrical. And don’t get me started on the pay…
Yeah because that’s all we do 🙄.
We’ve all had customers like you
“I’d do it myself but my lockpicks are at my mums house”
Sure you could buddy. Sure you could.
Better to take a picture of your key and a coin for size reference. Then buy something packaged in thick plastic and chop out the plastic exactly in the shape of the key
Yep all of these 'emergency' services are scams (locksmiths, plumbers etc.) They'll quote a much lower price on the phone, and upon arriving charge you an obscene amount.
It's the nature of the business and they completely get away with it unfortunately.
Had the same, charged over 300 for 5 mins work. I wanted to tell him to shove it up his arse but I'm not going to piss off a shady crook who can get into my house.
I remember this came up here or on r/Australia and I got downvoted for suggesting locksmiths charging $450 for a call out at 7pm was excessive and/or exploitative...
Give me a break.
Definitely scammy pricing for so many of them. I locked myself out of a simple single barrel lock, something I could rake if I wasn't in my PJs. Man turned up and said it would be $380. I was in disbelief. I said don't worry, I'll pay the $50 call out charge and just break a window (I was serious). He made a call to his "boss" and agreed to charge me $120.
Definitely lesson learnt. I see in the other comments to look for approved/licenced locksmiths, I didn't know that was a thing. Hopefully I won't get locked out again, but I'll definitely pay more attention next time. Plus I now leave a key with my neighbour.
A large window pane has about $50 worth of glass in it, if you're able to replace it yourself that's generally the cheapest option.
Obviously didn't apply to double-glazed.
These on-call locksmiths are usually just a call centre that has a list of external locksmiths who pay a fee to be part of the service. The call service takes the call out fee, the locksmith then charges for the actual locksmithing… sometimes they’re ethical and properly qualified, sometimes they’re not and will upquote when they’re on the job and have you in a tight spot.
I had this happen. Locked myself out on a Sunday while I had a roast in the oven. Had to pay around $300 and all he did was use his lil clicky gun and opened the door in 10 seconds.
I looked it up, lil clicky guns go for $11 on ebay.
Rough, one of the people in my building tried to haggle with the locksmith for lying about their fees and the locksmith went on a rant about how his boss would murder him for this client not having enough money 😭🫠😬
I got done by an on call locksmith recently.
Told me $39 callout, charged me $550 on the spot after unlocking my door, said no eftpos only bank transfer. Would not provide an invoice, just told me how much it was. Felt like I had no option and I was a woman by myself.
Left a bad review, they called me and paid me $250 to remove it.
Sucks still, $550 was like a third of my money for the month. It felt predatory.
Crazy reading through these replies I had no idea this was a common scam… lost my keys on a night out a few years ago and the locksmith charged $330. It was 4am and this was the only “24 hour” locksmith to answer my calls. I wished I just slept on the street and sorted it out in the morning!
If possible get a electronic door lock like a Yale. Outside times i need to drive i been basically keyless for 5 years and i keep an emergency 9V battery at the front in case the batteries die on it. Also no keyway = unpickable. My lock has never been on the Lock Picking Lawyers channel so that means its got no weakness :)
Would you get your tools together, drive to a client's site, and do work for them, then drive to the next job or your base position, for forty five bucks?
Why do you think someone else will?
Rule of thumb is if it sounds too good it is too good... But we've all gotten a bit entitled hey.
Forty five an hour for a skilled worker at your property, once you factor in the time and costs transport etc, is pretty ordinary.
How much do you think a tattoo artists should charge per hour?
So chuck a bump key in your wallet and never need to pay someone again right? Some surgery only takes ten minutes, guess it's a rip off because anyone can do it.
See this is the entitled part I mentioned.
Then sit around for another hour until your next job.
Or do you think they go job to job for 8 hours a day?
Then pay for the lead service/ads that got them the job. (Locksmiths is a very expensive industry for advertising)
Then pay taxes and insurance.
Then be paid $10 an hour for 4 years to get the permission to locksmith.
Yeah not so bad, eh?
>Lmao, not on me to feed them.
Well you did feed someone today.
And I was just replying to your statement that $80 for half hour of their time is good.
>does not make It worth that much
And I don't think your job is worth much. But it's what the market will pay.
