Sun Nov 08, 2015 9:14 pm
A run in with a Scammer "locksmith"
Ok to start off I am not a full time locksmith, I mostly do installs for friends or friends of friends (it helps pay for this lock addiction I have acquired)
anyways on to the story
A friend of mine called me up and asked if I could open his front door as he lost his key in a field (or something like that) I have known the guy for around 3 years so I said no problem.
but I will be about a hour as I am in the middle of something.
So fast forward a little over a hour... when I roll up to my friends place there is a locksmith van in the driveway and I see my friends landlord yelling at the locksmith
(remember I don’t do this full time so no markings on my car or uniform or anything).
As I am getting out of my car my friend walks up and hands me the KIK core from his front door and says his landlord call a locksmith to open the door and now is fighting with the guy about the price.
I notice some marking on the side of his van that didn’t look right (so I snap a pic of the van's marking and license plate with my phone) then decide to join in on the little pow-wow unfolding in front of me. The “Locksmith” is yelling that they have to pay him now.. and he is owed $100 for opening the door and $150 for the new lock. (the new lock in question was a off brand KW1 keyway KIK handset) it turned out to open the door the “locksmith” used a rotary pick with a 1/4” bit... I had a Schlage SC1 KIK (same as what was in it before) in my toolbox so I tossed it in the lock and gave my friend and the landlord the 4 keys I had cut for it (thank god the guy didn’t mess up the lock housing ) before the locksmith noticed what was happening.
The “locksmith” then started yelling at me... (bad move on his part) first he asked if I was a locksmith which I reply I was a Security Specialist & locksmith (I do a little of everything Security related)
he then go's off on me about how I was in a unmarked vehicle and not in a uniform and he was going to report me...
my area does not have license requirement for Locksmiths so I told him that as I laughed at him then I remembered to ask who he was going to report me to but he never did answer that question just that he was going to report me,
I was sure to tell him I did have a Security Guard/PI License and I was not in the mood to deal with a scam company.
It turns out that when the landlord called they told him it would be $60 to open the lock and it would not need to be replaced if they had a spare key inside.
So after another 5 min of the Scammer yelling at me I asked about the logo of a Locksmith (it was for a locksmith association I was thinking of joining) it turns out the guy had no clue what the logo was so I asked him to leave, which sent him into another rant about how I now owed him $300 for the call out... (yeah apparently he was going to bill a extra $50 because I showed up)
I might have lost my cool a little... I informed the guy I was about one min from arresting him for trespassing and destruction of property and threatening all 3 of us involved with bodily harm
(I even quoted the correct section of the Criminal code for the guy) and pulled my cuffs off of my belt (I was on my way to my day job where I carry cuffs).
I have never seen anyone run into a van and bolt so fast in my life.
I emailed the pic's to the landlord who was going to call the local police, and then I emailed all the info I had to the Association who's logo were being used with my contact info if they want to talk to me.
In the end I was 10 min late for work, made $20 replacing a core and am now the locksmith for 4 Property the landlord owns.
Oh here is a pic of the KIK, I gave it back to the landlord after snapping a pic.
anyways on to the story
A friend of mine called me up and asked if I could open his front door as he lost his key in a field (or something like that) I have known the guy for around 3 years so I said no problem.
but I will be about a hour as I am in the middle of something.
So fast forward a little over a hour... when I roll up to my friends place there is a locksmith van in the driveway and I see my friends landlord yelling at the locksmith
(remember I don’t do this full time so no markings on my car or uniform or anything).
As I am getting out of my car my friend walks up and hands me the KIK core from his front door and says his landlord call a locksmith to open the door and now is fighting with the guy about the price.
I notice some marking on the side of his van that didn’t look right (so I snap a pic of the van's marking and license plate with my phone) then decide to join in on the little pow-wow unfolding in front of me. The “Locksmith” is yelling that they have to pay him now.. and he is owed $100 for opening the door and $150 for the new lock. (the new lock in question was a off brand KW1 keyway KIK handset) it turned out to open the door the “locksmith” used a rotary pick with a 1/4” bit... I had a Schlage SC1 KIK (same as what was in it before) in my toolbox so I tossed it in the lock and gave my friend and the landlord the 4 keys I had cut for it (thank god the guy didn’t mess up the lock housing ) before the locksmith noticed what was happening.
The “locksmith” then started yelling at me... (bad move on his part) first he asked if I was a locksmith which I reply I was a Security Specialist & locksmith (I do a little of everything Security related)
he then go's off on me about how I was in a unmarked vehicle and not in a uniform and he was going to report me...
my area does not have license requirement for Locksmiths so I told him that as I laughed at him then I remembered to ask who he was going to report me to but he never did answer that question just that he was going to report me,
I was sure to tell him I did have a Security Guard/PI License and I was not in the mood to deal with a scam company.
It turns out that when the landlord called they told him it would be $60 to open the lock and it would not need to be replaced if they had a spare key inside.
So after another 5 min of the Scammer yelling at me I asked about the logo of a Locksmith (it was for a locksmith association I was thinking of joining) it turns out the guy had no clue what the logo was so I asked him to leave, which sent him into another rant about how I now owed him $300 for the call out... (yeah apparently he was going to bill a extra $50 because I showed up)
I might have lost my cool a little... I informed the guy I was about one min from arresting him for trespassing and destruction of property and threatening all 3 of us involved with bodily harm
(I even quoted the correct section of the Criminal code for the guy) and pulled my cuffs off of my belt (I was on my way to my day job where I carry cuffs).
I have never seen anyone run into a van and bolt so fast in my life.
I emailed the pic's to the landlord who was going to call the local police, and then I emailed all the info I had to the Association who's logo were being used with my contact info if they want to talk to me.
In the end I was 10 min late for work, made $20 replacing a core and am now the locksmith for 4 Property the landlord owns.
Oh here is a pic of the KIK, I gave it back to the landlord after snapping a pic.
(17:44:28) HAL 9000 Sez: LockSport is full of children who throw fits because low priced low security products sold in discount department stores do not meet their arbitrary expectations.
