'I was intimidated into paying £500 locksmith charge'

A Glasgow student has warned others after a locksmith charged him £500 for a job he expected to cost around £100.

Aidan Murray returned home from dinner with friends at around 11pm on a Friday in February to find his door lock had failed.

With his landlord’s usual locksmith unavailable, he contacted another firm he found through Google, who were able to come at 9am the next day.

He was quoted a £50 call-out fee and told the job would cost around £100 in total.

However, after drilling out the lock and gaining entry to the property, the locksmith told him the bill would be £500. The call-out fee had risen to £80, leaving Aidan facing a charge around £400 higher than expected.

After challenging the price, Aidan said he felt he had little choice but to pay.

He told STV News: “Him being in my house physically, walking in and discussing the property in my house, there’s an element of intimidation to that. It’s a lot harder to say no to someone in your own home. He was doubling down.

“I was quite angry, upset initially. It was not something I budgeted for. I had to move around a lot of things.

“I felt grateful that I’m not older or more vulnerable. I knew what to do, submit a complaint to Trading Standards, but ultimately I was very angry.”

Aidan reported the company to Trading Standards Scotland STV News

Aidan contacted Trading Standards Scotland, who informed him they had received a number of complaints about the company and would investigate.

“I’d say even though they take time, it’s still worth submitting a complaint. You could be linked in with other people conned by the same company.

“It’s always worth doing in the end. I’m really happy with how they handled it. They took it seriously.”

He said he would like to see legislation introduced to standardise pricing and help ensure consumers are charged fair rates for locksmith services.

Trading Standards Scotland says it has seen a rise in complaints linked to locksmiths, with more than 7,000 similar incidents reported last year.

The body has recently launched a campaign aimed at helping consumers find trusted traders and avoid rogue operators.

Fiona Richardson, chief officer of Trading Standards Scotland, said Aidan’s experience was typical of the complaints they receive.

Trading Standards Scotland chief Fiona Richardson STV News

She said: “Aidan was in an emergency situation and the locksmith knew that.

“He was told about the fee, went ahead and had the job carried out, then faced a charge much higher than he would have expected to pay for that type of work.

“At that point, if you’ve got somebody in your house, most people will pay because they feel intimidated in that situation.”

Fiona said businesses can set their own prices, but consumers should be told clearly what a service will cost before work is carried out.

She added: “It wasn’t made clear, and the service was conducted without him being told the cost of what that would be.

“Speaking to other locksmiths, it would appear the charge was far higher than would normally be expected for the skill required to do the job.”

She said businesses that harass, intimidate or pressure customers into making purchases could be investigated under consumer protection legislation.

Fiona added: “We suspect there’s huge under-reporting, often because people feel the service has been paid for and there’s nothing to complain about.

“People don’t like to admit they’ve been taken advantage of.”

She advised customers to phone a number of companies to compare prices, adding: “Don’t assume the person who comes out top in a search engine is the best option.”