Ben the Locksmith

20/03/2023

Quick video talking about that COWBOY 🤠 reciept I posted a few days back and what I would have charged when I was trading. Not trying to upset 😭 any other locksmiths here so please note that prices will be higher 📈now than when I was trading and the idea here is to show the difference between what I would have said are fair prices and the price this company charged.

Doing this to an elderly man is just evil 😡😡🤬

17/03/2023

What an absolute throbber here.
Preying on the vulnerable.
Get multiple quotes and look for recommendations.
Funnily enough this is actually illegal, despite the bloke that did it thinking he’d get away with it by getting the customers signature, there are many cases of the courts catching up with this type of fraud.

Whilst I’m on, check out the page of the company that shared this post, they are a proper company, they’ve been around about 30 years and are a real bona-fida local business. I actually used to work for them, so I know the quality of their work.

**Please be wary of using Google to find a locksmith**
sponsored adverts put rogue locksmiths at the top of the list because they funnel the most money into the search engine through paid ads, they reel you in because they're top of the listings, and their prices are way cheaper than other locksmiths, but when they turn up they often don't have a marked/sign posted van, or they drive a car, and the prices when they get to the door absolutely shoot up!
I was recently contacted by a local customer, their elderly father in Essex was ripped off for over x10 times the cost it should have been!
Please check reviews on multiple sites, call around to get multiple quotes, or go with someone recommended by someone you trust! The MLA is the only organisation that vets and checks locksmiths so that's always a safe bet, but there are plenty of locksmiths not in the MLA who are excellent at their job also, just please be diligent and do your research when looking for a locksmith.

These rogue locksmiths are preying on vulnerable people in vulnerable situations and we need to do what we can to stop them.

05/04/2022

Hi all!

Just a quick update.
You may have noticed I’ve not posted on here in a while. That’s because I had a big career change a year and a half ago. 🚉🚂

I was planning on keeping up the locksmithing but I simply don’t have time. So I decided that rather than letting this page go to waste I would pass it on to someone who may be able to make use of it.

I’ll now be passing the page onto a very trusted colleague and friend who I’ve worked with for almost a decade and know for nearly twice that. I’ll let him introduce himself when he takes over but suffice to say, that there would be no one I’d trust more in this trade (although there are a select few who come very close).

So the page may change name and may be ran differently, but I hope you all will support it in liking and sharing the posts and tagging people in the comments who who may benefit from the info.

Thank you all!

Ben

15/08/2021

I’ve been absent from the lock game for 10 months now and I’m really concentrating on my new career, so that’s why I haven’t had a lot of things to write about on here. I’m still here for help and advice, and if anyone needs jobs done then message me (I’m unfortunately not available 24hrs anymore) and I’ll pass you into one of my trusted locksmiths I.e: my mates who I trust to do a good job and not rip you off….

I decided to start a new page in the mean time, mostly since I enjoy the writing and I need to keep my skills up with the Facebook algorithm incase I ever decide to go into business again so I’ve made one that covers one of my longest running interests, the paranormal, and parapsychology. It’s called
Paranormal Debunking but I keep an open mind. So if you enjoy my writing or think you’d find this interesting… then give it a like, and maybe a share… and invite your like minded friends… well you know the drill by now.

Cheerio

09/04/2021

RIP Sir.

10/03/2021

This is a big problem at the minute. "£49 locksmiths, no callout charge" etc etc etc. I get people contact me asking for a lock change, I give them a quote usually under £100 without the parts, and give them the price of the parts and different quality/security levels so they can make the decision themselves and keep it cheep of needs be. Sometimes it's just a basic callout to adjust a door or open a lock and that's let's say for example £75. A completely reasonable price. Infact some might say pretty cheep, especially if you've ever hired a plumber or sparky.

I give them a quote and they get back to me and say, "nah mate It's far too much, I've got someone to do it for 49quid" etc.

Then they get stung for thousands of pounds.

£49 is to turn up.
£300 to gain entry
£700for a £20 lock
£200 Labour for changing the lock
Etc etc you get the idea.

