Dubious locksmiths are always a topic in the daily business of the ECC. We receive many complaints about providers who exploit the emergency situation of consumers and charge high prices for their services.
Many of those companies appear among the first results of search engines, so that their suspiciously cheap offers catch the searcher's eye. They often claim to be situated in Germany or have no imprint at all on their websites.
On site, after doing a very bad job, the worker demands an immediate payment in cash. The price is much higher than expected and the workers try to intimidate or threaten their victims.
To protect yourself from such bad surprises, we advise to consider the following tips:
- Ask your household insurance company if they offer locksmith services and whether your insurance covers the costs.
- Don't choose the first company that shows up in the search results and maybe offers an unreasonably cheap price.
- Check where the company is situated. If this information is missing on the website, choose someone else.
- Ask on the phone what costs to expect and if that's a maximum amount.
- The Kuratorium für Einbruchschutz und Objektsicherung (KEO), an organisation for building security and anti-burglary protection, provides a list of audited members and a locksmith hotline that mediates partners from this list: 05909005599
- When you get the feeling that the locksmith might be a fraudster, don't pay in cash and don't let them intimidate you. Request an invoice and a payment slip.
- Don't hesitate to call the police if the situation gets out of hand.
