Locks & Locksmiths Preyed on motorist who had keys locked on cars; pay the overcharged price when we show up or else no help St. Paul Minnesota

It was snowing and cold outside. I started my car, and went to clean the snow off my car. After I was done, I realized I locked my door while t he engine of my car was running. I googled a local locksmith and noticed Locks & Locksmith were nearby. They said it would be a $29 flat fee plus $35 or more depending on the lock. They said 25 minutes.

An hour later a young kid arrived and said he was going to charge me $145. I said why? He said that he can't lower it because the company takes an 11% cut of what he charges. I asked if he was a private contractor, and he said yes. I realized that he was overpricing me and the company that hired him didn't care because they were making money off of these young adults going around and unlocking cars during the snow shower and overcharging people. When I tried calling another place they said it would be a 2 to 3 hour wait.

So like a fool, I paid. I tried calling up the place to complain. The manager kept hanging up on me. Finally he picked up at 9pm at night. He tried to act like he was sorry and he was busy at work. He said that he is usuall home by now, and he is still at work. So it was so busy that he couldn't talk before.

I later find out he works out of his home. When I filed a consumer complaint, they gave me an info sheet about locksmith scams. It said that never accept a service from a locksmith that won't quote you a price. They should give you an exact price based on the make & model of the car. The locksmith did not give me an itemized receipt because he swiped my card on his smart phone.

To this day, the manager has yet to get back to me on the charges. I was told he was out of the country when I called about a week ago. No one can do anything because I let them swipe my car, though the cop who took the police report, and the rep at the attorney general office agreed that this was a form of extortion.

I messed up. I definitely should have went to a reputable company. But that doesn't make it OK for them to rip people off. Stay away from this company.