Locksmiths With Blank Invoices Should Be Turned Away - The Scams Abound!

There is a locksmith running around the Murfreesboro, Smyrna, and Nashville area who is reached through a 1-800 number. Of course, not every locksmith who uses a 1-800 number is a scam business either. But this locksmith will show up, probably be unable to fix your most basic commercial job, and, if he is unable to do the job, will charge you a service call. He will hand you a blank receipt without a name, address or Tennessee locksmith license number, and demand cash. This locksmith is sent to you when you use the Internet PAID ADVERTISING SITES. When you call a 1-800 number from the premium website search result listings, you usually get the scam artists who work out of another state. Here are some things you should know.

1. Never hire a locksmith who has a 1-800 number unless you know he is local and you have checked his references.
2. When any locksmith shows up at your place of business, ask for 1) his Tennessee locksmith license ID card and 2) his invoice booklet. If he has no license and his invoices are blank, ask him to leave because he is working under the radar and cannot be trusted to do the work correctly and charge you fairly.
3. If you get one of these locksmiths, do not pay him a service call, as he will not be able to collect since he is operating outside of Tennessee law. Get his vehicle type and write down his vehicle license plate number and call the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance.
4. Always ask a price before you ask the locksmith to make a service call. If the locksmith call center tells you that the service call will be $14, $15, $19 or some other low amount, and if the person refuses to give you a final price, cancel the call.
5. The locksmiths who are dispatched are dispatched from businesses you will not be able to find, hence the blank receipts. These locksmiths also get half of the money for the job they do, so of course the price is going to be jacked up. I have seen an $85 job go for $375; and the invoice was blank! The customer could not lodge a complaint nor get a refund.
6. If you do get stuck with one of these hucksters, and he is doing your work, rest assured that he will come to you when he is done and give you a bill three to four times what you thought it was going to be. In the event you do not pay the up-charge, the locksmith will remove your locks at closing time and threaten you with legal action. Do not pay the bill and do not sign it. Get his tag numbers and call the police, because the locksmith will remove your locks and leave you vulnerable!
7. For more information, go to www.a-bestlocksmith.com or www.commerciallockservice.com.

Avoid Car Opening Scams

Car opening scams are happening continually. In fact, the car opening scams are the easiest to pull off because you, the customer, are locked out of your car and you are probably panicking.  When people panic, they tend to overlook significant details.  Hopefully, you are reading this in order to be prepared for the first (or next!) time you lock your keys in your car.  I am warning you! Just because somebody advertises on the Internet does not mean they are ethical!

Here is how the scam works: You go to the yellow pages or the Internet and look under "locksmith".  You see the $14 - $19 service call and think to yourself, "Now that's a great price!"  You call the 1-800 number, or perhaps it is a local number.  A lady answers.  She tells you that the service call price is, in fact, $14 - $19; but she tells you that there is a small additional fee depending on differing situations.  Then you are told that the locksmith will call you. The locksmith shows up, opens your car, and presents you with a $200 bill. What do you do?

• Never call a 1-800 number.
• Never request a locksmith without a firm price over the phone. If you do not get a firm price, keep looking. The scams never give you a firm price so they can scam you!
• If a locksmith presents you with a bill you did not agree to, do not pay.  Instead, offer what you think is reasonable.  Hold fast. Tell the locksmith that you will not pay the bill.  Tell him the average is about $65 for that service and that is all you will pay.  He may threaten to sue you, but do not given in!  After a few minutes, he will back down.
• Never sign the bill without looking at the bill completely. Scam locksmiths often use their thumbs to cover the "new cost" on the bill, tricking you into signing. 
• Get the locksmith's vehicle license plate, name, etc., and alert your state's Department of Commerce and Insurance.