masterlocksmithco.com Blog

Read more about the raid on Dependable Locksmith here.

Federal authorities have raided the offices of Dependable Locksmith in Florida. It’s about time that federal authorities have made arrests in this scam. Now is the time to put pressure on the authorities here in Georgia to act against these companies operating here.

If you believe that you have been a victim of these illicit locksmith companies, please send us a copy of your invoice and we will post it here. We all need to fight these corrupt companies!
e-mail: mike4543@bellsouth.net.

Here is copy of a real invoice that we received from a citizen here in Georgia. The company responsible for this crime used the same tactics that are now commonly in use by these corrupt companies. They quote a low price on the phone, then, upon arriving at your location, charge inflated fees for add-ons, make up fees, and misrepresent the products serviced or sold.
I went to see the work done at this home and found it to be very poor in quality and not what is represented on the invoice. The invoice itself is fraught with misspelling, so refer to my notes in order to understand it.
Line 1 refers to 6 double cylinder deadbolts that were installed. This company charged a “discounted” price of $75.00 ea. instead of their regular price of $95.00. The locks installed were a brand called Max Tech. They were a quality inferior to our least expensive brand, for which we charge only $49.00 ea.
Line 2 states that 6 “high security” locksets(doorknobs)were installed. The price is also “discounted” to $75.00 from $95.00. In fact, the brand was also Max Tech and they are not high security. Max Tech is a VERY poor quality lock. Never the less, our least expensive lockset is only $39.00. This entry represents 1 of the criminally fraudulent claims on the invoice.
Line 3 shows that the company gave the customer 4 “free” keys which would normally cost $20.00 ea. Our high security keys cost $15.00-$25.00 ea. The problem here is that the key given to the customer was a common key which would cost about $3.00.
Line 4 shows charges of $35.00 ea. to rekey 18 cylinders. Regular price-$45.00. $35.00 ea would be appropriate if ,indeed, the cylinders were high security cylinders.(We charge $35.00 for HS cylinder rekeys) The cylinders on Max Tech locks should cost no more than $15.00 ea to rekey.
Line 8 indicates the free service charge.(nice)
Line 9 indicates that the technician drilled open 2 high security locksets in order to gain entry into the home. He charged $275.00 ea for this “service”! The regular price would have been $300.00 each! This is just completely insane. The key shown to me by the customer clearly identified the old locks as common Weiser locks. These are not HS locks. This represents the 2nd criminally fraudulent claim on this invoice.
Line 10 shows the price and discount for removing the old locks and installing the new locks. The discounted price is $30.00, down from $40.00. This is a cheap price and would have been fine except that the work was done so poorly. Any technician in our company would be fired for doing work like that which I saw at this location. (see line 12)
Line 11 indicates another charge for rekeying 18 cylinders. This should have been covered by the charges on line 4. This is a fabricated charge.
Line 12 should read ‘fix frame-drill’. I saw the frames. The “locksmith” charged $35.00 ea($45.00)to insert a drill file into the strike hole of each deadbolt and lockset and router out the hole so that the latches and bolts would line up. This is absurd. The proper installation of a lockset and deadbolt would have included replacing the old strikes and insuring that the holes were aligned for proper operation. This would have been covered by the charges on line 10. This charge is another fabrication.
Line 13 indicates that the customer had printed their online “coupon” and received a 10% discount.
14 shows the grand total. This does not include sales tax so GBI should be interested in knowing who is going to pay it.
This entire job, properly done, should not have cost more than $1559.96. This customer was overcharged by $1750.04.

Here’s what the MA attorney general is doing to protect citizens.

If Google does not do something to investigate these corrupt companies,and to protect their legitimate clients, then the lawsuits need to start.

I received my test results from Austin. I passed the exam; correctly answering 110 out of 140 questions. Right on!

http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/aloa/scammers.php
Call your Georgia legislator and tell them you want the protection of a requirement of a license to operate as locksmith.

My trip to Texas was very satisfying. The test went well. I am more sure than not that I passed. I went through the 140 questions and answered all that I knew for certain and made notes about the ones for which I needed to go to the book. I did have a little trouble trying to cross reference the questions with the table of contents. Some of the information in a particular question could be found in several different sections of the book so it was not as straight forward as I had hoped. Never-the-less I believe I did well.
I got to see my sister Donna, and I met her boyfriend Frank. I really like him and we all had a nice time together. Next time I go back I hope I can get him to take me fishing down in Corpus Christi. That man can catch some fish! There were pictures of both of them with beautiful redfish and speckled trout all over the house. Nice!
The folks at Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Austin were great. Professor Phil welcomed me into his school and let me train as his guest. His instruction that day was great and I know that I am a better fighter because of it. Thanks professor.(A Jiu-Jitsu instructor is addressed as professor)
I had the pleasure of rolling with Richard, David and Georgette on Friday. I learned some stuff from them and had a good time rolling. Don’t forget to go fishing for elbows, Georgette! My training partner on Thursday was a young man named Matt. He was a great training partner. Anyone who practices Jiu-Jitsu(or any other martial art)knows that a good partner makes a training session. Thanks Matt.
I also met a good young man named Brian with whom I had a good talk about life and Jiu-Jitsu.
Good luck Brian and remember who we are. Whether or not we get into the ring, we are fighters. Always carry yourself like one. I took some knowledge with me when I left and I hope that I left a little also. Keep it real ya’ll.

Let’s start by saying thank you to Mr. Maxwell. He had us install Multilock High Security deadbolts and locksets on his home today. Every homeowner needs to consider buying Multilock locks for their home. The locks that you find on almost every home are of very poor quality. Even brands like Schlage and Baldwin make low security locks. If you are concerned about your locks being picked or bump picked, your keys being copied without your consent, and the very strength of the lock itself you need to have Master Locksmith/Abbot Safe & Lock install high security locks on your home.(Or business).
Now, what’s this about all roads leading back home? Well, we came to Atlanta about 15 years ago from Houston, Texas. Our business is doing well here in Atlanta and we have decided to go back home and open an office in Houston. The company in Houston will operate under the name Master Locksmith Company Inc.
Tomorrow morning I am flying to Austin, Texas to take the state exam for my locksmith license. I hope that Georgia will soon pass legislation to license locksmiths. The public needs this protection.
My exam is on Friday so I’ll have a little spare time. I plan to see my sister who lives there and to visit the Relson Gracie Jiu Jitsu school. That’s going to be a great time. Whenever I travel I like to find a local Jiu Jitsu school and train there. It’s always good to train with people other than your usual group. Keeps it real!
Look forward to my reading assignments coming soon. I want everyone to read “Democracy and Leadership” by Irving Babbitt. I’m going to start posting my commentary on this book soon.
There are some valuable lessons to be learned within its pages.