9 Investigates: Cheap locksmith ads that promise a quick fix

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 9 Investigates found online advertisements for cheap locksmiths may end up costing you more.

"It was $40 more than the original price, so to me that is substantial,” said Ashley Clark, who locked her keys in her car one night in December.

Clark said she did a search for an affordable locksmith on Google with her phone, and she said it ended up costing her $100.

"They get most of their clients who are in a desperate situation. So the people are willing to pay for the service,” said Aiden Greene, the owner of AJG Locksmith in Sanford.

Greene said this has been a problem that not only gives locksmiths a bad name, but has plagued the industry for years.

"They begin off at $15, which would be something that you wouldn't even think would be offered to you as a residential service or a commercial service for a man to come to your home, but when they get there, it means $15 up to $1,500, because they will increase their price as they find you being more desperate,” Greene said.

Holly Salmon, of the Better Business Bureau, told Channel 9's Jeff Levkulich it seems like the locksmith troubles persist year after year because when it comes down to it, people are always going to lock their keys in their car or home.

“What you may be seeing in an internet search result, they may not be a business at all. They may just be someone with power tools and the necessary equipment. In Florida, they are not required a license, so you have to really be careful,” Salmon said.

9 Investigates randomly called one of the $15 locksmiths that were advertised to find out how it works. One advertised they were in Oviedo, but the person who answered sounded like she was in a call center.

"She had trouble understanding my location of just the crossroads of Alafaya Trail and Alafaya Woods Boulevard,” said Jennifer Baligush-Levkulich, wife of Channel 9 reporter Jeff Levkulich, who helped with the story.

While the advertisement said the service was $15, Baligush-Levkulich said when she pushed the dispatcher for an exact price, the price jumped up.

“She said it would be $50,” said Baligush-Levkulich.

It’s a price that continued to go up as 9 Investigates waited for the locksmith to arrive. The locksmith, Jose, told Baligush-Levkulich the price started off at $50. When Jose showed up, there was no company truck. Before Jose could begin work, 9 Investigates confronted him with questions about the advertisement.

“The starting price is $50. That includes the service call,” Jose said.

Jose also told 9 Investigates that the price depends on how far he has to travel to answer the call, as well as what kind of work has to be done to open the lock.

9 Investigates asked Jose how much he would have charged to open the door to our car, and he said it would cost $60.

Jose also had little experience unlocking car doors.

“How many of these have you done so far?” asked Levkulich. “About two or three. I’m pretty new,” Jose said.

Locksmith Ross Moore, who has picked thousands of locks in his time, told Eyewitness News that there is a real chance of damage if someone doesn’t know what they are doing.

“If you start sticking things down inside the doors without knowledge of what's in there, you could pull cables loose and wires loose. Even if you are spreading a door, going around the weather seals, scratching paint, messing up weather seals, and worst case scenario, I have seen windows broken,” Moore said.

Both Moore and Greene said they would like to see more regulation of their industry. The Better Business Bureau suggests consumers do their research now on a locksmith so that when the time comes, there are no questions. Consumers who feel like they’ve been taken advantage of by a locksmith should file a complaint with the BBB.

Watch below 9 facts when selecting a locksmith:

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