7 Things you need to know before you call out a Locksmith.

I came across this on an old “Blogspot” blog. I wrote it about 4 years ago but I think most of the advice still holds up.

You’re running late. You pick up your keys from the coffee table. You’re out the door. BANG ! The door shuts behind you. You go to lock the mortice lock only to discover you have picked up the wrong blooming keys !

Yes … you’re locked out.

You have two choices. 1. Panic. 2. Don’t panic.

You decide to go for the second one because your neighbour with whom you have left a spare set of keys is bound to be in. Then you remember she’s off on holiday to somewhere horribly hot and sunny. You still decide to go for option 2. Somebody is bound to be in next door and they will have a copy of “Yellow Pages” or at least you will be able to use their computer to go online to search Google or Yell.com .

Thankfully you are correct.

Here we go …. “Oh my God I didn’t realise there were so many locksmiths in Edinburgh!”

7 things you need to know before you call a locksmith in Edinburgh.

1. Don’t go for the first advert you see. Don’t panic! Take your time.
2. Avoid the big adverts. If they can afford to pay for an advert that size then they are going to be charging you a lot of money.
3. Small to medium size advert but with a string of 0800 numbers? Chances are this is a service company probably located somewhere like Manchester, London or Birmingham. They won’t have a clue where “Stockbridge” or “Gorgie” is. They are probably going to sub-contract a local locksmith to do the work. Again you are going to get charged an arm and a leg because they have to pay for all these 0800 numbers, pay the local locksmith and make some money themselves.
4. If you call a locksmith and they are asking for your debit or credit card details before they accept your business, then forget it. NO reputable locksmith is going to do that.
5. Go for an advert that indicates you will be speaking directly to the locksmith. If you end up speaking to a call centre or a message handling service then once again you are probably speaking to a service company.
6. Look for an address on the advert. If the locksmith is local he will have his address in the advert to show that he is local. Local businesses like local business.
7. Don’t be afraid to ask how much you are going to be charged. If the locksmith is vague about his charges he has something to hide. Most reputable companies will at least give you a ballpark figure. Often it is not easy to give an accurate quote over the phone. If it’s not an urgent job, then ask if the locksmith will come and give you a free estimate.