Live in the north of England? Locked out? Lost your keys? Need a Locksmith or Auto Locksmith? Here’s how you avoid all the rogues an amateurs that are rife in this part of the country.
Have you ever found yourself locked out of your home or office and searched Google for an local locksmith? lets say you live in Pemberton, Wigan and you search Pemberton Locksmith….You’ll be somewhat surprised at how many locksmith companies came up? surely these are not all qualified locksmiths… Did you notice some locksmiths used the phrase Non Destructive Entry with their listing and didn’t know want it meant? In actual fact these where the skilled, qualified locksmiths that you should have chosen, trying to stand out from the sea of amateur handymen and “have a go” locksmiths currently flooding the industry due to cheap, un-official 1 – 3 days locksmith training courses.
Yes folks, training as a locksmith is so easy that you can learn the entire trade in 3 days! Sometimes just 1 day…
This is a joke; of course you can’t learn to be a locksmith in 1 day or even 3 days, that would be ridiculous. Things like identifying and picking locks is a skill that has to be taught and that’s why the official Ofqual locksmith training courses take many months to complete…
For those people who are not aware, back in 2019 for the first time ever Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) regulated two locksmith training courses:
Level 3 Diploma in Commercial Locksmiths & Property Security
Level 3 Diploma in Automotive Locksmiths & Vehicle Security
These are the only official regulated locksmith training courses
So what are these 1 day and 3 day courses?
Some people in the locksmith industry would say they where fake courses but as the locksmith industry in unregulated they are not really fake because the companies running them are doing nothing illegal, the courses just aren’t very good, I’d go as far as saying that they are no use at all and people are simple throwing their money away, These quick “crash” courses are designed to get people through the door and onto the course, that’s all, and people leave the course with little skill and knowledge and still an amateur in every sense of the word yet some of these “newly trained” locksmiths will advertise locksmith services online and mainly go after the easy emergency call out work
Don’t panic if you live in the North of England as there are many genuine, professional locksmiths such as LT Locksmiths based in Lancaster and covering Bentham, Bowness, Carnforth, Heysham, Ingleton, Kendal, Lancaster, Morecambe, Settle, Skipton & Windermere
What is emergency call out work and why do these amateurs go after it?
An emergency call out is when someone loses or misplaces their keys and ends up locked out of their house. These people will usually turn to Google -we all have smartphones nowadays – and search for a local emergency locksmith to gain access.
The amateurs go after this kind of work because they can simple turn up and drill out the lock, this requires no locksmith training or skill just a decent drill and decent drill bit. But what if the customer had merely locked their keys inside the house or has a spare key inside? The locksmith has just drilled out the lock so a brand new barrel and a new set of keys are now required. Luckily the locksmith has exactly what you need with him on his van at an extortionate price of course which you have no choice but to pay because you can’t lock your door. Now what if you had chosen a locksmith who advertised Non Destructive Entry?
Non Destructive Entry essentially means gaining entry by means of lock picking or bypassing the lock in some way using specialist bypass tools, without doing any physical damage to the lock or the door.
This type of entry method is perfect if you have simply mislaid your keys or have just locked them inside and need the locksmith to simply gain entry without doing any damage, so there is no need to buy a replacement lock and keys, because your current lock is still good. You’re charged for the call out only, usually a set fee given to you when your first got in touch and the professional locksmith gains access in 10 – 15 minutes, you’re happy with what you paid and the fact that you don’t have to fork out for a new lock, and the locksmith is happy because he/she completed the job in under an hour which included travel time, it’s all good, there is simply no need for locksmiths to overcharge and/or rip people off. The professional ones make a good living and get a good reputation.
What this scenario proves is that, you must be very careful when contacting an emergency locksmith. Look for the phrase non destructive entry on their website or a reference to Ofqual, the official locksmith training course and shouldn’t go far wrong
Great explanation… Unfortunately it’s the public who need to learn the difference between an amateur locksmith and a qualified one… So many people fall into the trap of the too good to be true call out price and then get charged a load of extras, you should write a piece on this scam……
Yes too true , we often show up to jobs where the fake locksmiths or (driller) as know in the industry has tried to drill a lock and failed. It’s a joke. Only some standard locks can be drilled so this lack of knowledge often catches them out too. And they make excuses saying they need to go get a part and never return. That’s when we get called in. Another big tell tale is the Google add stating £49 call out or 15 minute response . They will arrive and then tell the client the £49 is a call out fee and then they charge £120 for a standard cylinder and £180 for the privilege of drilling uour perfectly working lock out and then the added VAT on top . Only use recommend locksmiths from companies like checkatrade or rated people . They are fully vetted and every job is monitored and rated. That’s where you’ll find the bona-fide locksmiths . Steer clear of emergency locksmiths on Google that offer £30 – £50 callout for all jobs, they are often large companies who pump lots of money into Google nationally and go about annoying locksmiths do take their work on . Use local or regional locksmiths .
Customer don’t care, they’ll simple choose the ad at the top of Google (which is usually from a franchise or national company)… They only complain AFTER getting ripped of..
Great article.. Its about time someone called out all the scam courses being sold….