“Dependable Locksmith” is scamming consumers nationwide. They place ads in local yellow pages, with local numbers, but they all route to a call center in the Bronx. The customer is quoted a reasonable price, but when the “locksmith” arrives, he bullies them into paying at least twice as much. Seattle’s KOMO4 caught one of these clowns on tape. He shows up in a regular hatchback, and fumbles around for 6 minutes to open the car with his inadequate toolkit. When reporters took the car to AAA, it took them 30 seconds to open the car.

Takeaway: AAA membership has perks. Or, consider taking a few to find a locksmith with a good local word of mouth and putting their number on your cellphone. The fire department can unlock cars, but only if it’s on fire or there’s a baby trapped inside. And of course, try not to lock your keys in your car.

Locksmith scam makes a bad day even worse [KOMO4] (Thanks to Jason!)

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