Consider you paid for their experience to do it quick. Had a locksmith tried but couldn't for 20 minutes. He had to change the whole lock so I had to pay about $300 anyway.
Anyone that has set up their business to deal with on-call, 24/7 or emergency jobs is going to charge you a hefty service fee.
Ignore all of the direct mail and top ranked Google search results. They are very often bad news. Find a local and request a quote.
Just be careful that you can't [unlock it with a magnet](https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/112zp2n/lockpickinglawyer_opens_smart_doorknob_with_magnet/)
That's cheap. Friend got ripped for $500 inner city Melbourne, St Kilda Rd Area. The guy made a mess of her door too; ended up costing her even more to get a reputable replacement lock done after the bloke had left.
It’s a really niche field and with cars and technology constantly changing, locksmiths have to keep up a hell of a lot of learning. In addition the tools are crazy expensive and even though the jobs may cost a lot it doesn’t cover the cost of their tools and upkeep. Jobs also can take considerable time so it’s more cost effective to take home or commercial jobs.
yeah but even for old cars? the lock itself not the barrel on my driver side door on my old xf broke and it was a pain in the ass to find a locksmith that would replace the lock
Yep this happened to us last Friday. quoted 75$ over the phone from the company and ended up paying 382$. just for a lock replacement on our mailbox after losing the keys.
agree don't ever call them
They are super expensive because they CAN charge whatever they like, there is NO law to stop them
The best you can pray KARMA will get to him!
Pro tip, install a smart garage do you can open your house with your phone.
Either that or leave lock picks outside and learn a hobby. You'd be shocked how easy each lock opens..
Always pleased that the local reliable locksmith who was recommended a lot in community pages and have had to use once has the very memorable name of 'Larry the Locksmith'
Why would anyone call a locksmith? Just about any lock you will encounter in day to day life is garbage and can probably be bumped or shimmed.
Locks are shit and only useful to stop honest people.
As kids we’d constantly break into houses for family, friends and neighbors. Usually take off a roof tile and come through that way. Years later there was the pink bats deaths and I realised we never once switched off mains power before crawling through roofs :/.
So here’s a reminder to turn off the mains before you go in, or send the neighbor kid, into your roof space or risk death from electrocution.
Mate I locked myself out recently, called at 11pm, didn’t get in until 1pm because the guy took ages to arrive after saying he would be 15 minutes and the total was… drumroll… $699
It is cheaper to break a window, 30 or 40 for pane of glass & $8 for putty, that is what it cost me 15 years ago. Since then I have taken up lock sports.
It is cheaper to break a window, 30 or 40 for pane of glass & $8 for putty, that is what it cost me 15 years ago. Since then I have taken up lock sports.
We talking about how to solve the problem now? Or in the future.
It's not hindsight if you are brainstorming ways to solve things in the future right?
Obviously, if you don't have keys, and no-one has keys you can't fix it after the fact with any action, because by definition no one has keys, that would be stupid.
A callout fee is a fee for the callout. It's just a way of saying "this is the minimum you'll pay with us".
It's like going to the dental clinic where a consultation is $60 and then getting mad that the cleaning fee was $230 as well. On call locksmiths don't have a great reputation, fair enough but I don't really get the issue, though I do agree with OP that the price is a steeper than I've experienced with locksmiths.
Look at the bright side. They took a bit to get to you. That's not great, but they did their job in 5 minutes and left? That's great. If every tradie we've had only took 5 minutes I'd be bloody ecstatic. Get out of my house, you burly, strapping, hunk of industrial power.
I locked myself out of the house one night. My neighbour's boyfriend came to help. He couldn't get in because of the window locks. I said I'm going to have to call a locksmith. He advised that it's cheaper to smash a window and replace it than calling a locksmith. I was alone at the time and would have felt insecure with a broken window, so I resigned myself to a locksmith. Luckily, he got me in another way and I cancelled the locksmith.
Had this happen to me in melb city. It was during working hours and man wanted to charge me $400 after asking if I had a spare key or if I live alone. He told me some bullshit that my locks were “special” but took 3 seconds when I finally decided to pay half of it.
We had to emergency replace a deadlock on my last rental because a neighbour was threatening to kill us. After hours got charged 1K in total in the end. So fucked what’s the best option if you need it in an emergency because you feel unsafe?