I could easily be smug about it but in all honesty, it's natural for someone to want it done cheaply and they are constantly told by people on Facebook/friends/family "nah your being ripped off mate, absolute crooks those locksmiths 75 Is far too much!" So instead of paying a reasonable price they actually do get conned by really cowboys. And it hurts my industry's name and I don't like it. So please just watch out. Get a few quotes, that's fine, we won't be offended. Just don't make this mistake.

*Disclaimer.
I haven't given my actual price, just a general example, each job I'd generally estimated individually and can vary depending on type of job, time of day/week and time it will take to complete etc.

Also, genuine skilled locksmiths charge a range of different prices. Some may be a lot more than what I've given as an example, and some may be a lot cheaper. Cheaper isn't always a bad sign and more expensive doesn't always mean you’re being conned. Some companies for example have a shop on the high street and therefor much bigger overheads.
Just do your research is all I'm saying.

Peace

Families are being warned against a new crop of cowboy tradesmen who promise quick-fix jobs before threatening to lock people out of their homes if they don't pay extortionate bills.

16/02/2021

I haven’t posted on here in such a long time so I thought it was time for an update on what I was up to.

It’s been over two years since I made a post about my plans to start my own business and it eventually happened. But not quite in the way I had planned.
I did end up going self employed which included leaving the company that I worked for (which I have to say was super supportive in every possible way), getting myself a small amount of stock, and tools to fill in the ones that I never actually owned myself, and getting the correct insurances etc. Oh and setting up with HMRC, all official.
However the amount of jobs that I’ve done in the last 4 months since I left my last job has been precisely none.... well actually I did do one, but that was a freebie for some friends.

In actual fact I ended up working in a completely different industry, one that I had never imagined myself working in. I’m not going to say what it is, as I’m sure I’ve probably agreed somewhere in my contract to not put it on Facebook and such but I’m 4 months into 6 months of training and I’m loving every minute. Suffice to say many little boys and girls dream job is to do what I’m doing now so I can’t really complain. I had put in an application probably two years ago and thought nothing of it, then it all happened so quickly over the summer time.

I haven’t really had much to do with locks recently and my tools have been sat gathering dust in my garage which I have barely stepped foot in other than to use my washer and drier.

However, now I’m through the intensive part of my training I do get some days free and have checked and I am allowed to peruse my own business interests in that time. So I’m more than happy to be available for jobs here and there. Not taking any any great bookings right now, but if someone has a problem and they need a trusted face to sort it, I’ll make it happen. That being said. I need to keep to the working time directive and rest hours etc, so if I might not reply to callouts straight away, however I will always reply at some point.

I do plan on posting on this page here and there but especially in my new job, I tend to forget to get around to it, have faith though as I will update it at some point. 💁🏻‍♂️

Peace
Ben

31/08/2020

🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑🔑

I’m looking to grow this page as much as possible and need your help. There are currently close to 900 people who like my page, but wouldn’t it be great if there were 1 thousand?

Remember this page is solely about giving people good advice about their home security and not about me selling my services to people, I don’t like bugging people like that so I won’t.

My main aim is to cut down on the number of burglaries and help people know what to look for when they are needing work done on their locks so that they can avoid being stung by a cowboy.

🤞🏻Can you help me in 3 easy steps? 🤞🏻

1️⃣Go to my page ‘Ben the Lockmith’

2️⃣Scroll down/across until you come see the ‘community’ heading

3️⃣There will be an option to invite your friends to this page - please click ‘invite ALL friends’

Some devices differ on how to do this but if you look around enough you will ding the correct buttons.

There may be the option to write a message to those you are inviting, so let them know why you think they should like my page (it may help them avoid a burglary or get them into their house in a emergency)

I know not everyone is comfortable doing this so I won’t pressure you guys, but I sure would be grateful to those who help my out by doing this.

Also... don’t forget to,leave a review if I’ve done a job for you. That helps me too 🤗
Thanks guys

29/08/2020

Just been and repaired the lock on these shutters at the NERD arcade in Felling so they can finally show off all the fantastic stock they have for sale.

Looks much better lads. 👍🏻😁