Two random events occurred that led to an interesting discovery. The local phone directory company distributed the newest version of their big, thick books that I rarely ever use or even think of. At around the same time, I needed to re-key a lock in our offices and stopped by our neighborhood locksmith.
You might wonder what these two random events had in common. Well, while I was waiting for the new keys, the locksmith started to complain about the new phone books.
Our local locksmith is the only one in the neighborhood, or for that matter within a mile or two of our offices. Yet, he was telling me that the new phone book listed between 30 and 40 locksmiths in the neighborhood.
He took out the new business directory and had marked all of the listings in the neighborhood. There were dozens. They all had similar phone numbers but all had different names. Some were names of businesses while others were personal names.
He went on to explain that he had heard that people were listing themselves as locksmiths but were not licensed (as they have to be where I live), and he had heard of people calling some of these services only to find out that they were a scam.
If you called some of the listings, a person would show up and demand payment for the service, which they would promise to perform later on, but then they would never show up again. Or they might gather information from the service call and sell it to others who might want it for reasons unrelated to the service call.
Finally, and worst, he thought that some of these “locksmiths” might be in business purely for purpose of casing out targets for a future burglary.
I was glad he had given me this information, as we usually tell new homeowners to change the locks on their new homes. When you move into a new home, you don’t know who might have had keys to the home, whether all of the keys were accounted for and whether someone kept a key to use at some later date.
So for the protection of any new home you buy, you’re best off getting the locks changed in the house. But you also need to research and make sure you are using a reputable locksmith that has been around for quite some time.
Here’s what my locksmith recommended: If you are new to the neighborhood, make sure you know whom you’re dealing with. If your state licenses locksmiths, go online and find out if your local locksmith has a valid and current license in your state. If you are using only the Web to search for a locksmith, make sure that locksmith is actually located at the address listed. You might be able to get a better idea by driving by and visiting the locksmith.
And if you are truly concerned about giving your key over to someone, and you are handy or know someone that is handy, you can take the locks off the doors of your home and take them to a reputable locksmith and have them key the locks while you wait. If you pay cash and don’t give them your address, the locksmith won’t know where the locks came from.
Which leads me back to my local locksmith. After about 10 minutes, his colleague came out with my newly keyed lock (cost: $15). Then I had my husband install the lock back on the door, and we were all set with a new set of keyed locks.