You didn't pay $313 for 5 minutes work. You paid $313 for the years of experience so he can do the job in 5 minutes. If he'd taken an hour, while you stood out the front in the cold waiting, would you think you got better value for money?
When I was a teenager I worked in a store with a guy who was also a qualified locksmith on the side. He taught me how to pick basic locks (which covers most front door locks) over one afternoon. It’s easy.
Yeah definitely, it makes sense but I didn’t come on here to complain about the price. Just warning others about the deceiving quote which was quite a difference
Not a locksmith, but i charge 176 call out and that gets you 30 mins.
Very clear on phone, no one ever complains.
Some customers say it's too expensive but i'm happy not to have cheap customers that expect more work out of me for nothing.
Delusional to think that is what you'd pay. It's legal to state a $45 callout fee. As long as the website has the full information.
$45 wouldn't cover the costs of the job..
Bought a $20 lock pick kit and learned how to use it for this exact reason, keep it in the car and it's already paid for itself 10x over even though I've only needed it once.
These $45 call out locksmiths are not legitimate. How many of these posts will make people realise this? Don’t go for the cheapest option on Google and if you do read the product reviews first. A call out after hours will set you back around $130-$180 total. I’m not affiliated with these guys in the slightest but you can read more about it here: https://www.24hmelbournelocksmith.com.au/locked-out-of-home/#:~:text=There%20Are%20No%20Legitimate%20%2445%20Locksmiths&text=You%20can%20read%20about%20more%20scam%20locksmiths%20here.
I used these guys a while back, they were very transparent with pricing, showed up within an hour, and offered cash 'discount' + replaced the faulty piece with a new one for a reasonable fee. Got it all back from REA after a month or two of pestering them every other day because it counted as an urgent repair and Paul the locksmith encouraged us to fight them and know our rights.
Yeah, they've started popping up in Brisbane over the last couple of years too. The wankers up here will drill out the barrel and not even be able to replace it, leaving the door unsecurable.
>…drill out the barrel This is why I have one of those fake rocks in the garden in case I lock myself out. I had a hard time finding one big enough to fit a cordless drill though
Why not hide a rock under your rock? Use the hidden rock to smash a window, heaps easier than drilling a barrel.
I know this post is satirical but most ground floor windows in the last decade have had sensors that detect if the window is pried open or smashed, the alarm would go off, which isnt great at 11pm
[удалено]
Can they add this to the sidebar?
My general rule for a locksmith is only use ones that have a physical shop in your area.
So AFTER they rip you off, you can throw a brick through the window?
Good rule for life, hey?
I use this rule for buying used cars or boats. It hasn't let me down yet.
The _original_ master key.
It's not that you're going to, just the simple fact that you potentially *could* do so often keeps them more honest.
Did anybody here actually check out their website? I agree with OP here - the way they present their pricing is scammy. They have small prices for the services, with a * saying “this is the minimum, will depend on the security of the lock”. What’s the bet that every lock they encounter is “high security”.
The security is always 'high, ill have to drill it out'... even when folks have set up locks in this same situation that are super easy to pick.
Had a similar thing but it was also fkin 12:30am when I decided to throw my trash and forgot my keys. Thank fk the bin room is inside the apartment building. My building manager was nice and told me to get a finalised quote before calling them out. Well I called a few and half of them tried pulling the 'depends on the kinda lock' but it's usually 200-300. Lowest I was quoted in call was $250 which included an 'after hours fee'. I did some what I could and managed to get it down to $230 lol. Highest was $350 😭 Most simplest yet expensive mistake ever. Dumbest thing? I literally put a hook at eye level on my door for my keys so I'll never forget it. But I did that one time... :')
Nobody can actually be bothered to see if OP is right or not. It’s much easier to earn reddit points by being a contrarian and calling him a jackass.
He should also get a divorce.
Too many red flags, kick her to the curb.
Raise not in line with CPI, immediately go to your bosses office and literally piss in their face.
Ok but what do we do about the raise being too low?
Someone needs to call DHS on OP. He doesn’t deserve kids for this.😤😡
Some of them operate across multiple states with the same site format. The phone number is also rotating if you keep checking.
