Complaint Review: Roseville Lock and Safe Locksmith

The Federal Trade Commission put out a consumer warning for this locksmith scam back in 2008 and it has gotten worse since the report. Go to the FTC to read the report.

Your experience is exactly what happens.  If you find an actual local locksmith in your area they can tell you the industry issues that these scammers have done to local locksmiths around the country. It works like this: you call what you think is a local number and you are connected to a call center in another city. If you were to check the address on the "local locksmith" you called, you would see that the address is either a vacant storefront, vacant lot or a residential address "borrowed" from someone that is unaware that it is being used by the scammer locksmith company. 

The call center has many different locksmith names used for this purpose. Most of those names play off the city/town location, that's part of the scam. They even borrow other legitimate locksmith names and change one unnoticable word. They quote you a reasonable market rate and then when the "locksmith" arrives it is many times the rate quoted.

The call center sends out an untrained person in an unmarked vehicle (because of the many company names) and usually they will only accept cash, not a credit card or check. The individual sent out can be very intimidating if you don't cooperate (I've been victim of this scam one time).

The way to avoid it is to have AAA for your vehicle, or some similar service.

The way to avoid it for your home is to line up a local locksmith in advance. You do your due diligence on the locksmith prior to needing them and keep their contact info in your database so you don't get taken by one of the "call center" locksmith ads on the web.

As to the person that claims you were trying to get one over on the company - you haven't seen how this scam works. It is very effective and not a legitimate way to do business at all. Check it out with a legitimate locksmith if you doubt how widespead this scam is operating.

When my wife was locked out of her vehicle, she called the company that a google search deemed closest,  Roseville Lock and Safe.  A technician arrived  within 7 minutes (fantastic). He arrived in an unmarked sedan, was not in a uniform and did not have any company id visible. He immediately began working on the car. After he inflated wedge pillow and began inserting reach tool, he handed me a form and requested that I write down my personal info. I asked how much this would cost and he said $185. As  I began protesting what I thought was an absorbatent charge, he gained access to the vehicle.

The gentleman stated that the charge was for an "emergency status" call for service. Had it been an emergency I would have contacted law enforcement.  After reluctantly paying on a credit card, I was handed a receipt that had a business name of "24/7 Locksmiths" as the heading. I also received a text receipt for the credit card transaction that listed the business as "Affordable Locksmith". (strangely enough, two different business names that both differ from the original company I called).

Feeling like we got dupped and that something was amiss about the company involved, I spoke with friends and co workers about what had happened. A couple had found themselves in need of such a service in the past, and told me they had paid CONSIDERABLY less than I had. Now feeling upset about what had happened, I called the phone number that my wife had originally called (Roseville Lock & Safe 651-964-3807). A woman named Amanda answered the phone. I acted as though I was in need of  unlocking services. I gave a similar location and the exact same scenario, even mentioned the exact same vehicle. I said the vehicle was running and I would hope someone could come fast. I then asked how much it would cost. Amanda told me that it would be $50, $35 for the service call and $15 for the technicians fee. Amanda had just confirmed that I had been grossly overcharged. I then informed Amanda that I did not need service but rather had just encountered their tech who had charged $185 vs. The $50 I had just been quoted. Amanda then backtracked and said that she was not a lock professional but also that the amount charged can vary by vehicle type and the ease in which they can gain access (so 30 seconds to open required an upcharge of $135?). I then asked to speak to a manager but was told one was not available.  Amanda flagged our receipt and took my contact info and forwarded it to a mgr David.

Couple hours passed and still no callback. I called in again and this time was transferred to David. After I told him my name he told me he was busy and that he would call me back within an hour. When two hours had passed and still no call, I called in again, this time speaking with a Kim. When asked to be transferred to David, I was told he had just steppec out for a smoke but that she might be able to help. I then went through the entire story again. However, when asked about price,  Kim was quick to tell me I got a great deal and it should have been $250. WHAT?!?!?!?!? Pretty large discrepancy between that and Amandas $50! So when I asked again to speak with the mgr, I was told to try back in 15 minutes. At this point I had to begin to accept that not only was something fishy about the transaction, but no one wanted to take the time to speak with a customer who has legitimate questions about the service they were provided.

So I waited and called back. Kim again. Told me that David informed her that he was much too busy to talk to me today and that I would need to try back tomorrow. I asked Kim what the company name was because at this point I was really unsure. She told me A-1 Lock. Huh???

I am thankful our car was opened, but want to pay the fair price. I also feel this company (or companies) is using some very questionable practices that should be investigated. The fact that they have no desire to hear the customer or make any attempt to make it right makes me wonder how they are still in business. If I had received a fair price, why wouldnt David get on the phone with me and defend the pricing?

Lastly, I called the technician as he had wrote his number on the receipt. He told me that he is to charge $185, no matter what. Vehicle make and level of difficulty do not matter. The charge is always the same. Another discrepancy. Amanda, Kim, and technician all told me a different story in this regard. Who is steering the ship?

 Exactly who the hell are you to tell someone else, even if the do speak broken english, how much thier time and expertise are worth?? And if you stop payment, then you are nothing but a common thief. Worse then what you accuse them of. YOU had a emergency situation. In such situations you get charged a premiuim rate. Thats why you were charged as you were. A quote is not a firm offer. The only firm offer is what you have to pay after its all over. You are nothing but a user.

You should have just put a brick through your own window, because since you are going to dispute a LEGITAMATE charge and steal from them, you are worse then they are. You must be (((REDACTE))).