Day-in and day-out, we hear horror stories from our customers who almost got scammed by a scammer locksmith. Unfortunately, many times, people fall for the scams of these criminals.
Today, a very smart Calgary accountant did what we suggest everyone to do, think and refuse to pay. Mariya Savchyshyn owns a condo in Calgary and rents it out. She said her tenants asked her to replace their lock, and a Google search listed Locksmith Calgary at the top, so she called them without doing her searches to see that they are a scammer locksmith.
Finding out if a locksmith company is a scam is quite easy, here are a few simple steps from Terry Whin-Yates to catch them.
There are many more warning signs to catch a scammer locksmith. Just use your head and if you can’t determine if they’re fake or not, don’t use them!
One big warning sign which Mariya Savchyshyn should have caught onto was the fact that the scammer locksmith, Locksmith Calgary used the tenant’s phone to phone her. Why wouldn’t they use their own cell number? Because these scammer locksmith’s do not want repeat customers.
Scammer locksmiths such as locksmith Calgary operate on a one-hit basis. They scam you, and then they request an extreme amount of money and force you to pay. Because of the bad experience they provide, they don’t expect you to call back which is why they provide an illegitimate invoice with a fraudulent tax ID, a fake address and at often times as well, a fake phone number.
Thankfully, when the scammer locksmith called Mariya Savchyshyn to say that he’s done, she caught on. Locksmith Calgary refused to provide an itemized invoice for the inflated invoice which was triple the cost, $773.85 as per CBC.
“And I’m like, that’s weird, because usually the customer has to receive an invoice, look at it and then pay, right?” said Savchyshyn.
“I’m an accountant myself, and I know that no one is going to send me money until they see the invoice.”
When Savchyshyn refused to pay without knowing exactly what she was paying for — she says the company threatened to send the bill to a collection agency.
Terry Whin-Yates states that threats are common with scammer locksmiths. We’ve heard from people that the scammer locksmiths have gotten violent with violent threats, verbal threats, death threats and unfortunately much more.
“I just want to warn people because someone … might be scared because that company is scaring people by saying they’ll send them to collections,” she said.
“They might be scared and just pay $800 for a lock, it’s ridiculous.”
A scammer locksmith will have a hard time sending you to a legitimate collections agency. Collection agencies are not stupid, they will ask for supporting documentation which the scammer locksmiths will not have. Do not be fooled by the collection agency trick. If they do send you to collections, you can fight it by signing up to a low-cost service called LegalShield.
“Locksmith Calgary told CBC Calgary they don’t provide a billing service, even for larger companies, and require all payments be made before an invoice is issued.”
This should be an immediate red flag. No legitimate company issues an invoice after payment. We, for example always issue an itemized invoice before the customer pays, because that’s the correct way of doing business. If a customer has a question, we’re always there to answer that question.
It is ok to ask the locksmith who their credit card processor is for collecting payments. Credit card processors are the companies that collect your payment on behalf of the merchant and then provide the merchant with the funds. Names of some credit card processors are: Moneris, Square, Payfirma, Helcim, Stripe. If the locksmith doesn’t know or refuses to answer the question, refuse to pay. If they demand cash, refuse to pay.
“On their website, Locksmith Calgary lists their service call fee as $15 plus labour and hardware costs. A lock change is listed as $35 dollars and a lock re-key as $19.”
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Day-in and day-out, we hear horror stories from our customers who almost got scammed by a scammer locksmith. Unfortunately, many times, people fall for the scams of these criminals.
Today, a very smart Calgary accountant did what we suggest everyone to do, think and refuse to pay. Mariya Savchyshyn owns a condo in Calgary and rents it out. She said her tenants asked her to replace their lock, and a Google search listed Locksmith Calgary at the top, so she called them without doing her searches to see that they are a scammer locksmith.
Finding out if a locksmith company is a scam is quite easy, here are a few simple steps from Terry Whin-Yates to catch them.
There are many more warning signs to catch a scammer locksmith. Just use your head and if you can’t determine if they’re fake or not, don’t use them!
One big warning sign which Mariya Savchyshyn should have caught onto was the fact that the scammer locksmith, Locksmith Calgary used the tenant’s phone to phone her. Why wouldn’t they use their own cell number? Because these scammer locksmith’s do not want repeat customers.
Scammer locksmiths such as locksmith Calgary operate on a one-hit basis. They scam you, and then they request an extreme amount of money and force you to pay. Because of the bad experience they provide, they don’t expect you to call back which is why they provide an illegitimate invoice with a fraudulent tax ID, a fake address and at often times as well, a fake phone number.
Thankfully, when the scammer locksmith called Mariya Savchyshyn to say that he’s done, she caught on. Locksmith Calgary refused to provide an itemized invoice for the inflated invoice which was triple the cost, $773.85 as per CBC.
“And I’m like, that’s weird, because usually the customer has to receive an invoice, look at it and then pay, right?” said Savchyshyn.
“I’m an accountant myself, and I know that no one is going to send me money until they see the invoice.”