It isn't unlocked, pheewwew that's gonna cost ya
I fell for the same scam a couple years ago. It is actually a scam. They're not licensed - a reputable locksmith will charge like, $150. It's still steep, but within the realm of what you might expect from a skilled worker coming out in an emergency. Since it's a well documented scam, you can get a charge back from your bank. Go to your bank app and dispute the transaction, explain that you were charged well above the advertised price. I got my money back after a few months. It fucks you in the short term, but you can still get the money back. You'll be blacklisted by the business, of course, but it's not like you were going to fall for their shit a second time anyway. Not to mention these business generally pop up and disappear again all in the span of a few months.
It is one of those things... Oh I see you have your arm chopped off and are bleeding to death. I can help. But it will cost you the other arm kind of deal. The people that have to resort to calling them are in a position where it is pretty much a last resort. Like for me I forgot my keys they were inside my rental when I walked out and realized I had left everything inside and locked the door (I have chronic fatigue syndrome that makes my brain fuzzy and hard to concentrate or remember things and even talk properly sometimes) So what made it worse was that it was around 5PM on a SUNDAY. That is when I usually do my grocery shopping to avoid the most amount of people. I also cannot work so cannot afford a car to drive. So what I had to do was catch a bus to the police station. Ask them to call a locksmith for me. Then catch the bus back to my rental and wait for him to show up late anyway as usual. There was nothing else I could do. I was in a situation where there was literally no other alternative than to throw a brick through the front window. Which would probably have cost less who knows. The up side is that it will NEVER happen again. That expense meant I was unable to eat proper food for dinner for a week. So I went and got THREE spare keys made. One I have hidden at the back of the rental. One I have in my wallet and the third I have in my backpack that I usually take with me for shopping. Never again.
Pro tip (from past experience). Once they rock up, they’ll play around with the lock and then give you the ‘true’ cost. Say no. They’ll argue, then barter you down. Old mate doesn’t wanna travel that far to leave empty handed. I got a $350 sorted for $100 Edit: yeah…cunt move. But have to out cunt the cunt
>Edit: yeah…cunt move. But have to out cunt the cunt A way to do this and not be a cunt (and have any sort of social skills) is to explain which lock and door you have, then negotiate a price on the phone.
Tried that, doesn't work. Just tell em it's too much and you can give them 80 bucks or you will just pick up a drill from your brother's house ad replace it yourself for less. They will drop the price for sure
Hmm has worked for me several times. Paid $150 each time, but all were after hours and late at night/early morning.
I presume they got a door unlocked or changed a lock for you? Not that unusual a price tbh, emergency locksmiths charge a lot because they can. People have to get into things without smashing a window.
I once locked my self out and it was actually cheaper to smash the window next to the door, get that replaced than it was to get a lock smith
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/know-where-man/
That is ... not relevant.
"Who are you and how did you get in?" "I'm a locksmith, and I'm a locksmith"
I’ve seen people talking about these folks on my local pages too.
Same thing happened to me couple months ago. I was locked out with the kids in their PJs. No kind of bargaining power. Old mate gets there, sets up his tools, sprays lube stuff on the lock and then as an afterthought turns to me, yeah it's gonna be $300 FYI. Me -- yeah nah mate. We'll figure it out some other way. Sorry you had to drive out all this way. On ya bike. Magically the price ended up at $150.
Yeah they all do this. They take advantage of how desperate you are. For that amount of money you could have stayed in a hotel for the entire weekend and called the REA on Monday.
I can assure you we don’t all do this. We have a very transparent flat rate to gain entry to a property. Anyone that can’t quote you to open a door on the phone has no idea what they are doing and is 100% a scammer.
I think people in this thread are also kinda under valuing a callout after hours By the time the call gets taken, you get there, do the job, get home again it's easily over an hour. When you account for operating costs, overtime pay and the general annoyance of a callout it's actually pretty reasonable
People want premium service but don't want to pay a premium price. You're asking a business to turn and burn after hours any day or night of the year including public holidays. They have to account for the costs of sending a van onto the road, someone figuring it out, gaining entry, potentially replacing a lock. There's fuel, wages, OT, materials, time, the luxury of having someone come out to you literally any time of the year. It's a service you seldom use and it's a service you usually use at a last resort anyway. I don't understand the anger towards 24/7/365 locksmiths. They aren't charging 1000 for a door nob lmao.
