Do not use

Firstly and having been locked out, I picked Swift Locksmith because of the positive online reviews and was promised a 15-minute ETA only for the locksmith to arrive over an hour later. I don't quite understand where '15 minutes' came from, as the locksmith turned out to have been coming from a location that was at least 25 minutes away by car in good traffic. However, and since he did get me in, I wouldn't have minded any of this at all if it weren't for the locksmith's subsequent behaviour: Once we were inside the flat, he offered to replace my lock for £510 (not including VAT and service fees), an amount that I thought sounded exorbitant but which he assured me was market price for my Banham lock. He made the point that I would be saving money if I let him make this replacement instead of calling my management company in the morning as 'I had already paid his call-out fee' and promised to be quick. I was desperate, stressed and alone, and had no reason to question his honesty, so I allowed him to replace the lock and committed to pay the full fees he charged. The next morning I did a bit of casual research and, to my shock, found that he was in fact looking to overcharge me for the new lock by at least £300. When I called to question the invoice, he initially strenuously and profusely denied that there was any overcharge at all. I assured him that my intention wasn't to accuse him of lying, but that I did wish to see any form of evidence that the locks were sold at this price anywhere else, simply for my peace of mind. He told me to give him two minutes to find this evidence. He then called back with a completely different line of argument: His boss (whom I never spoke to and can't identify) said the lock was 'double the price' (it was more) because of the 'emergency situation'. When I pointed out that he had never told me this, and that I had only allowed him to replace the lock because of his assurances that it would be cost-effective, he immediately offered to drop £300 off the amount he was looking to charge me if I paid in cash. As the original amount included VAT, it still meant that I was paying about £100 more for the lock than I usually would. On payment, I had to insist that he cancel the old invoice in front of me and write me a receipt, as he was hoping to leave without doing either. This is frankly appalling and fraudulent behaviour. There is no justification whatsoever to so dishonestly and extravagantly overcharging a customer for an item; this applies in any situation, but it particularly applies when that customer has already paid £200 in service fees. Please do not use this company.

Rosaline Ede - 26/11/2015 | report this review