Locksmith Scams Sweeping Hempstead and Rest of Nation
Nassau News Staff Writer
Lawmakers of Nassau County are taking steps to regulate the companies who fix your locks and make your house keys. According to the Better Business Bureau, locksmith scams have been sweeping the nation, taking advantage of innocent customers and their wallets.
People have been getting locked out as long as keys have been around. According to Tim McMullen, the legislative manager of Associated Locksmiths of America Inc., locksmith scams were brought to the public's attention about two years ago, when the attorney general of Illinois filed criminal charges against a New York locksmith organization, called Dependable Locksmith, and was successful.
Dependable was forced to close, McMullen saying that this was the “first indication that it was a major problem.” He also said that he has received complaints from New York consumers, and that he and other employees of ALOA are “trying to get consumers to complain to the New York attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, so that he might take action."
Dependable Locksmith of the Bronx reportedly owned 25 of the locksmith advertisements listed in the Yellow Pages, with each ad featuring a different company name and number, even though a call to any of these would be forwarded to one company: Dependable. When someone was locked out and called the company, customers were told how much it would be to get back into their car or house, being quoted a price from $60- $80. Once they arrived, they would claim it would cost a considerable amount more than quoted on the phone, asking anywhere from $50 to $100 more.
Surprisingly, New York, as many other states, does not require any type of license to become a locksmith. Nassau County recently passed an ordinance in which locksmith licensing may be mandated.
To lessen the chances of becoming a victim of one of these scams, do some research and talk to friends and family to find an honest, reliable locksmith. When in doubt, contact the Better Business Bureau to find out if there have been any complaints filed for a certain company. But most of all, keep your keys in a safe, easily accessible place.
Related Links
- Locked out? Don't fall for this locksmith scam, via MSNBC.
- The Locksmith 'Mafia': Making an Estimate You Can't Refuse, via ABC News.
- BBB Warns Consumers of Nationwide Locksmith Swindle, Better Business Bureau alert.
- This multimedia article was reported as a final individual project for JRNL 80, Online Journalism, Section B, Fall 2007, Professor: Mo Krochmal, Hofstra University (e-mail: maurice.krochmal at hofstra.edu).
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