The locksmith raised the price when he got there

How the switch usually goes

Read enough locksmith complaint threads and the stories start to rhyme. A car lockout quoted at about $70 on the phone becomes $250 at the car. A rekey of three doors estimated at about $300 ends with a bill over $1,200. A caller hears "$95 to $400, depending," and the person who shows up says the lock can't be picked and drilling it will be $350. In the Raleigh area, WRAL's 2010 hidden-camera case was the same story: $35 on the phone, drilled locks, more than $400 by the end. Working locksmiths post the other half of these stories: they get called in afterward to replace a drilled lock that could have been picked in a minute.

The mechanics are simple. The phone quote is a trip fee dressed up as a price, or a range wide enough to mean nothing. The real price arrives with the person, after you have waited an hour and are not inclined to start over.

What to say on the spot

• "What exactly changed from the phone quote?" A real reason is specific: a high-security lock, a different car than you described, a broken cylinder.
• "Can you pick it instead of drilling?" For a standard house lock, ALOA says going straight to drilling is often a sign of a scammer.
• "Can I see your license card?" North Carolina locksmiths must have their board photo ID available while they work.
• "Write the total down before you start." A blank or vague work order is a no.
• "I'll pay the trip fee we agreed on." If you agreed to one, pay it and call someone else.

One fair exception: a car quote depends on the car. Locksmiths say they honor a price only if the vehicle is what the caller described, and people mix up model years more than you would think. Read the exact year and model off the registration when you call.

If the work is already done

• Get an itemized invoice with the business name and address. If they won't give one, write down the plate and the phone number you called.
• If you paid by card, dispute the charge with your bank and explain the phone quote.
• Check whether the person was licensed. If they were, file with the North Carolina Locksmith Licensing Board. If they weren't, the board says it hands unlicensed cases to local police, so report it there too.
• File with the North Carolina Attorney General's consumer protection division, 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
• Write an honest review that sticks to facts: the quote, the bill, what was done.

About reviews

The federal Consumer Review Fairness Act voids contract terms that bar or penalize customers for honest reviews, according to the FTC. And a listing with thousands of reviews and not one below five stars is a reason to look harder, not a reason to relax.

The cheapest fix is the first phone call

Almost every one of these stories started with the first listing at the top of a search late at night. Two minutes of questions before anyone drives out (business name, license number, total price, how they will get in) catches most of them.