So I had a fun Monday. David and I woke up late, and we both rushed to get ready to leave in the morning. I didn't have time to make lunch. I get to class, and my classes go okay, so when that is over, I head to work. I always stop at the post office to grab the mail on the way there, then head to the bank to drop off a deposit before I go to the office. I get back to my car and can't find my keys. I check the parking lot, store, bank, pockets, and begin to freak out. Finally, I realize I locked my keys in my car- they are sitting in the ignition. This is at about 4:15 pm. I call David, who is on his way home from work. He looks for my extra key when he gets home but has no luck- we moved not long ago and the keys are probably in a box somewhere. My dad and sister come with extra keys (none of which were the one I left with them when I moved out of my parents house). I am getting frantic. It is cold.

My dad tries to break into my car. No luck. I did this before and my car is impossible to open with a slim-jim. I call a couple locksmiths cause I'm not confident a tow-truck driver can get into my car. I find a nearby locksmith who says he can be there in 25 mins. It's around 7:15 and I'm FREAKING out. I haven't eaten since noon. My dad was nice enough to stay with me and wait. The locksmith says it will be $39.99 + about $19 labor. I say "great" and tell him what kind of car I have and where it is stuck.

The "locksmith" arrives over an hour later. It looks a little shady- the guy is in his own personal car and was really late. I'm really frustrated and tired and out of patience by then. He gets out of his car and basically says "OOOHHH! This is a FOCUS!?! This is a VERY hard car to get into! I might be able to do it, might not, but it's gonna be $39.99 + $125 labor! $177 after tax. If you don't want me to do it, you have to at least pay me the $39.99 service call. He is really intimidating and rude. He has my driver's license already. THIS IS COERCION/EXTORTION/WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT. He insists he is being nice and that he could show us invoices of people who paid $265 to get into their cars. I'm in tears. It's almost nine. My dad argues with the guy for awhile and then decides f*** it, just do it. I'm pissed. He finally gets into my car, and I pay him. He doesn't even check to make sure that the car is mine. He refuses to give me the address of the business, a business card, or anything that identifies the business he is with. He has no stationary or invoices or anything to link him to a legitimate business. I feel really weird giving him my credit card- it all seems way too shady. I drive home, so mad I can hardly think. I felt so taken advantage of- he held me hostage.

I woke up Tuesday morning, even more pissed off. I missed an entire day of work over this bulls*** (at least my boss was nice about it!). I go out to my car to drive to work and notice that the door frame is bent up. Guess I didn't notice it when it was dark and I WAS SEETHING WITH ANGER. I called up the locksmith to complain. I was glad I had written down how I found them (using 411), because it seemed as if the locksmith who came out was trying to keep me from contacting him again. He knew we were pissed. Anyways, I nicely told the dispatcher/manager that I wanted a partial refund, due to the lateness, lies, and especially the damage to my car. He tried to say that they never saw me the night before. I said, "ok, well I wrote down the license # of the guy and a description. I will just cancel the credit card and give the information to the cops." He suddenly remembered me! However, he would not acknowledge the damage to my car, let alone the lying/bad customer service. He would not even consider a partial refund, so I told him I was canceling the card and initiate a charge-back with my credit card company. I also told him I would contact the BBB, attorney general, etc about his business practices.

I called my bank to cancel my card and thankfully, they were totally on my side. I have to wait a day or two for the charge to finish posting, and then there will be a charge-back. Anyways, the moral of the story is to get a definitive quote from the locksmith. Refuse to pay anymore. Maybe just don't lock your keys in your car!!! If you don't have spares, get some made for $5 at the store, and give them to your friends and family, so they can help you out when you need it. I called some more locksmiths for definite quotes to see if I was charged a legit price. Everyone else charges $60-$80 flat. One locksmith told me he knew of an old woman who was forced to pay $200 to get into her car. When you're locked out, and you can't google the business or check with the BBB, it really puts you at a disadvantage. I was vulnerable and they took advantage of me. Another moral: pay with credit cards, as they offer a lot more protection than debit cards.

From looking around on the net, it seems this is a common scam. There are stories of people whose keys are held hostage until they pay the inflated fee. There are dozens of complaints online, and supposedly these companies use many different names and phone numbers to avoid being held accountable. I shudder to think what the guy would have done if my dad hadn't been there with me. Anyways, at least they will end up paying me back what they charged me, plus some (charge-backs penalize the merchant), when I would have been happy with an apology for the damage and refund for the amount over the initial quote.

Hopefully, someone out there will learn from what happened to me ( I promise I'm calmed down now :).