Locksmith Connections

Review: Quote for service was $35. Actual service charge was $300.I called to request a locksmith for a stuck mailbox lock for my tenant in Atlanta. I provided details and asked for a quote for the service. They advised that the service fee would be $15 and the actual service would start at $35. I approved a technician to do the service based upon that quote. After the service was performed, I was advised that the total charged was $300 ($25 for the service fee and $275 for the service). I was not contacted to approve the nearly 10x quoted price.I reached out to the company on 8/28/14. They took my complaint and advised that a supervisor would contact me. The supervisor never contacted me. On 9/23/14 I reached back out and asked to be contacted within 24 hours. The original associate that took my complaint advised that his supervisor would not talk to me and that there was nothing that they could do. I asked what was meant by 100% satisfaction guaranteed and they apologized. Had I been contacted before service was performed, I would have not approved and sought additional quotes. It appears as though they are baiting customers with $35 and charging excessive amounts above that.Desired Settlement: I researched the company online before doing business with them and they did not appear to have any negative reviews. I'd like for my entire complaint to be made available to potential customers so that they do not engage with this company. I would also like a refund of $250 which equals $300 actually charged minus the $50 expected to be charged.

Business

Response:

We certainly understand the frustration that can occur when a lock needs fixed, especially when the customer was not able to be at the location due to the distance to their tenant's home. We understand that the customer felt that she was overcharged and has communicated with us through phone and email prior to this this complaint several times. Through our discussions, we have tried to explain the reason for the price due to the complexity of the lock due to it being a high security lock, which requires more costly products to service and skill from the locksmith. Being a locksmith referral company, we have forward this complaint to the locksmith who was referred to this service. Through our investigations, we have uncovered that the locksmith had talked to the customer about their complaint.We would like to state that we have not quoted a price to the customer on the phone. Our dispatchers are only authorized to give information about the cost of the service fee for a locksmith to diagnose the problem and a starting price for the service requested, since our dispatchers are not knowledgeable licensed locksmiths and since this company is only referring locksmiths to customers. The customer also stated that this was what was told to her on the phone, "They advised that the service would be $15 and the actual service would start at $35."Through our investigation, we understand that a miscommunication may have taken place between the tenant, who spoke with the locksmith, and the customer. The locksmith clearly stated that he explained the work that needed to be done and the cost to the tenant before performing the work. The tenant signed the invoice and the locksmith worked on the lock. Once the work was finished, the tenant called the customer and a credit card was given to the locksmith. At that time, there were no questions asked until the next day when the customer called the dispatch center.After investigating the invoice, we have concluded that a miscalculation was given for the service charge. The locksmith stated that he is also referred to other companies who charge $25 for their service fee and explained that he made a simple mistake out of habit. We have spoken to the locksmith about his mistake and will issue a refund of $10 for the correction. However, the service performed by the locksmith cannot be reimbursed because of the time spent and products used for a job that was approved by the tenant. The "expected" charge of $50 was never stated, not through the dispatch center and not from the locksmith. We investigated our recordings to verify this statement. This amount is unreasonable for a high security lock and for a professional licensed locksmith.We stand by our service 100%. We provide customers with skillful license locksmiths who can get to the customer quickly. We provide our customers with the safety and security that is needed with the best tools and products offered. We understand that our cliental call us when they are frustrated and we try our best to ease this by providing reliable service. If we have found evidence that a locksmith performed any wrong doing, we would no longer refer them to customers.-Locksmith Connections