Late on a Sunday night, you put your key into the front door and it snaps when you turn it. Unable to get in, you search online for an emergency locksmith and find one advertising a willingness to do the job for £69. You call it out.
When the locksmith arrives, they ask no questions, drills through the lock within minutes and replaces the fixture. You are then given a bill for more than £700 with an invoice detailing a breakdown of the costs – all in excess of the original quote.
This is a well-developed “bait and switch” scam. Rogue locksmiths operating in an unregulated industry draw in customers by advertising low prices – £49 is a figure that comes up often. Once the work is done they present their victims with invoices for 10 times the cost.
The Master Locksmith Association (MLA), a UK trade body, says the number of scams reported to it has risen steadily over the last five years, with 66% more overcharging complaints in 2025 than 2021.
Last year, the Guardian covered the case of a reader who was initially quoted £49 for a lock to be fixed but then billed £1,406, with the locksmiths refusing to leave until they were paid.
Another reader wrote to us and described how he was charged £729.60 for the installation of a lock, including labour and parts. He was quoted £375 for the lock cylinder, which he later found was available for £20 online.
The MLA’s managing director, Steffan George, says he believes the 402 complaints received last year did not go close to representing the scale of the fraud.
“It’s a distressed purchase. These are companies that are taking advantage of people in a vulnerable state because they’re locked out or they’ve lost their keys,” he says.
What it looks like
The adverts appear in Google search results and offer a standard Yale lock for a price of between £39 and £79.
Craig Andres, a locksmith based in Bristol, says rogue operators will often turn up in their own car, without a uniform, and with little equipment.
Legitimate locksmiths will typically ask for ID, such as a driving licence, to ensure that you live in the property. A rogue locksmith will not, says Andres, and will simply use a drill to get in, earning them the nickname “driller killers” in the industry.
“A professional locksmith will usually have a lot of tools in his arsenal,” he says. “But what the scammers do is just take out a 10mm drill bit and they just drill your lock because they know then they’ve got to replace it.”
George says that if you are talking to a locksmith about the job they should be asking you questions, for example what has happened? What door is it? What kind of lock is it?
“These rogues, they’re not asking questions. All it is a case of: ‘Well, do you want our services?’ They’ll keep on repeating this low price, and that’s it.”
In addition to the initial callout charge, they will invoice a fee to open the lock, and then another for the new lock as well as a charge for fitting it. “Then they’ll put VAT on it,” says Andres. “The bill will usually end up being around somewhere between £300 and £1,000, depending on how badly you get stung.”
When they ask for payment, it will often be by through bank transfer, so you cannot initiate a chargeback, as you would be able to with a debit or credit card. In contrast, honest locksmiths will often have card machines to take payment.
What to do
Andres says the job should cost about £200, so be suspicious of quotes that are much lower than that.
The MLA advises avoiding ads including claims to be “police recommended” – it says these are likely to be false because police do not recommend companies.
Ask any locksmith you contact whether they will be doing the job or subcontracting it out – and who you pay if someone else is doing it.
Also ask what the advertised price covers and whether it is final or an estimate. Make sure the trader has the MLA logo, as the MLA vets and certifies members.
If you do end up paying an inflated bill, contact your bank to try to get the money back.
Google says it does not allow advertisers to run ads that mislead users by concealing or misstating information. You can report an ad that you find inappropriate to Google.
A spokesperson said: “Protecting users is our top priority and we have strict ads policies that govern the types of ads and advertisers we allow on our platforms.”