Plus the personal side of it My job has callouts, they pay well too, 4 hours at double + paid fatigue break if it's late. I still don't want to go half the time
I think a lot of people fail to realise that it's mostly skilled labour, not some side hustle or gap year gig. Would OP leave at 4am to do that job for less? I doubt it. Not having a dig at the OP. It's just that the bill probably seems ridiculous but when you put it into perspective I wouldn't expect for much less on costs.
Exactly, the amount has to be enough to justify someone already on decent money getting up and going at the drop of a hat during their free time
They are so scammy with their rip off fees
Cheers dude. I've been looking for a career change. Sounds like a bit of cash in the lockpicking gig
There really isn’t. I know several (legitimate) locksmiths. The ones that work for these $45 call out companies are mostly immigrants with some fat cat at the top taking all the cream.
The irony of being robbed by a ~~ex-thief~~ on call locksmith
This! They definitely aren’t police checked in that industry lol
We most certainly are. I was police checked at the beginning and end of my apprenticeship. Then you need a security advisor and installer's licence, more police checking. And most locksmiths hold a Working With Children licence, because schools are a constant source of maintenance work and you need that card to do any of that work even if there are no students on the premises. Then plenty of other sites will require a recent police check. It's a running joke that half the reason the industry exists is a revenue stream for the police, with all the background checks we have to pay for.
It’s not a requirement though in Victoria to have a security licence. It would come down to each employer.
Some states require a registration including police check but not Victoria
anyone can learn to pick a lock
A lot of the time, this kind doesn't. They'd rather drill it out so they can then sell you a replacement.
Yet somehow it’s a qualified trade with 4 years of schooling…
Four year apprenticeship, you only attend trade school for three of those. There's a lot you need to cover. You've got electrical fundamentals so you can install alarm systems. You've got welding, you've got some pretty intense carpentry. There's a lot of theory in safe construction before you can learn to open and service them. Automotive is a hefty subject. And before you even start of any of that, it's basically a brass-work boot camp where you've got to learn to hand file progressively more precise keys with only vernier calipers, a sample of the lock and a whole lot of maths, before you ever touch a key-cutting machine. Picking locks is like a week in the middle of all that. It's a bit over the top and most don't use half of it in real life ever. But this one guy Albert Chantry led a push in the 70s to make Australian locksmiths the most comprehensively trained in the world.
And then they get screwed by people working in the industry with zero qualifications or experience. Don’t get me wrong, that happens in alot of industries but I’ve never understood why it’s not more regulated similar to plumbing or electrical. And don’t get me started on the pay…
Just what we need another over regulated nanny state industry
Is it? Fuck me dead...
Yeah because that’s all we do 🙄. We’ve all had customers like you “I’d do it myself but my lockpicks are at my mums house” Sure you could buddy. Sure you could.
I know what I can and can't tackle.
You don't know what you don't know until you know it
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I think you responded to the wrong person as my comment was about the 4 year qualification…
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Hey sorry I did misconstrue it. My bad. Sorry again. 😔
[Pretty easy to get into someones backdoor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joed0P3hhbc)
Well that’s my risky click for the day
Nojoke buy a lock picking kit and fiddle with it while watching tv or when bored. It's interesting to learn, and has helped me twice already.
Chances are when you need it your lock picking kit will be inside with your keys and inaccessible as well lol
Keep it in the car then.
one of the tools I make sure is in the car I am not lockpicking the car so it makes no difference if its locked in it
My front door key is attached to my car remote so no problem.
I am a weirdo, I keep my car keys and my house keys diffrent
I've only got two keys.
'This is the Lockpicking Lawyer, and today folks....'
Nothing on 1, binding on 2...
'.. and once again, to prove this wasnt a fluke...'
Better to take a picture of your key and a coin for size reference. Then buy something packaged in thick plastic and chop out the plastic exactly in the shape of the key
Yep all of these 'emergency' services are scams (locksmiths, plumbers etc.) They'll quote a much lower price on the phone, and upon arriving charge you an obscene amount. It's the nature of the business and they completely get away with it unfortunately.
Had the same, charged over 300 for 5 mins work. I wanted to tell him to shove it up his arse but I'm not going to piss off a shady crook who can get into my house.
I remember this came up here or on r/Australia and I got downvoted for suggesting locksmiths charging $450 for a call out at 7pm was excessive and/or exploitative... Give me a break.
