How to Know You've Found a Professional Locksmith

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Need help getting into your home? If so, your gut reaction will be to look up local locksmiths in your area. To ensure that you found a good locksmith on your first try, here are some signs that will let you know you are in good hands.

Drilling Is the Last Resort

There are many ways to get into a locked door that does not require drilling out the old lock. This should only be used as a last resort when other options have failed. Any locksmith that knows what they are doing will try some of the many techniques used to open the door without causing damage.

Be cautious if the first thing the locksmith wants to do is use the drill to remove the lock. Not only will you have to pay for the emergency services, but you'll need to pay to replace the lock with a new one. This can cause your emergency lockout service to be much more expensive than you anticipated.

Credit Cards Are Accepted

Any professional business these days will be able to accept a credit card for payment. If they insist on taking a cash payment for their service, this should cause you to be a little concerned. Credit card payments leave a paper trail, and also give you a course of action to dispute the charge if the services were not rendered properly. Accepting credit card payments show that the locksmith is a real vendor with merchant accounts set up with credit card processing companies, which makes the business more legitimate.

Estimates Are Given

While you won't know for sure what steps are needed for your emergency lockout service, a locksmith should be able to give you an estimate of what those charges will be. For example, there may be a fee for simply coming out to your home after hours, a charge for the service they are performing, and charges for replacement parts that may be needed.

If you are not given a basic estimate of what charges you can expect, contact another locksmith. Any locksmith that can stand behind their work will also be upfront about their pricing.

Licenses Are Provided

Do a quick internet search to determine if locksmiths are required to have a license in your state. If so, the locksmith should be able to easily provide you with a license number to prove that they are certified.

For more information, contact a company like Mattice Lock & Safe.


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