Honest locksmiths hold key to overcoming bad companies

About three years ago, Cheryl Delhagen returned to her southeast Las Vegas home to find that thieves had broken a window on her front door, unlocked the deadbolt from the inside and stolen jewelry, her father's gold watch and a spare key to her house.

It was after 5 p.m., but she wanted a new lock and new keys that night for security's sake.

Finally, she reached someone who said he would come out. In doing so, she joined a growing number of people nationwide taken advantage of by a locksmith company.

"I asked him about the price," Delhagen said. "He said, 'Because it's after hours, we'll see how it goes.' I should've just said no."

She ended up paying $610 for a new deadbolt and three rekeyed locks, something that should have cost $150 to $250. Then she had to call another locksmith to fix what the first locksmith had done.
"He didn't do a very good job," Delhagen said. "I knew I got skunked."

Delhagen let the matter go, and the name of the business she used couldn't be confirmed.

But local locksmiths point to it as an example of something that has happened in other states that has come to Southern Nevada: aggressive, even predatory, business practices by locksmiths who often aren't licensed, use fake addresses and route calls through out-of-state operators
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The city of Las Vegas' business licensing department is investigating locksmith licensing. A city spokeswoman declined comment, citing the ongoing investigation.

"This is a problem that's been around for a while now, and it's unfortunate that it continues," said Alison Southwick, spokeswoman for the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the parent group to local Better Business Bureaus. "Some states there's hardly any oversight at all. That means in some states it's hard to go after these guys."

Nevada has some oversight. Locksmiths must get a sheriff's work card. In Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Clark County, owners of a locksmith business must pass a background check to receive a business license, because locksmiths have the means to gain access to almost any car, residence or business.

Break-ins are not the reported problem. What's worrisome to the industry and local officials are a number of operators who have moved into the area and simply ignored those requirements, according to local locksmiths who have worked in Southern Nevada for many years. As has happened in other states, those companies game the phone listings and search engines so they're at the top of the list.