As a company we strive to offer the best services to our customers. It is disheartening that there are many false companies out there who are more concerned with profit than the safety of their clients. We at Gloucester Locksmiths would like to prevent the general public from being scammed by bogus locksmiths; large franchises have been using false details to exploit customers. So how can you be sure you are using a reputable company?
How can you be sure you are using a safe and reliable Locksmith?
Here are some things to consider before deciding: No call out charge? Does this sound too good to be true?
- No call out charge? Great, but do they have a minimum labour charge of 30 minutes for instance? If so, you will be charged for half an hour, even for five minutes of work.
- How far will they be travelling? Check out where the locksmith is based; when you see five or six ‘local’ numbers for your area, it is extremely unlikely that these companies really have staff based in all, or any, of these locations. They are deliberately misleading you into thinking someone local will attend; you will be charged for their travel costs.
- Are they local and traceable? Check for a genuine local address; many give no address at all, or a bogus address. It is illegal for a company to give a false address, but very little seems to be done to stop this.
- Are they legitimate and qualified? The following terms are all virtually meaningless in the locksmith trade: “Licensed Locksmith”, “Police Verified”, “Insurance Approved”, “Member of (x,y and z) Association”.
The ONLY trade protection that customers can rely on, is if the locksmith you call is an approved company of the Master Locksmith Association (MLA).
This will guarantee integrity and competency of the locksmith attending your property.
- Why is it important to use an MLA member? When you use a locksmith who is MLA Approved, you can feel confident that you are using a company that is qualified and subject to inspections by a reputable, non-profit organisation whose sole purpose is to protect the general public from rogue traders. Anyone may call themselves a locksmith; there are numerous traders who have had less than a week's training before they begin work with the general public. Some of these traders are risking the safety and security of their customers, concerned only with profit and not the quality of their work. Furthermore, many are focused more on profit than safe contracting; many franchise outfits encourage every dubious tactic you can think of.
- Scammers- There are some traders and individuals who trade and advertise their services using the name of other, reputable, companies. These companies are deceiving the general public into believing that they are using well-established traders. The services these bogus companies offer are usually more expensive and substandard. One way to spot these scammers is to look for a false address listed as the company base (that of the local Pizza Hut, council offices etc). Often the names they use will differ only very slightly from established companies and their employees will sometimes impersonate staff members from legitimate companies. If in doubt, double check telephone numbers and premises. Gloucester Locksmiths operates from permanent premises in Quedgeley and our shop is open to the public.