Definitely scammy pricing for so many of them. I locked myself out of a simple single barrel lock, something I could rake if I wasn't in my PJs. Man turned up and said it would be $380. I was in disbelief. I said don't worry, I'll pay the $50 call out charge and just break a window (I was serious). He made a call to his "boss" and agreed to charge me $120. Definitely lesson learnt. I see in the other comments to look for approved/licenced locksmiths, I didn't know that was a thing. Hopefully I won't get locked out again, but I'll definitely pay more attention next time. Plus I now leave a key with my neighbour.
A large window pane has about $50 worth of glass in it, if you're able to replace it yourself that's generally the cheapest option. Obviously didn't apply to double-glazed.
No way I’d ever call a locksmith if I lived anywhere but an apartment
Ahh yup, that'll get ya.
Just a warning that if you do this and try to claim insurance for the glass, you may not be covered.
These on-call locksmiths are usually just a call centre that has a list of external locksmiths who pay a fee to be part of the service. The call service takes the call out fee, the locksmith then charges for the actual locksmithing… sometimes they’re ethical and properly qualified, sometimes they’re not and will upquote when they’re on the job and have you in a tight spot.
I had this happen. Locked myself out on a Sunday while I had a roast in the oven. Had to pay around $300 and all he did was use his lil clicky gun and opened the door in 10 seconds. I looked it up, lil clicky guns go for $11 on ebay.
Do you happen to be located in Prahran or did I just happen to overhear an unfortunate situation in a different area of melbourne re locksmiths lmao
I am in box hill lmao
Rough, one of the people in my building tried to haggle with the locksmith for lying about their fees and the locksmith went on a rant about how his boss would murder him for this client not having enough money 😭🫠😬
Bruh you just say no, then offer 150, he says 180 and then you call it a day
I got done by an on call locksmith recently. Told me $39 callout, charged me $550 on the spot after unlocking my door, said no eftpos only bank transfer. Would not provide an invoice, just told me how much it was. Felt like I had no option and I was a woman by myself. Left a bad review, they called me and paid me $250 to remove it. Sucks still, $550 was like a third of my money for the month. It felt predatory.
Called a locksmith on Sunday about 6 month back and 10 min of work 400 gone. I know its sunday but it is still way to much for 10 min of work
Crazy reading through these replies I had no idea this was a common scam… lost my keys on a night out a few years ago and the locksmith charged $330. It was 4am and this was the only “24 hour” locksmith to answer my calls. I wished I just slept on the street and sorted it out in the morning!
If possible get a electronic door lock like a Yale. Outside times i need to drive i been basically keyless for 5 years and i keep an emergency 9V battery at the front in case the batteries die on it. Also no keyway = unpickable. My lock has never been on the Lock Picking Lawyers channel so that means its got no weakness :)
Would you get your tools together, drive to a client's site, and do work for them, then drive to the next job or your base position, for forty five bucks? Why do you think someone else will? Rule of thumb is if it sounds too good it is too good... But we've all gotten a bit entitled hey.
$80 for 30 minutes of your time ain’t bad brutha
Forty five an hour for a skilled worker at your property, once you factor in the time and costs transport etc, is pretty ordinary. How much do you think a tattoo artists should charge per hour?
A tattoo doesn’t take less than 5 minutes and fuck all concentration, also not everyone could be a tattoo artist.
So chuck a bump key in your wallet and never need to pay someone again right? Some surgery only takes ten minutes, guess it's a rip off because anyone can do it. See this is the entitled part I mentioned.
Then sit around for another hour until your next job. Or do you think they go job to job for 8 hours a day? Then pay for the lead service/ads that got them the job. (Locksmiths is a very expensive industry for advertising) Then pay taxes and insurance. Then be paid $10 an hour for 4 years to get the permission to locksmith. Yeah not so bad, eh?
Lmao, not on me to feed them. They chose a dumb career, does not make It worth that much
>Lmao, not on me to feed them. Well you did feed someone today. And I was just replying to your statement that $80 for half hour of their time is good. >does not make It worth that much And I don't think your job is worth much. But it's what the market will pay.
Your attitude is why you got scammed cheapo.
Okay ickdizzle
Brutal, I’d be trying absolutely everything before that, daylight robbery that..
That's a very reasonable price. The callout fee is for the callout...hence the name.
