ComplaintsforLate Night Locksmith

• Initial Complaint

  05/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Sunday, May ..., 2022, we lost the ignition key to our 2009 Toyota Siena minivan at our house in ************. We looked for the key and not find it so we had to call a locksmith as we needed to travel to our home in ******** on Sunday. I called Late Night Locksmiths. The gentleman explained the fee was $420 plus $60 for each addtional key plus 5% for credit card plus 5.3% tax (I don't recall pay taxes on service fees). He then texted the same price to my cell phone. He also mentioned that we were competing with another party over who would be first in line. He then stated that the other party would wait until Monday when fee only $250. I told him to let us know when he was available and he said he could be there in a half hour. I also requoted the fees noted above and he stated that they were correct. As he pulled in the driveway I found the set of keys in the grass. We told him that we found the keys and he said that it was a $100 service charge. We said he never quoted it and argued with him over the fee. I paid the fee on my credit card. He claimed that AAA would reimburse us. He said that he would send an invoice and never did until I followed up with. I have all of the info on my phone - text messages. His website also states nothing about a $100 fee for a service call. He just made this up. Had he quoted the fee I would not be filing this complaint.

  Business response

  06/08/2022

  My name is David Ferguson, I am the owner of Late Night Locksmith. We are an affordable business hours locksmith service with actual 24 hour, full week service availability. We are the only one I know of for at least 60-100 miles. On Sunday the 15th of May I was contacted by the *****s. Their location was 35 minutes away from me and they told me they had lost all of the keys to their Toyota Sienna. I priced them a competitive rate for a lost Toyota key at that distance during the scheduled daytime hours on Monday, as well as the after hours rate for immediate service. They were the 3rd customer to have lost their car keys and call that Sunday. The other 2 chose to wait til Monday. After some deliberation and several hours they dispatched me for a 1 hour and 10 minute round trip drive, consuming, at that time, $25 in fuel. Upon arrival. I parked my vehicle and Mr. ***** rushed over. He then excitedly proclaimed "I found my keys, you can leave". I responded to him that I was glad to hear it and he had saved himself a bunch of money, if he would like, while I was there, I could make an additional key for the additional key rate ($60) qouted in text, and that I would appreciate it if they paid a discounted service call. I told him for that distance on the weekend $100 to cover fuel and time. Less than 1/4th the cost of the total emergency service. I had shown up after all. Company policy is to let it go if a customer cancels as long as we haven't arrived and try to collect a service call for fuel and time if they cancel after we arrive. However, we don't want to get into repeated legal squabbles over canceled calls and only contractually require it for extreme distance calls far outside our service range. Mr. ***** immediately became confrontational, belligerent, rude, and began making aggressive gestures. He shouted at me various combinations of "I refuse to pay that" "you can't make me" "Go ahead and call the police" and "you can get the **** off my property". Which I intended to do, I hadn't left the cab of my vehicle and he was becoming physically flustered so I had no intention of exiting or staying. While he was doing this his wife came over and had her wallet out. I calmly responded with, had he scheduled service for Monday i would have made him aware that there was no cancelation fee as long as it's before we dispatch a technician. But he didn't want to wait. So we immediately came out. How was it fair of him to waste our fuel and time on a weekend? The service call portion of the job had been completed. Our company has a weekend service call rate is $150. I was already trying to cut him some slack. I even waived the credit card fee. To address their statement, there is no tax on a service call if no goods are sold. While Mr. ***** continued to shout in the yard. Mrs. ***** told him she would handle it, and to walk away. She then explained how he was a nurse and under high stress. She then paid me with her credit card. I took her email information for the ticket and then showed it to her on my screen to confirm it was entered correctly. She said yes. I hit send, thanked her, mentioned that some insurance companies consider this roadside assistance and that they should contact them for reimbursement. Then I left. At no point during my time on site did Mr. ***** regain his composure. A few weeks later, I am contacted by Mr. *****, he demands to know where his invoice is. I go double check the email address on their account. It turns out both Mrs. ***** and I missed that Gmail had been spelt with an N, not an M. I fixed the error and emailed it immediately. I did not force or require the *****s to pay. I requested it as the fair thing to do having used my resources. Due to his emotional outburst I was concerned he would escalate to physicality before his wife stepped in. Even afterwards, had she not been there. I have never encountered a customer who put me more on guard. Regards, David Ferguson Owner/Operator Late Night Locksmith 

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