CONSUMER ALERT! WARNING READ THIS BEFORE YOU CALL JUST ANY LOCKSMITH!
Maryland consumers please beware! The nationwide alert/warning by the better business bureau for locksmith companies involved in the nationwide locksmith scam/rip-off sweeping the major cities in the nation has now reached and exists in Maryland. Please go to and read the links on this page before you call one of these companies and become a victim. You may have already seen the reports on our local TV news stations. However we felt it was our duty to attempt to warn you what to look out for.
Unfortunately unbeknownst to Maryland residents there is no existing licensing for the locksmith trade in the state of Maryland. Yes we know you always thought locksmiths had to be licensed; we find it unbelievable as well. Apparently our Maryland state government doesn’t feel the problem has escalated enough to address the issue. So now that you know how these companies have been allowed to come to be and advertise as locksmiths in Maryland, we’ll try to show you how not to become a victim. Let’s start with the yellow pages and we can’t say which books, as well we’re not allowed to give specific names of the so called locksmiths advertising in the books. But when you come to the first page under the heading locksmith in these books you’re going to find nothing but full page ads, one after the other. They all advertise how fast they are, how cheap they are, and how they have locations all over town with several phone numbers, local and long distance. When in actuality they don’t even exist in Maryland and if they give an address, it’s bogus and doesn’t exist. These are the companies that they’re speaking of in the above links. The best way for you to find out if they are a legitimate locksmith company or not is to call the number listed and tell them you want to come into their location and have a key duplicated and where are they located. If they don’t have a location, then more than likely they aren’t even in Maryland. Now let’s take the internet. If you were to type in a search such as locksmith Maryland or locksmith Baltimore, etc. you’ll immediately get in excess of 50 links to locksmiths who again don’t exist in Maryland even though they might have a local phone number listed rather than an 800 number. Some even have an address listed, however if you were to drive to the address the business does not exist. If you find an internet add that lists a locksmith that has locations in several cities this is also a bogus add. There are no nationwide locksmith companies. When you call these companies whether it’s a local or toll free number, your call is being forwarded to a center in another state. After the call is taken, they then call someone locally who may have no prior training, the proper tools to do the job, or any prior background check. So by their add, you the unsuspecting customer, thinks you may have a trained professional coming out to service your problem. Now we’re not going to mention their business practices, you can read and view them in the numerous links on this page. Again if you’re unsure if you’re actually dealing with a reputable company, ask them where their shop is located. Also you can ask them if they’re members of the Associated Locksmiths of America or the Maryland Locksmith Association which we’ve provided links to so that you may check. We hope you’ve found this page helpful and if we can answer any questions or be of any help please feel free to call or email us. |
Dont let it happen to you.
|