Tried to take advantage of a woman in the cold!
I locked my keys in my car and called one locksmith and got a quote for $70 for the make and model of my vehicle. I thought this a bit high, so called Always Available Locksmith since their add said "We'll beat any price." The lady on the phone told me it was $39 for the service call, and $15 and up for opening the car. When the locksmith arrived, he said he was going to charge me $150. Since when does $15 and up come to an extra $110?? I told him the pricing that the lady I booked the service with gave me, and he replied that she did say "$15 and UP" and that he could leave, but I would still have to pay him $39 for coming over. I refused, but said I would pay him $70 if he went ahead and opened the car since their add says they will beat any price. He tried to get me to pay $90, but finally agreed to $70 when I made it clear that it was $70 or nothing at all. It literally took him about 30 seconds to get the door open. My car is pretty old with nothing fancy involved with the lock... I just didn't want to fiddle with a coathanger in the cold of winter. The fact that he was able to charge me $70 without needing to call for permission first proves that he was trying to extort me in the first place.
Posted by Katrina
on February 07, 2008