There had been some confusion over if/when he'd come, so I'd already arranged for another locksmith by the time he came. I told him I'd pay his fee for coming and use the other, less expensive locksmith to open the lock. He and other locksmith jabbered at each other in Arabic, probably discussing how to best rip me off. He said I had to use his services, as he'd arrived minutes before the one I knew was coming. That's when I should have told him to hit the road, but he had me over a barrel and knew it. I didn't have time to fool around getting yet another locksmith out there.
He was unable to pick the lock, so he drilled it out, which I could have done. So, he charged $40 just for showing up, then another $80 for drilling out the lock. Then he claimed he couldn't sell me just a new cylinder and I had to buy a whole new lock for $125.
That's when I told him he'd done enough, and I paid him off & told him to leave.
I went to Lowes and got a new cylinder for $4. A whole new lock like the one he'd drilled out (and wanted to charge me $125 for) was $9 at Lowes.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $120.00