SAN ANTONIO – It's a sickening feeling for many people who find themselves locked out of their cars or homes at the worst possible time. Often they do not know who to call for help.
Tom Fagan, of TEFCO Locksmith, is licensed by the state. He hears a lot of complaints about locksmiths that people find on the internet.
Unlike some of them, he has a marked van with his license number on it and is located in San Antonio.
"Scammers generally aren't even located in Texas," Fagan said. "They'll have a local number that rings to someplace out of state."
He said that person will then find someone locally and perhaps untrustworthy to do the work.
It happened to Michael Irving. "I looked on the internet for locksmiths that were in Schertz and I called them and I asked them, 'Are you in Schertz?'" Irving said.
Irving said it took this locksmith an hour to get there. On the phone they told him the fee that would be charged would be around $57.
"I figured I'll pay the $57 and be fine with it," Irving said. But that was not even close.
"(The locksmith) pops the lock and does it in about five minutes time and comes out and gives me a bill for $187," Irving said.
Searching on the internet is not necessarily a bad thing when looking for locksmiths, and experts say the best website to start with is the Texas Department of Public Safety's website. There is a listing there of licensed locksmiths.
Richmond Bean said he unwittingly hired an unlicensed locksmith. He was quoted a price of $14, not including the work. The locksmith, Bean said, ended up ripping off the knob on a door with vice grips.
Total charges: $245. He vows to hire only licensed locksmiths in the future.