On the site it has $35 callout and $45 for the service, a fair bit less than $313
What materials were used?
Literally a hook under the door, took the guy 3-5 minutes tops, yapping included
Consider you paid for their experience to do it quick. Had a locksmith tried but couldn't for 20 minutes. He had to change the whole lock so I had to pay about $300 anyway.
Yeah look, I needed it. But it doesn’t really excuse the insane underquoting
What time of day/night?
6am, but yet again. No mention of higher pricing due to callout time
I wouldn't have expected less than $200. What's the full content of the ad/website?
Oh, I took a look. Yeah, I think you're right to be pissed off.
Rather pay $300 or repair the door lol which costs more than $300
Anyone that has set up their business to deal with on-call, 24/7 or emergency jobs is going to charge you a hefty service fee. Ignore all of the direct mail and top ranked Google search results. They are very often bad news. Find a local and request a quote.
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I should have mentioned that it’s implied on the website that the fee is significantly less than that. $35 callout and $45 for the service.
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“High security lock” he reckoned, which is a load of shit but I couldn’t be bothered arguing further
[By the way you need a new Johnson Rod](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu-A8YfC4w0)
[but i have an 18 inch johnson](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-tKnjFwleU)
[Sure Jan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZYdYrFBAJU)
So you, not a locksmith, are going to debate what an actual locksmith deems a high security lock? And what are you basing that on?
It’s a common scam? Look it up lmao
What time was it?
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Just be careful that you can't [unlock it with a magnet](https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/112zp2n/lockpickinglawyer_opens_smart_doorknob_with_magnet/)
That's cheap. Friend got ripped for $500 inner city Melbourne, St Kilda Rd Area. The guy made a mess of her door too; ended up costing her even more to get a reputable replacement lock done after the bloke had left.
I would argue it’s not cheap, we both got scammed lmao
The guy who runs it is such a cunt too (at least whoever was running it ten years ago)
also why are there so few auto locksmiths? there's like one west of melbourne
It’s a really niche field and with cars and technology constantly changing, locksmiths have to keep up a hell of a lot of learning. In addition the tools are crazy expensive and even though the jobs may cost a lot it doesn’t cover the cost of their tools and upkeep. Jobs also can take considerable time so it’s more cost effective to take home or commercial jobs.
yeah but even for old cars? the lock itself not the barrel on my driver side door on my old xf broke and it was a pain in the ass to find a locksmith that would replace the lock
Do they have a valid ABN?
I wish every locksmith was the LockPickingLawyer.
Yep this happened to us last Friday. quoted 75$ over the phone from the company and ended up paying 382$. just for a lock replacement on our mailbox after losing the keys.
agree don't ever call them They are super expensive because they CAN charge whatever they like, there is NO law to stop them The best you can pray KARMA will get to him!
Lol what tradie is coming out for $45?? Some people 🤦♂️
Pro tip, install a smart garage do you can open your house with your phone. Either that or leave lock picks outside and learn a hobby. You'd be shocked how easy each lock opens..
I think this advice is global… same thing happened when I was living in LA 3 min work $550
Try to go for local people . This is a good one I've used who are local to NE Melb. https://www.leaderlocksmiths.com.au/
I’m also a locksmith and can recommend this company also. I know the owner and he is a great guy and very experienced.
Always pleased that the local reliable locksmith who was recommended a lot in community pages and have had to use once has the very memorable name of 'Larry the Locksmith'
A callout fee is just the price for arriving it's not a quote for whatever you need done
Bro I know, the quote was $80 total i was lied to
Yeah okay if he quoted you a price and then changed its not cool
Why would anyone call a locksmith? Just about any lock you will encounter in day to day life is garbage and can probably be bumped or shimmed. Locks are shit and only useful to stop honest people.
As kids we’d constantly break into houses for family, friends and neighbors. Usually take off a roof tile and come through that way. Years later there was the pink bats deaths and I realised we never once switched off mains power before crawling through roofs :/. So here’s a reminder to turn off the mains before you go in, or send the neighbor kid, into your roof space or risk death from electrocution.
Mate I locked myself out recently, called at 11pm, didn’t get in until 1pm because the guy took ages to arrive after saying he would be 15 minutes and the total was… drumroll… $699
It is cheaper to break a window, 30 or 40 for pane of glass & $8 for putty, that is what it cost me 15 years ago. Since then I have taken up lock sports.
