Phoenix Locksmith Fraud
Know Who You're Hiring
When the Ad Says, "Local Phoenix
Locksmith", Are You Getting a
Local Company?

Consider the following fictitious company:

Mike's Mesa Locksmith
Mesa, AZ 85213
888-555-5555

When you call "Mike's Locksmith" do you get a man named Mike working out of his Mesa, AZ Locksmith shop? Probably not. I say this because it's an 800 number and there's no exact address being listed. In fact, you're likely not calling anyone in Arizona. Your call will be routed to a central, national call center dispatching fraudulent locksmiths across the nation.

What's a fraudulent locksmith? A person whose sole purpose is to get you to hire their business (usually by quoting you very low prices) so they can take your money with hidden charges when the job is done. The problem has become so bad that the BBB and FTC have issued consumer warnings.

Unscrupulous locksmith companies, whose sole intent is to rip of consumers, are listing their businesses under hundreds of names to create an illusion of being a local business. They then quote you extremely low prices to lure you in, but when the job is done, the rates go up as much as 10X the quote. We've investigated several listings and you'll be shocked at what we found.

Well crafted web pages but once you dig deeper you get a surprise. One such company has a great name, they list a local number, they have a nice picture of a technician on their website, and they show numerous testimonials. But by digging deeper we found:

• The "testimonials" listed on their website are an exact duplicate of those found on another website. Certainly suspicious. Only the name of the company changed in the review.
• They listed 6 physical shop locations in Phoenix, but a quick call to the company revealed that they had no real shop. "We're mobile only."
• The BBB gave the company an "F" rating citing it's selling practices

All this information was found in a matter of minutes using the internet. Should you trust this company, probably not.

We saw another company, claiming to be a locally run business, advertising $29 trip charges. We dug deeper. Here's what we discovered:

• On their testimonial page, we found reviews from TX, FL, and Georgia. But not AZ. This isn't necessary a bad thing, but they've created the illusion that they're local when they're not and this is what prompted our digging into the company.
• A search of the website Complaintsboard.com revealed many complaints. All about that $29 trip charge. "Rip-Off," Deception," "Overcharges," "Unprofessional" were words used to describe this company. They have similar reports on Scam.com and Ripoffreports.com
• Again, the BBB had issued an"F" rating but you had to search them outside of the Phoenix area to find it. They cited advertising issues, billing and selling practices. Seems that $29 trip charge IS too good to be true.

We found one Scottsdale based company that was at least registered locally. But here's what we found out about them.

• The company was doing business under dozens of names. /li>
• The BBB rated this company and many of its incarnations an "F," for complaints ranging from billing to selling and service issues.

If you take a look into many locksmith companies doing business in Phoenix you'll find similar practices--fake reviews, fake addresses, "F" ratings with the BBB, and numerous complaints online. So how do you protect yourself? Here's how.

• Read through our locksmith list and check the BBB ratings of these companies.
• Check the name with the BBB. Check both the name of the company and the website address. Unfortunately, these companies are creating names and websites so fast that the BBB simply can't keep up. By the time the BBB reports on them, many have simply moved on to using another name.
• Check online complaint boards like Ripoffreports.com, Complaintsboard.com, and Scam.com. This is especially useful for getting information on national companies (even if their name sounds local).
• Check Findalocksmith.com. This site is run by the Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA). Locksmiths that are members of ALOA are asked to abide by an advertising and business code of ethics.
• Do a Google Maps search on the name and web address. There are NO locksmith companies in Phoenix with more than one physical location. If the company you are about to hire posts many locations, they have already lied to you and shouldn't be trusted.
• Unless you get a direct referral, use a locksmith with a real physical address. Simply call and ask, "Where is your shop?" If they've listed an address in their advertising and you get any answer other than that address, move on. If anything goes wrong, you won't be waiting for a return phone call that never comes. You'll be able to walk right in and be heard. Note. We know one really good mobile-only service. He'll give you the address of his home. Now that's a service you can trust.