If you are ever locked out of your home or business, your odds of getting ripped off are pretty high.
There are plenty of news stories, especially on The Today Show, that show how the ripoff works. In a nutshell, all too many unscrupulous locksmiths will tell you they cannot pick open your lock (or will pretend to try) so they can make money by drilling it open and selling you a new lock. They will also install a cheap $25 lock and charge you five times the price, plus labor. Sometimes, they will even be so rude as to yank the sucker off with a hammer and chip your door at the same time.
Flam's knows plenty of these companies and they actually instruct their employees or independent contractors to do this. But, we also have some advice on how to at least try to protect yourself and we tell it to our customers when we are booked and cannot come out ourselves.
This is the gem:
Even if it is the first time you are locked out, tell them this is not the first time and tell them thank the Lord you know have a lock that can be picked because it happened once before and the another locksmith did it.
With that being said, there are a few caveats:
1. This does not apply to high security locks that are pick and bump resistent, it applies only to common locks. If you have a high security lock, we also recommend leaving an extra key with someone you can wake up at 3:30 a.m.!
2. Every now and then, even a common lock can be a stickler and not be picked, but it is the exception and not the rule.
3. There are times when a lock can be picked and the technician just doesn't know how to pick it. It is not always like they show on TV.
So, that is this weeks contribution and if it saves one person from being ripped off, then we are glad we wrote this.
By the way, if you want to see that video from The Today Show, go to our web site at www.flamslockandkey.com and click on Press and News. It will be right there.
Yours in Security,
Jack and Vikki Flam