When Savchyshyn refused to pay without knowing exactly what she was paying for — she says the company threatened to send the bill to a collection agency.
Terry Whin-Yates states that threats are common with scammer locksmiths. We’ve heard from people that the scammer locksmiths have gotten violent with violent threats, verbal threats, death threats and unfortunately much more.
“I just want to warn people because someone … might be scared because that company is scaring people by saying they’ll send them to collections,” she said.
“They might be scared and just pay $800 for a lock, it’s ridiculous.”
A scammer locksmith will have a hard time sending you to a legitimate collections agency. Collection agencies are not stupid, they will ask for supporting documentation which the scammer locksmiths will not have. Do not be fooled by the collection agency trick. If they do send you to collections, you can fight it by signing up to a low-cost service called LegalShield.
“Locksmith Calgary told CBC Calgary they don’t provide a billing service, even for larger companies, and require all payments be made before an invoice is issued.”
This should be an immediate red flag. No legitimate company issues an invoice after payment. We, for example always issue an itemized invoice before the customer pays, because that’s the correct way of doing business. If a customer has a question, we’re always there to answer that question.
It is ok to ask the locksmith who their credit card processor is for collecting payments. Credit card processors are the companies that collect your payment on behalf of the merchant and then provide the merchant with the funds. Names of some credit card processors are: Moneris, Square, Payfirma, Helcim, Stripe. If the locksmith doesn’t know or refuses to answer the question, refuse to pay. If they demand cash, refuse to pay.
“On their website, Locksmith Calgary lists their service call fee as $15 plus labour and hardware costs. A lock change is listed as $35 dollars and a lock re-key as $19.”
“While speaking with CBC Calgary, Locksmith Calgary couldn’t say why the bill was so high, but said they’d since agreed to lower it to $300.”
Shouldn’t a company know their invoices? This is a trick that scammer locksmiths like locksmith Calgary do. When approached by authorities or by a large media outlet like CBC Calgary, they start acting stupid. Mariya Savchyshyn should still dispute the charges with her credit card company and get the full sum back.
We’ve baited the scammer locksmiths before with the help of the media. Check out Terry Whin-Yates collaboration with CTV News with our undercover investigation on locksmith scammers.
Hi there, we’re CTV,” said McLaughlin, “Why are you charging $255? It’s not a difficult lock and it says 15 service call and $35 on the website.”
“And up,” said the locksmith, “It depends on the lock.”
“That’s an easy lock,” McLaughlin said.
“No, it’s not easy. Five pins, medium security,” he explains.
The locksmith showed McLaughlin his security license, which showed he’s a locksmith under supervision and then he called his boss.
“Why are you charging so much?” McLaughlin asked into the phone.
“It’s none of your business,” said the boss.
Here’s the thing about scammer locksmiths. They utilize a central call centre for lead generation services. When you call a scammer locksmith like locksmith Calgary, you’re not dealing with the actual locksmith that’s coming out to service your lock. These scammers pay these call centres around 20% for the lead and taking the call.
While the people in the call centre may seem nice, don’t be fooled, they’re not the ones coming out to work on your lock.
Terry Whin-Yates is a 3rd Generation Locksmith with a BA (Hons) Criminology. He has 35 years experience in the locksmith and security industry and is a locksmith trainer providing locksmith training to people and businesses all across North America. Terry Whin-Yates‘ BC Security License is B4227.
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For further info go to Mr. Locksmith Training
Hi, I’m Terry Whin-Yates from Mr. Locksmith. I have a Rant today. I’ve been dealing with scammer locksmiths for years and also, sometimes legitimate locksmith companies have copied my name, copied my websites, copied my blog, and copied my advertising. I expect it out of scammers, I don’t expect it out of other legitimate locksmiths.
The one main thing I’ve done to protect myself and my company is I have trademarked in North America my company name. As I expand or try to expand, when I get these scammers using my company name on fake addresses, I can deal with them very, very quickly with my trademark.
A few emails and letters off to Google, Facebook, Yelp, legitimate companies, I send them the information that this website or this company is infringing on my trademark. It is dealt with quickly. They remove the website, they remove the data, they remove the images.
So, even if you’re a little guy just starting out, one of the most important things I recommend is trademark your company. It can protect you against the scammer locksmiths. Also, when you get somebody who’s made a mistake and they copied your name because they think it’s cool, you can deal with them. If you have to, you can deal with them through the courts as well. The quick, easy way is your, is get your lawyer on it, give a “Cease and Desist” letter or Court order. It can be expensive but that’s what you have to protect your company.
So again, protect your company against the scammers, also protect it against other companies and get your company trademarked.
For On-line and Hands-on Locksmith Training Dates and Cities near you for Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced Locksmithing as well as my Covert Methods of Entry, Non-destructive Methods of Entry and to purchase the Famous “Dumb Key Force Tool” that opens Smart Key locks in seconds go to Mr. Locksmith Training http://mrlocksmithtraining.com/
For Locksmith Franchise and Licensing Opportunities go to Mr. Locksmith Opportunities
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