Believe it
or not here in the UK the locksmith industry as a whole is not regulated in any
way by the Government, Police or an official regulatory body. Unfortunately this does mean that anyone can
operate as a locksmith regardless of their capability, competence and training.
Finding a
professional and qualified locksmith can be difficult if you don't know what
you are looking for and it is important to make sure that the locksmith you
hire is experienced and capable of carrying out the job or project that he or
she has been tasked with.
So with no
kind of official regulation want do you do? Well, first off my advice is to
avoid large call centres as they will generally let anyone onto their books
with little of no vetting and most of the time you don't even know what company
actually turned up and whether they were in fact a locksmith at all. Remember,
this is someone you are letting into you home, someone you are putting a lot of
trust into, you don't want a third party simply sending someone out to you.
So what
actually is a locksmith call centre? There are a number of these call centres
popping up all over the country at the moment trying to cash in on the price
comparison phenomenon. They are basically an agency offering locksmith services,
but are not locksmith themselves. These centres tout themselves as having
1000's of calls a week for locksmith services and small independent locksmiths
are cold called and persuaded to sign up with the promise of work.
Locksmith call
centres claim to have locksmiths in every area of the UK, however people using
them have found this to be untrue after waiting 4 or 5 hours for a locksmith
then being told by the locksmith that he/she has travelled 100's of miles hence
the 4/ 5 hours wait. The fees are also very high and typically include an
extortionate call out fee, remember the call centre need to take their cut from
every job.
My advice is
to always use and independent locksmith that you have found yourself for
emergency call out services, fees will be less as there is no middle man taking
a cut and many don't even charge a call out fee, they will just bill you for
the work carried out. Many people turn to the internet to search for a
locksmith especially after a lock out where you are only equipped with a smart
phone.
A local
locksmith with usually have a local number, this is the easiest way to spot a local
independent locksmith, some may have a national low rate number if they cover
quiet a large area, if this is the case then a quick visit to their website
should reveal their location, if a locksmith doesn't have at least an address
on their website avoid as there is something not quiet right going on.
A qualified
locksmith will usually have a decent mobile optimised website that will have their
address at the very least and maybe a location map showing their location or
the areas they cover. You will generally
find a list of services they offer and most locksmiths offer an emergency call
out service for home/business lock outs but not all locksmiths offer automotive
services so make sure you check that they are suitable for the job.
Another
thing to check for on a Emergency
Locksmith Lancaster website is accreditations logos and references.
Even though the locksmith industry is unregulated there are a number of
unofficial bodies that a locksmith can be a voluntary member of, being a member
of a number of these unofficial bodies is a good indication that they are professional
and competent.
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