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An investigation carried out by BBC London has uncovered a troubling case involving a locksmith company known as 24/7 Locksmiths UK, which was caught secretly filming customers and charging up to ten times the initial quoted price for service. The issue came to light after an elderly couple, Maureen and Eric Reynolds, aged 85, were locked out of their London home and sought assistance. Though they were initially told the job would cost under £50, their bill ended up exceeding £5,000 following a series of questionable practices.
The scheme, often described as a “bait-and-switch” scam, lures customers in with a low price quote before inflating the cost through hidden fees and unnecessary work. When called to help the Reynolds, the locksmith claimed he lacked the tools to retrieve the key and instead drilled out the lock. After completing this work, he insisted the entire lock mechanism was faulty and needed replacement. Feeling pressured and uncertain of his options, Eric reluctantly agreed to the costly replacement of the lock. The invoice presented to the couple amounted to £2,802, notably excluding VAT, yet the company does not appear to be VAT-registered.
The damage inflicted was so extensive that the couple had to hire another locksmith to replace the entire door and frame at an additional expense of £2,244. Maureen expressed frustration at the situation, noting it was cheaper to replace the whole door than pay for the initial lock job. This experience is far from isolated, as numerous similar reports have come from individuals across London and Essex who faced large charges and damaged property after calling certain locksmiths.
To investigate the matter in greater depth, the BBC covertly installed cameras in an empty property and staged a lockdown scenario with a journalist posing as a customer. Lloyd Morgan, an expert from the Master Locksmiths Association (MLA), inspected the lock in advance and demonstrated it could be opened quickly without damage using just a single tool. Morgan explained, “We should be able to bypass this lock in seconds, no damage whatsoever,” adding that a basic apprentice locksmith should manage it easily. Despite this, when a locksmith from 24/7 Locksmiths UK arrived responding to a quote for £40, the price quickly ballooned, with the locksmith insisting the lock needed drilling at a cost of £125 plus VAT, alongside additional charges for new parts and labour, culminating in a £376.80 bill.
When confronted by the BBC, the locksmith initially avoided comment but later acknowledged miscommunication about the costs. He defended drilling the lock, stating it was “the method that the company learned,” and denied any intention to carry out a scam. Meanwhile, the MLA reported a rise in complaints about suspected overcharging—from 280 cases in 2023 to 402 last year—urging consumers to use MLA-approved local locksmiths and to save their contact details in advance to avoid urgently having to find a trusted service provider
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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