At Mr. Prolock Professional Locksmiths we know that calling a locksmith can be a stressful situation. You might have just had your house broken into, a potentially shady individual might have had access to your keys, or you might be locked out of your home. So how do you know that when you call a locksmith, you are going to be serviced by someone you can trust?
This Mr. Prolock Blog is response to a slew of questions we have been receiving. Currently, in the United States, there is a big problem with scammer locksmiths who have been taking advantage of customers in an emergency situation: an individual might be locked out of their house and have no way back in without the help of a locksmith, whom after quoting low will charges hundreds of dollars or more! But we thought that was just in the States.
Locally, Mr. Prolock has been repeatedly dealing with certain Vancouver locksmiths who show up to rekey a house (simple enough), but wind up telling the client that all the locks in the house need to be replaced. While it is true that locks get old, fall into disarray and may or may not need to be replaced, some locksmiths will take advantage of an unsuspecting client in need.
If you have any doubts, get a second opinion. Call around. Mr. Prolock Professtional Locksmiths will be more than happy to answer all your questions (over the phone) that you might have about your buildings security. We always offer an estimate, and we always ask about your current security setup (i.e. what type of lock, what type of key). Most of the Scammer locksmiths cannot answer simple key and lock questions over the phone.
There are locksmith companies servicing the downtown area with less than one year’s experience and no BC Security License. One of these unqualified locksmiths had a security guard license and the BC Government revoked his Security employee lic (more on this in a future Blog). An inexperienced locksmith does not know keys, keyways or basic or High Security Locks. When they show up to your house and find an unfamiliar lock, they tell their client that everything needs to be replaced, costing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars extra. These inexperienced and unprofessional locksmiths do not even have a Keymachine or Code Cutter, thus they have been using recycled keys. This is a huge ethical security risk when you think about how many locks they must change in a day, using the keys from the previous job, to become the key into your door, and replacing any lock that doesn’t match their limited knowledge of keyways.
Here are a a videos about scammer locksmith:
<iframe width=”420″ height=”315″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/HF41TMu9HQM” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>
Mr. Prolock is a fourth generation, family owned and operated business. We have the accumulated knowledge of over fifty years. We work with the police, we work in the prisons, we offer training courses, and we service an area near you. So it is important to know your locksmith. Give them a call, chat on the phone, and develop a rapport.
Protect yourself, you can “Verify Locksmith Security Business licence” at the following BC Government site:
http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/securityindustry/training/index.htm
Also, you can file a complaint to the Registrar of Security Programs and Police Division. The complaint process can be used to report unlicensed companies and locksmiths.
Complaint Process – How to file a complaint against a Security Licensee
http://www.pssg.gov.bc.ca/securityindustry/complaint/index.htm
