ELM Locksmith

Really deceptive practices. I was quoted $ 75 over the phone. When the guy got there it was suddenly $ 125 plus another $ 50 to pay with a credit card (!). Totally taking advantage of the situation.

Avoid this business at all costs. They are scam artists and engage in deceptive business practices.
First of all, we called a different locksmith located around the corner from us to get us into our locked apartment. An attempt to go to this locksmith’s office to dispute the exorbitant bill revealed that this «local business» doesn’t exist! The address they have posted for Jack and Sons Lock and Key on 758 Washington Avenue is for an sketchy apartment building. Clearly this is a beard for ELM Locksmith, which is widely reviled and thus needs to use fronts for anyone to ever contemplate using them. Although their website indicates that they are BBB accredited a quick search of the BBB website reveals that not only is this a LIE, but ELM Locksmith has many outstanding complaints against it.
So, when your locksmith shows up, ask to see a card/​receipt and if it says ELM, tell them to hit the road. Here’s why:
Quote over phone for getting us in: $ 28.
Quote on arrival for picking our lock: $ 50
Locksmith then breaks our doorknob. Tells us, you can either pay me $ 50 to have broken your lock and walk away or I can take the next step. Um, next step please…
New quote for getting us in: $ 250
Well, as we’re still locked out and now have a broken doorknob to boot, we don’t have much choice, do we?
He takes five minutes, drills the doorknob and lock completely off and then says, okay, that will be $ 300.
Uh, excuse me? You’ve still got to put the new lock on. And you said it would be $ 250!
Locksmith: well, it’s an additional $ 120 if you want to put a new lock in, and the $ 250 was on top of the $ 50 I charged you to break your doorknob and necessitate this in the first place.
Total bill: $ 430
Oh, and then they tell you their credit card machine is broken and they don’t accept checks so you’ll have to pay in cash. How convenient!
Excellent business practice guys! I can think of all kinds of ways you can expand: window replacement (Just remember to throw a brick through it first… oh, is that a storm coming?); dry cleaning (Oooh, sorry about that red wine I poured in your lap! What was that, you’re on your way to a business meeting? You know, I could clean that up for you for just $ 50.); pet sitting (I know you’re already out of town, but the rate just doubled. If you don’t want to pay I can just drop Fluffy off outside your door.).