“Stressed and vulnerable”: Victim warns of aggressive locksmith scams in Melbourne’s suburbs

A “stressed and vulnerable” Melbourne woman has told of her shock after a “cheap” locksmith charged her more than $2000 after she became locked out while house-sitting over Christmas.

A woman has been left shocked after being charged $2000 by a locksmith during a call-out over Christmas.

Dodgy locksmiths have set their sights on Melbourne’s vulnerable, charging customers up to five times more than normal prices.

One victim, wanting to only be called Sarah, was charged more than $2000 when the lock wouldn’t open to a home she was house-sitting just after Christmas.

Looking for a cheap locksmith she called the one with the lowest call out rate, but soon came to realise something was amiss.

“He initially quoted me $400 and I thought that was a bit excessive,” she said. “I put it down to being a Sunday and labour costs being more expensive.”

Feeling stressed, Sarah told the man she wanted to call the homeowners before proceeding.

“He started getting quite testy at this point, saying that he needed to leave soon for another job,” she said. “I was getting increasingly stressed, which I’m sure he would have noticed.

“I just caved in, I needed to get in the house. So he worked the lock, and the door opened pretty easily.”

The man then went to his car to put together the invoice and Sarah was shocked when he came back.

“He emerged from a regular car and showed me the invoice which was over $2000,” she said. “My mouth dropped.”

The man went on to explain that it was a Sunday and that there is a fee for having to use “heavy tools”.

The invoice of more than $2000 Sarah received from a locksmith, more than five times the regular price according to an expert. Picture: Supplied

It was also at this stage Sarah became worried about more than just being ripped off.

“He became quite pushy and a bit aggressive,” she said. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m alone with this guy’’ I started to feel a bit unsafe, I didn’t know what he could do.

“I was stressed and feeling pressured and vulnerable. I paid it … I just paid it.”

Looking back on the incident, Sarah said she was furious and noticed she wasn’t the only victim.

“I feel awful and really angry,” she said “I looked online, there were warnings about contacting this service.

“People said they’d been overcharged and bullied into paying, including elderly people on pensions.”

A search of the ABN showed seven separately named Melbourne based locksmiths under its umbrella.

Liam Cooke, owner of Precision Locksmiths, said it wasn’t a new problem but it was a growing one.

“It’s been going on for the last five years,” he said. “Now it’s becoming more and more popular and it’s getting out of hand.

“What would be a $500 job, they are charging up to $5000. I get multiple calls a week of people asking about prices after being scammed.”

Mr Cooke shared some signs people should look out for.

“They will have a plain car and they don’t wear branded uniforms,” he said.

“If they are advertising cheap fees or something like that, they generally aren’t legit. We won’t put prices up on the website because it’s dependent on location and time etc.”

The locksmith involved did not wish to speak to the Herald Sun.

Originally published as “Stressed and vulnerable”: Victim warns of aggressive locksmith scams in Melbourne’s suburbs