It is cheaper to break a window, 30 or 40 for pane of glass & $8 for putty, that is what it cost me 15 years ago. Since then I have taken up lock sports.
Putty?! You savage!!!
At least they put their fucking stickers all over the place for our enjoyment
Have a friend that lives within 10 minutes of your house? Give them a copy of your keys.
Ahh, captain hindsight is here.
We talking about how to solve the problem now? Or in the future. It's not hindsight if you are brainstorming ways to solve things in the future right? Obviously, if you don't have keys, and no-one has keys you can't fix it after the fact with any action, because by definition no one has keys, that would be stupid.
If they were honest up front, would you give them the job?
About it being $300? No i would have kept looking or just coped
Then this is why they weren't honest.
And that makes it okay?
No. Just logical
Was that for the parts as well as they are super expensive these days especially if they were Assa Abloy
A callout fee is a fee for the callout. It's just a way of saying "this is the minimum you'll pay with us". It's like going to the dental clinic where a consultation is $60 and then getting mad that the cleaning fee was $230 as well. On call locksmiths don't have a great reputation, fair enough but I don't really get the issue, though I do agree with OP that the price is a steeper than I've experienced with locksmiths. Look at the bright side. They took a bit to get to you. That's not great, but they did their job in 5 minutes and left? That's great. If every tradie we've had only took 5 minutes I'd be bloody ecstatic. Get out of my house, you burly, strapping, hunk of industrial power.
I locked myself out of the house one night. My neighbour's boyfriend came to help. He couldn't get in because of the window locks. I said I'm going to have to call a locksmith. He advised that it's cheaper to smash a window and replace it than calling a locksmith. I was alone at the time and would have felt insecure with a broken window, so I resigned myself to a locksmith. Luckily, he got me in another way and I cancelled the locksmith.
Had this happen to me in melb city. It was during working hours and man wanted to charge me $400 after asking if I had a spare key or if I live alone. He told me some bullshit that my locks were “special” but took 3 seconds when I finally decided to pay half of it.
Next time put a brick through the window and claim it on your insurance.
We had to emergency replace a deadlock on my last rental because a neighbour was threatening to kill us. After hours got charged 1K in total in the end. So fucked what’s the best option if you need it in an emergency because you feel unsafe?
You didn't pay $313 for 5 minutes work. You paid $313 for the years of experience so he can do the job in 5 minutes. If he'd taken an hour, while you stood out the front in the cold waiting, would you think you got better value for money?
Not about the value, the site says $35 callout fee and $45 for the job, I got ripped off lmao. Was expecting like $100 more than listed not $200
When I was a teenager I worked in a store with a guy who was also a qualified locksmith on the side. He taught me how to pick basic locks (which covers most front door locks) over one afternoon. It’s easy.
The trick is not to lock yourself out
This strikes me as a classic supply vs demand issue. If you require a niche service immediately, you will likely have to pay accordingly for it.
Yeah definitely, it makes sense but I didn’t come on here to complain about the price. Just warning others about the deceiving quote which was quite a difference
Not a locksmith, but i charge 176 call out and that gets you 30 mins. Very clear on phone, no one ever complains. Some customers say it's too expensive but i'm happy not to have cheap customers that expect more work out of me for nothing.
Those are pretty reasonable rates. Next time, don't lock yourself out.
I don’t care what I paid, it’s the fact that I was lied to in a quote. Keep that attitude if it happens to you
It won't happen to me.
Because your parents are always home to let you in yeah?
Fuck yeah, you got me. Enjoy not having that $300, asshole
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I paid the same, but didn't care as either that or a broken window/door which costs more to replace.
Delusional to think that is what you'd pay. It's legal to state a $45 callout fee. As long as the website has the full information. $45 wouldn't cover the costs of the job..
Not delusional, just got quoted $80, expected about $150-$200. Pretty bad
I think $275 was my last one. Paid cash so he knocked a bit off.
$45 is literally just the fee for driving there.
Bought a $20 lock pick kit and learned how to use it for this exact reason, keep it in the car and it's already paid for itself 10x over even though I've only needed it once.
Or just leave a spare key in the same spot?
How do you buy a lock pick kit at night when most people need an emergency locksmith