"Guarantee not applied "

The locksmith came straight away to change the locks, entrance and one room, he charged me 500£ for 2 safety locks, making space on the door and changing the closing part as well.. Not sure about the model he had to come back twice to cover a hole left when installing the entrance lock. I then called him to change another lock but he was in hospital, called him again recently as he guaranteed to change the locks or code for lifetime free, always voice mail, managed to get through the second time, the line cut off, left a voice message, wrote a text, no much luck in getting hold of him so far, not sure about other locksmith, they might have done worst, I just wish when someone do a job, even if busy, stick to his word, but nowadays is hard, so Robert if you see this review, thanks for helping me at that time, just please keep the word... Is not nice to have different people having to come... When u find one u want to keep it and have it long time.. Always better... So he can respond for his own work... It should be like this anyway...

"I had lost my garage keys and called…"

I had lost my garage keys and called the lock smit, he turned up charged £386 to drill the lock and fit a new lock that costs £12. Opened the garage door 4 times and on the 5 th time went to open the key turns and won’t open called the lock smit and sent loads of text messages he agreed to come back and fix the problem but never turned up there was always an excuse not he won’t even answer the phone. He properly ripped me off I don’t understand how people like him are still trading, he would not like to be ripped off so why is he ripping of people that are earning him a living

"They exploit vulnerable people"

This company charged a 91 year old £1,800 to drill his lock and fit a new one at 10pm on a Saturday evening. The door was a standard UPVC door. Usually when the gentleman locks himself out I use a coat hanger through the letterbox to lift the door handle which I learnt from a decent locksmith that opened his door previously. I was on holiday so unable to help on this occasion. A neighbour made the mistake of calling this company.
I spoke with Arpad Varga the company owner/director and principle locksmith. Arpad who was polite and frienfly advised he sent a contractor so not down to him. Trading Standards, Action Fraud and the bank made aware. Avoid this company

"Ripped off…"

Was quoted 180 to 220 for a key replacement. Was told my door panel had to be taken off to make the key so that it would be 220. He didnt end up having to take the panel off and it wasnt even a chipped key or a fob. Just a plain old key. And he charged me over the price I was quoted.

"Totally rip off!!"

Got charged £400 just to drill out the lock and replace with a new one. Before he started, we agreed the price at around £300 but when he finished the job the total was £400 because the price we agreed didn’t include VAT!! I have requested a VAT invoice from them about a week ago and still haven’t heard back from them. Please Avoid!!

"Rip Off Merchants"

Sent by 'LocksmithNearMe' and charged my elderly mother £430 for drilling out a lock and replacing it with a cheap and cheerful lock.
A quick call to a reputable locksmith and this should have cost £130.00.
They also had no 'tools of the trade' to try and move the internal door handle through the letter box or attempt to pick the lock.

"Not the locksmith I thought I'd booked"

I called a local locksmith (based in Crowthorne) for a locksmith job in Crowthrone. Somehow I ended up with Arpi 2 hours later than I was initially told.

I was given a cost, which I thought was very high considering, but needs must and I didn't have any other options at the time. We couldn't get in the locked door because it was locked from the inside, so went around the back where it was a much more simple task of drilling out a lock. Once this was done, the next door to get through could have been opened with a key. One of my colleagues was on their way with their key, but instead of waiting, Arpi went through that lock too. I was then charged the same amount as what I was told was initially a tricky job, even though I did not need both locks to be removed. I asked what the cost would be and he said the same initially quoted because we wouls try and unlock the front door we initially tried, but from the other side. This is when we found we couldn't unlock it because it was double locked, but I was still charged the high amount.

He took payment on his card machine, but had ran out of paper for a receipt. At time of writing, I'm still waiting on a receipt/invoice. I've messaged numerous times, called and emailed, but have had no response.

I don't know how I ended up with Arpi, but I'm incredibly disappointed in the overall service and would not recommend. I'm writing this review as I've been unable to make contact through any other means.

"ROGUE trader, avoid at all costs"

I had hoped to share photos of the calibre of "work" £871 gets you with this guy, but Trustpilot don't allow links in reviews - which is a shame, as you really have to see the job to appreciate how badly we were ripped off.

To summarise, we were left with a hole in the door to the side of the new lock & no lock-catching mechanism in the door frame (so the lock wasn't even secure). It looked rubbish - for lack of a better word. In spite of this, payment was made on the understanding he would return the following day to finish the job, but he never showed.

When I phoned to ask when he was coming back, he pretended not to understand me. My wife followed up on WhatsApp & he replied saying "I will chased this up to see if is something that we deal with". What? Finishing the job you've been paid for?!

We used a site call g-locksmith.co.uk when we made initial enquiries, so we're unsure how we ended up with this guy... but note that when you phone the number on the g-locksmith site it takes you through to his phone. So I assume he's using a variety of websites & company names in an attempt to look like he's part of a bigger (legitimate) operation or something.

His quote of £546 jumped £325 during the course of his work, without explanation or discussion. It's also worth noting that the receipt he provided (which IS in the name of 99locksmiths.com) didn't even add up to the £871 he charged. & the callout fee was listed as £65 - which is in direct conflict with his advertised prices & what he quoted when he arrived.

I ended up finishing the job myself, installing a lock-catcher into the door frame so that the lock itself is actually secure (as he left it, there was nothing for the locking mechanism to even fit into!). I also had to fill the hole in the door & paint it + the door frame so that it looked acceptable. Not the sort of thing I expect to do, having paid someone else nearly £900.

I'll be speaking to trading standards.

"I arrived home from holida on Sunday…"

I arrived home from holiday on Sunday evening - unwell, very cold and soaking wet.
I wanted to gain access to my property ASAP and when the locksmith turned up I agreed to the charges (even though I was dumbstruck) as I had no idea how much opening my porch door and front door would cost. I was charged as follows:
Call out fee - £125
Door opening - £420
Labour - £225
2 High Security locks - £460
VAT - £200
Total - £1,200
The amount was then taken twice from my account (payment over the phone) I.e £2,400 and I have just had to take it up with the HSBC Fraud Team as the company are dragging their heels over paying me back.
Locksmith chatted to me and learned that I am a widow, living alone - coincidence?
26/4/23 - absolutely NOT refunded yet.

"Costly experience"

Pricing did not match subsequent invoice with cost advised by engineer on site visit. To charge £95 for drilling out a lock (took less than 5 minutes) plus £55 labour plus £55 call out was far too much for the time taken to complete the job.